Do you think Ovechkin's legacy will improve over time?

[Beau Knows]

For me Ovechkin is already the best goal scorer of all-time. Him breaking the record vs missing it by 1 goal or something wouldn't change anything, other than it just being neat.

It's not like the period of time he played is going to be lost to time and all that will remain is the number of goals he scored. There will be mountains of videos of him playing and articles that illustrate his standing in the hockey world during his era.

Likewise, if this higher scoring era we've been in for the last few years continues or even opens up further, and someone comes along and surpassed whatever goal totals Ovechkin ends up with, while not being as dominant against his peers as Ovechkin was. I think people will understand that and take into account that Ovechkin did it in a tougher scoring environment and that he would still be the best goal scorer ever.

 

[The Panther]

Peak and prime seasons are definitely the most important when it comes to ranking players in general and ranking goal scorers, but I think some knowledgeable fans can be become too dismissive of career milestones (just as casual fans and media types tend to make too big a deal of such things).

Does adding 25-35 goal seasons at the end of his career make Ovechkin a better or greater goal scorer than guys like Gretzky, Lemieux, Hull, Richard etc? No, because such seasons pale in comparison to what those players did in their best seasons and over their primes as far as goal scoring is concerned. But that doesn't mean the value of 25-35 goal seasons late in a player's career is zero, either (even if we are talking about a guy who's led the League in goals nine times). Hockey is a grind. Players age and lose their abilities. It can be a challenge and a testament to a player's goal scoring smarts and devotion to achieving a goal to bang in those last 70 or so goals and get the record.

I don't disagree with anything you wrote, and I was not dismissing productive longevity. I am saying that hitting a certain , specific number of (whatever) doesn't overnight lead to a higher ranking.

 

[DitchMarner]

I don't disagree with anything you wrote, and I was not dismissing productive longevity. I am saying that hitting a certain , specific number of (whatever) doesn't overnight lead to a higher ranking.

I agree with that.

I think there's some value in breaking the goal record (some may think there really isn't), but it's not the sort of thing that should decide if he's the greatest goal scorer ever, nor should a few dozen additional goals late in his career move him up the all-time list substantially.