Will the legacy of Ovechkin be that of a choker?

[FireGilbert]

Ovechkin will go down in history as one of the greatest goal scorers ever and possibly the greatest player ever to not win a cup.

The term choker should only apply in individual sports.

[dino7c]

They were better than the pens other than goal tending...hard to fault him for that. Besides he still has some kicks at the can

[Strange Brew]

Choking IMO is not playing to your ability when the pressure is the greatest, which is simply different than not leading a team to the Stanley Cup.

Kent Nilsson is an example of a player for the Flames that played his worst during the playoffs. Maybe you can call that choking.

[memphusk]

So if Iginla had Backstrom feeding him he would of scored 70 in a season is what I'm getting from this. Ovechkin scores goals. Iginla was an absolute machine. 25 year old Iginla any day.

[killer_carlson]

His legacy will be that of a player who won a gold medal in 2018 and then had Mark Giordano pass him the Stanley Cup a few months later after leading the Flames to a sweep over Montreal in the cup finals, thereby cementing himself as a generational player

[GordonBlue]

when you have a hall of fame player whose teams just doesn't get it done, the label gets thrown around. fairly or not.

partly I think is the fact the caps never get out of the second round. maybe if the team went further in the playoffs once in a while, it would be different.

but a team that good to be first or second round losers all the time? if you're the face and biggest star of that team, you may labeled as a choker.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

Dionne:[/B] Sadly, he never played on any good teams.

it may be noted that none of the players mentioned had the skillset of Ovechkin in their career.

1348 GP
1771 PTS

Ovechkin doesn't have the skill set of Marcel. You may never have seen him play, but Marcel was a hell of a hockey player.

Better than Ovechkin

[troutman]

How many times has he been stopped by Crosby and Malkin? That is huge obstacle.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by troutman

How many times has he been stopped by Crosby and Malkin? That is huge obstacle.

Same number of times he's been stopped by the non-Crosby and Malkin New York Rangers: 3

Also, twice by the Habs

[Parallex]

No. History will remember Ovechkin as one of the (if not the) premier goal scorers of his time. If he never wins a Cup he'll find himself at the top end of the list of "Greatest players to never win a cup"... but it won't be as a "choker".

[CroFlames]

Bad luck IMO. Those Caps teams were built correctly, especially their latter two presidents trophy winning teams. You need luck in the playoffs, that's not news.

It's silly to label a player a choker since it's a team game. There certainly are playoff choker players who are invisible during the playoffs, but Ovi is anything but that.

[Northendzone]

it would be real interesting to have the players on the capital provide their real uncensored thoughts on what they think is missing from their team that has stopped them from going deeper.

to me being the best team over 82 games is hard, but being better in the playoffs is even harder

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

Ovechkin
Backstrom
Oshie
Kuznetzov
Johanssen
Williams
Alzner
Carlson
Orlov
Shattenkirk
Holtby

Former players:

Semin, Green when they were elite
Laich, Ward, Brouwer in their prime
Neuvirth, Ribeiro and Wideman when they were good
Vokoun

This is a team, that on paper should have made the conference finals every year for a decade and Ovechkin hasn't got them there once. Yes Pittsburgh has eliminated them three of those times, but they have also lost to the Rangers in 3 Game 7's and Tampa/Montreal/Philly once each, teams that weren't exactly powerhouses like them

I would say three of those eliminations were acceptable, but the three first round exits, being swept by Tampa and getting 4 wins in 11 Game 7's is inexcusable

Comparing that to the teams Iginla was on, yes, I would say he's been a known a choker. Ovie/Washington is the Thronton/Sharks and Getzlaf/Ducks of the east

Edit: But I still think he's one of the best of all time and will be in the HoF

The biggest piece missing for the Capitals throughout all their runs as a top contender is a true number one defenseman. Shattenkirk can provide some offence but he is to be avoided at all costs. He's the second coming of Green. Neither of those guys are the #1 to anchor your defense although they have had solid team defence the last couple of years. Trade some of that offensive depth for a stud defenseman and maybe things are different.

