Kovelchuk two 50 goal seasonz center was Savard and white. When he went to NJ his center was Zajac and Henrique. Sure he played on a better team but he didn't play with a better center. Saad production was around the same. 1 point increase but that might because what user Regal said age 22/24 They usually are better players compare them from age 20/21 which might be the reason why Saad production stay the same with worst linemates.
But you do have a point about players that likes to carry the puck dont need a center. But like what you said up 2012 Ovechkin didn't need a center but after 2012 he did. Sure in even strength you might not need a center. But what about the pp? Are you telling me Ovechkin can still get all those ppg with crappy players? Bure never had top player on the pp.
I will Verfiy that 2012 Backstorm missed 40 games. Ovechkin usually average around 20 ppg a Season. Jan 4 to Mar 30 Ovechkin only 5 ppg. Are you telling me it's just a coincidence that when Backstorm is out he gets less ppg? That proves that Backstorm makes a hugh difference on the pp. Ovechkin wouldn't get all those ppg with crappier players.
For the record 2009 goal was 2.91 gpg. If you are including 2007 as not the dpe. You need to include 2008 as well. Dpe means players are clutching and grabbing and getting a way with it. The last 5 or 6 years pp has gone down from about 3.30 on average. In my opinion Around 2010 and 2011 is when dpe started again.
In conclusion Bure does have a higher gpg than Ovechkin at the same age. Every season Bure career the more games he plays in a season the higher his gpg is. Bure has more goals in the dpe than the high scoring era. Ovechkin needed Backstorm after 2012 and score all those ppg. Bure didn't have that. So therefore Bure is a better goal scorer but not my much. I agree that Ovechkin is a overall better player. You don't need to keep being it that up. I mean you can't have argument with someone if you don't disagree with them.
You have very good points all around, your argument sounds more convincing than mine. I'll just address the point about Ovechkin's PP production in 2012. 2012 as I'm sure you know it, was a very difficult year for Ovechkin and the Capitals. Terrible start to the season, Boudreau gets fired and Hunter comes in. Then, Rene Bourque elbows Backstrom around the turn of the calendar and he missed the rest of the regular season with a concussion. The team is left with a combination of Marcus Johansson, Brooks Laich and Mathieu Perreault at centre. Mike Green missed a ton of games with various injuries, playing only 32 games. From that point onwards, Carlson was the #1D for Washington, until Niskanen came in 2015. He did a fine job, nothing to complain about there.
Hunter was at odds with Ovechkin. Didn't really like the way he played and often sat him in key situations, especially late in games. Nevertheless, Ovechkin's production took off again in the second half of the season, he was once again scoring at the pace we're used to seeing from him. The PP was in a bit of a limbo, it wasn't orchestrated properly and it was nothing like the PP implemented by Oates a year later.
Hard to draw conclusions from Bure's career, he missed so many games due to injuries. He's a bit like Stamkos in a way, people will look back on his career and wonder what could've been. Ovechkin leaves no doubt here, he plays over 75 games every year, has ups and downs all the time but he secured his legacy as a goalscorer a long time ago.
OT: The current Caps PP formation is fairly easy to run. Backstrom is an exceptional playmaker, but Kuznetsov is no slouch either. If Backstrom went missing tomorrow, the PP wouldn't suffer that much at all. The most crucial man on this PP is neither Ovechkin nor Backstrom, it's Carlson. If he messes up the pass to Ovechkin, as is often the case, it's back to square 1. This is what prompted the Caps to trade for Shattenkirk at the deadline last year.
