It is embarrassing. Several of the history forum regulars routinely posted blatant falsehoods about Ovechkin, and the guys who didn't had no interest in correcting them.
Between the Pens fans and the Crosby fans/Russia haters, it's just not a forum where Ovechkin is ever going to get a fair shake.
One 'highly respected' history forum regular claims Ryan Getzlaf is better than Ovechkin. Another claimed Ovechkin would have been the 8th or 9th greatest player on the 1956 Habs. Several of them claimed Ovechkin is a "shoot-only" player despite him being top 4 in hits and top 10 in assists during his career. None of the regulars corrected these falsehoods, despite appearing to be otherwise knowledgeable about hockey.
Interestingly, they ranked Bobby Hull 5th and Ovechkin 22nd, despite the fact that Ovechkin compares to his much-more-competitive era quite similarly to Hull.
Ovechkin's ranking made about as much sense as ranking Toews above Malkin - which actually makes perfect sense once you understand the biases involved.
The victim complex is strong in this post....as is the norm for you. Also full of half truths and exaggerations. A few things:
1. That "highly respected" history forum regular didn't claim Getzlaf is better than Ovechkin - he claimed he personally preferred Getzlaf to Ovechkin. Big difference. When it came to actual votes and ranking - that same member voted Ovechkin 20th all-time and Getzlaf 186th all-time in his list. Finally - I know for a fact that same member you're referring to has recently stated his opinion of Ovechkin has increased a lot in recent years.
2. "Falsehoods about Ovechkin and no interest in correcting them". "Ovechkin is a shoot-only player". That discussion didn't stem from Ovechkin being called a "shoot only" player, but rather a "shoot first" player - misrepresenting that is indeed a falsehood. And when someone did eventually make the claim of "shoot only", a lot of the discussion was centered around many members arguing against that ridiculous claim ie - doing the 'correcting they have no interest in doing' as you claim.
3. Have there been extreme views/opinions posted around Ovechkin? Sure. But it's not just Ovechkin. One member in 2018 slotted Ovechkin 11th all time....and Crosby 48th all time.
That's why all of the HOH project rankings don't just have one of two person's opinion, but try to gather a pool of ~20+ voters to nullify extreme opinions. In this particular top 100 list, we had 33 active voters, and each round of voting usually saw ~28-30 people voting.
Ovechkin's ranking in 2018 behind Messier? That's probably lower than I would have had him myself, but it is what it is. I know by reading many discussions more recently, a lot of history board posters have Ovechkin quite a lot higher now with all the extra seasons Ovechkin has added since to his resume. Is he a consensus top 10 player all-time? No - even on the main boards he doesn't quite get that consensus. But a lot of posters have him in their top 10, and those who don't likely have him quite close.
Again....victim complex.