Alexander Ovechkin v. The World

[activeStick]

OV scores twice vs the Jets to take sole spot in 2nd all time in goal scoring. Incredible achievement. Really hope he takes first spot from Gretzky before retiring!

[flamingred89]

Hot Damn. Crazy to think 1000 would be in his radar if it weren't for 2 lockouts and Covid. Remarkable career and fun to watch.

[browna]

Don't think Matthews or any player of this era has the longevity required. Not necessarily physically but mentally. Those guys are making upwards now of $80-100MM if they play over 10 years in the league at a high level...so at 30 or even 35 after playing the game for 12-17 years professionally you can retire or at least take the foot off the gas and enjoy the tens of millions of dollars you have, or push hard on another 4 years and make another $30M to try and pad stats to maybe get a record?

That's the part that makes this impressive, the fact he hasn't slowed, though slightly adapted his game, is still a force.

[powderjunkie]

I think it's even crazier when you consider that Gretzky got 189 of his goals in 2 seasons (the 1st and 3rd highest leaguewide scoring seasons since WW2).

Obviously 705 goals over Gretzky's other 18 seasons is still insane, though it averages out to 39 per year.

And 323 goals over his best 4 seasons (1st/3rd/4th/5th highest league scoring seasons). Gretzky had 637 goals by age 29...so 257 goals after that in his final 713gp (which actually still sounds more impressive than I expected).

Ovi has 378 goals in 630gp since turning 29.

[browntrout]

Beyond belief to me why so many posters still endorse this man... thousands of Ukrainians die each day...but we let him off the hook...the guy at the very least could remove his social media accounts that show Putin support and people would of been happy with that...the angle he spins about danger to this family is just crap...it has more to do with protecting his business ventures in Russia. Lot and lots are speaking out in Russia against the war and are fine...

Yes he is a very talented hockey player, but he is just a coward and disgusting human being

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by browntrout

Beyond belief to me why so many posters still endorse this man... thousands of Ukrainians die each day...but we let him off the hook...the guy at the very least could remove his social media accounts that show Putin support and people would of been happy with that...the angle he spins about danger to this family is just crap...it has more to do with protecting his business ventures in Russia. Lot and lots are speaking out in Russia against the war and are fine...

Yes he is a very talented hockey player, but he is just a coward and disgusting human being

Certainly a time and a place to discuss Ovechkin's support of the Putin regime - and that will forever cast a bit of a shadow over him - but the guy is 2 1/2 years away from breaking an incredible record that many thought would never be touched. It's special.

Congrats on 802 Ovi!

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by browntrout

Beyond belief to me why so many posters still endorse this man... thousands of Ukrainians die each day...but we let him off the hook...the guy at the very least could remove his social media accounts that show Putin support and people would of been happy with that...the angle he spins about danger to this family is just crap...it has more to do with protecting his business ventures in Russia. Lot and lots are speaking out in Russia against the war and are fine...

Yes he is a very talented hockey player, but he is just a coward and disgusting human being

Would you like to be held accountable for everything Danielle Smith or Justin Trudeau did? While I probably wouldn't have a problem speaking out publicly against those buffoons, I don't think anybody should be forced to.

Frankly I have a lot more empathy for somebody raised in a Propaganda Machine not aligning with my ideal moral compass than any North Americans who has lost the plot and supports our local demagogues despite access to vast amounts of information and viewpoints.

[browna]

Won't pretend to know all the inner workings of the shady side of the Russian economic and social structure for high profile people, but given all the corruption and lawlessness, IMO you're either in good with the Putin's and oligarchs who control the Russian economy, or you're destroyed or harassed by them.

IIRC when Ovechkin had rumors of extortion attempts etc was when he was trying to do things solo. As soon as he got associated (which likely itself doesnt come cheap) with the right crowd including Putin, he and his interests and family was probably well protected.

[activeStick]

So, OV is on pace for 50 yet again this year and he's 37. He's at 802 and if he continues at his pace this year, will finish the season at 830 and will need 64 more, which will take him 2 more seasons (or 1 full season and half of another season after). I really hope and actually do think it'll happen now after going through the math...

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Would you like to be held accountable for everything Danielle Smith or Justin Trudeau did? While I probably wouldn't have a problem speaking out publicly against those buffoons, I don't think anybody should be forced to.

Frankly I have a lot more empathy for somebody raised in a Propaganda Machine not aligning with my ideal moral compass than any North Americans who has lost the plot and supports our local demagogues despite access to vast amounts of information and viewpoints.

Wayne Gretzky was in full support of the invasion of Iraq. He didn’t need to support it but he did so willingly. Is he better or worse than Ovi here?

I genuinely don’t know. I’ve always been a huge Ovi fan but I don’t see how his legacy isn’t tarnished over this.

[dammage79]

Perhaps we should leave ideologies out of sports records like this. If you watch hockey you're supporting ....well.... White privileged males who do bad things to people. News at 11.

[The Fisher Account]

Dude could have just changed his instagram avatar a year ago and saved himself a ton of trouble, but.. nope

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Perhaps we should leave ideologies out of sports records like this. If you watch hockey you're supporting ....well.... White privileged males who do bad things to people. News at 11.

The atrocities perpetrated in Ukraine this very moment are because of one man. And make no mistake, these are 20th century type atrocities. The very invasion is an atrocity.

At a bare ####ing minimum, could the athlete remove his profile pic of him with the perpetrator of this catastrophe?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by browntrout

Beyond belief to me why so many posters still endorse this man... thousands of Ukrainians die each day...but we let him off the hook...the guy at the very least could remove his social media accounts that show Putin support and people would of been happy with that...the angle he spins about danger to this family is just crap...it has more to do with protecting his business ventures in Russia. Lot and lots are speaking out in Russia against the war and are fine...

Yes he is a very talented hockey player, but he is just a coward and disgusting human being

Ya but fans will forgive pretty much anything when it comes to sports. Murder, rape, domestic violence, assault, drunk driving, etc.

Supporting a murderous dictator is actually pretty low on the list of concerns. It’s not like he’s personally killing Ukrainians. He’s just friends with the guy who’s responsible.

Just remember, “If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, we'd probably diagnose it as an eating disorder“. That’s also true for hockey.

[browntrout]

[QUOTE=powderjunkie;8546042]Would you like to be held accountable for everything Danielle Smith or Justin Trudeau did? While I probably wouldn't have a problem speaking out publicly against those buffoons, I don't think anybody should be forced to.

Frankly I have a lot more empathy for somebody raised in a Propaganda Machine not aligning with my ideal moral compass than any North Americans who has lost the plot and supports our local demagogues despite access to vast amounts of information and viewpoints.[/QUOT

Get #$&#@& real man.... seriously....I don't even have a social media account supporting our premier or prime minister and even if I did....you are actually bringing down our premier or prime minister to putins level....what a beyond belief stupid comment you just made

[sharkov]

People need to get over the fact that not everyone in this planet shares exactly our ideology and viewpoint.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by sharkov

People need to get over the fact that not everyone in this planet shares exactly our ideology and viewpoint.

Not every viewpoint deserves respect.

[The Fisher Account]

Originally Posted by sharkov

People need to get over the fact that not everyone in this planet shares exactly our ideology and viewpoint.

LOL. Guys come on, some people just like to support genocide. It's totally fine to have that ideology or viewpoint!

[sharkov]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

LOL. Guys come on, some people just like to support genocide. It's totally fine to have that ideology or viewpoint!

Not wanting to have nato bases next to your country means you support genocide?

[Samonadreau]

Let's keep this #### in the off topic forum, please.