[Weitz]

Hockey is the Ultimate team game.

Until it comes time to discuss the legacy's of non-Canadians.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by ToewsFan

Bure: Was the star of the 94' Canucks, and their playoff run. Nearly led the Canucks to a cup win. Other than that, never really played on any notable teams that would have stood out as a cup contender.


Dionne:[/B] Sadly, he never played on any good teams.

it may be noted that none of the players mentioned had the skillset of Ovechkin in their career.

I don't know. Bure had the skills, he was just injury prone.

Dionne was also very good. Poor guy never played on a good team.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Buff

Dionne was also very good. Poor guy never played on a good team.

6th in all time scoring.

[East Coast Flame]

Man, lately on this board it feels like you all want to old yeller Ovi. Good lord.

The guy is 31 for pete's sake! He just scored 33 goals in what was probably his worst year - and all after winning 4 consecutive Richards. The man has a lot of hockey left to play in his career, and his legacy is far from done. We certainly don't need to define him yet.

[wretched34]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

Ovechkin
Backstrom
Oshie
Kuznetzov
Johanssen
Williams
Alzner
Carlson
Orlov
Shattenkirk
Holtby

Former players:

Semin, Green when they were elite
Laich, Ward, Brouwer in their prime
Neuvirth, Ribeiro and Wideman when they were good
Vokoun

This is a team, that on paper should have made the conference finals every year for a decade and Ovechkin hasn't got them there once. Yes Pittsburgh has eliminated them three of those times, but they have also lost to the Rangers in 3 Game 7's and Tampa/Montreal/Philly once each, teams that weren't exactly powerhouses like them

I would say three of those eliminations were acceptable, but the three first round exits, being swept by Tampa and getting 4 wins in 11 Game 7's is inexcusable

Comparing that to the teams Iginla was on, yes, I would say he's been a known a choker. Ovie/Washington is the Thronton/Sharks and Getzlaf/Ducks of the east

Edit: But I still think he's one of the best of all time and will be in the HoF

How many of those teammates that you listed do you believe will join Ovechkin in the HOF?

Because I have a list of my own:
Paul Coffey
Jarri Kurri
Mark Messier
Glenn Anderson
Luc Robitaille
Rob Blake
Brett Hull
Chris Pronger
Brian Leetch
Al MacInnis
Grant Fuhr
Honorable Mentions to:
Esa Tikkanen
Bernie Nicholls
Adam Graves
Alexei Kovalev
Petr Nedved
Marc Savard
Andy Moog
Kelly Hrudey

All guys a certain leader named Gretzky couldn't lead to a Stanley cup, unless a handful of them were on the same team, at the same time.
Point being, hockey is a team game, and even the greatest player can't win a cup himself.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by memphusk

So if Iginla had Backstrom feeding him he would of scored 70 in a season is what I'm getting from this. Ovechkin scores goals. Iginla was an absolute machine. 25 year old Iginla any day.

I love Iginla....

However, Ovechkin in his prime was something else. It's hard to picture that now, as Ovechkin has clearly slowed down. It seems as though not only have his physical abilities decreased, but he doesn't have the same passion for the game he once had. In his early years, Ovechkin absolutely dominated games both offensively and physically. Not to say that Iginla didn't, but not to the same degree.

Ovechkin seems content now to score goals from the slot. He's not making efforts to create the play as he once was.

Ovechkin was also putting up huge numbers in his first two season, before Backstrom became a force himself.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

1348 GP
1771 PTS

Ovechkin doesn't have the skill set of Marcel. You may never have seen him play, but Marcel was a hell of a hockey player.

Better than Ovechkin

You can't just compare numbers



How many goals would Ovi have on this guy...considering the era Ovi may just be the greatest goal scorer ever