Ovechkin milestone thread - 850 and Beyond!

[Ghost of Murph]

From NHL.com:

"Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (10 goals, 10 assists in 16 games) had an assist to join Gordie Howe (six goals, 18 assists in 1968-69) as the second player 39 or older to record 20 points through the first 16 games of a season"

Gordie had a 44 goal 103 point season after that age. I think Ovi has a good chance of passing the 44 goals, but 103 pts will be tough to beat.

Peak Howe is the player I would most want to see if I could go back in time. Getting to witness Ovi's entire career has been a blessing.

 

[DitchMarner]

Gordie had a 44 goal 103 point season after that age. I think Ovi has a good chance of passing the 44 goals, but 103 pts will be tough to beat.

Peak Howe is the player I would most want to see if I could go back in time. Getting to witness Ovi's entire career has been a blessing.

The funny thing is Howe's 1968-1969 season is actually his highest scoring season and the only NHL season in which he had over 100 points.

I guess that illustrates the flaw in looking at raw statistics without any context. By then, he was old by NHL standards, but schedule length and scoring across the League were increasing.

 

[ReimanSum1908]

I don't get how 1972 Series made Canadians hate Soviets/Russians.

Canadians were playing dirty trying just to bully/injury Soviet players. They tried to hunt down Kharlamov pretty bad & they did it succesfully.

East vs. West. Communism versus Plutocratic democracy.

The hatred was always there on the civilizational level; it merely found unique expression in a sport that was already itself tightly knit into the fabric of Canadian popular consciousness and identity.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

The funny thing is Howe's 1968-1969 season is actually his highest scoring season and the only NHL season in which he had over 100 points.

I guess that illustrates the flaw in looking at raw statistics without any context. By then, he was old by NHL standards, but schedule length and scoring across the League were increasing.

Very much so. Context is what makes Ovi breaking the all-time goals record even more impressive than it already is.

 

[DitchMarner]

Very much so. Context is what makes Ovi breaking the all-time goals record even more impressive than it already is.

Oh, absolutely. Once he sets a new record, I think it'll hold up for a very long time, if not forever.

East vs. West. Communism versus Plutocratic democracy.

The hatred was always there on the civilizational level; it merely found unique expression in a sport that was already itself tightly knit into the fabric of Canadian popular consciousness and identity.

I get where you're coming from (though really, the Soviet Union was more of an American enemy/rival than a Canadian one), but it's funny and ironic how many criticisms about Ovechkin early on were - and I'm not saying I agree with any of these personally - that he was too individualistic, too exuberant with his celebrations etc.

I mean, isn't the West pro Capitalism and individuality (as opposed to being a faceless cog in an intuition that serves the community)?

 

[Optimistic Cynic]

Not to downplay Ovi's stats, but it becomes increasingly foolish to compare today's achievement/stats with anything more than 20-30 years ago. The game and the rules and the equipment have all changed and evolved to the point where you might as well be comparing two different leagues.

 

[User9992]

Not to downplay Ovi's stats, but it becomes increasingly foolish to compare today's achievement/stats with anything more than 20-30 years ago. The game and the rules and the equipment have all changed and evolved to the point where you might as well be comparing two different leagues.

It was easier to score back then before the 'dead puck era'.

I don't like comparing eras but if Ovi played in the same high scoring era as 80's & early 90's he would already went north of 1000 goals even with a lockouts & covid shortened seasons.

 

[AD1066]

It was easier to score back then before the 'dead puck era'.

I don't like comparing eras but if Ovi played in the same high scoring era as 80's & early 90's he would already went north of 1000 goals even with a lockouts & covid shortened seasons.

Adjusted stats are imperfect but I still enjoy them as a rough comparison. Here's Ovechkin's career totals adjusted relative to whatever league-wide scoring was for each year that Gretzky was the same age.

1x 90 goal season
4x 70 goal seasons
9x 60 goal seasons
11x 50 goal seasons
16x 40 goal seasons

That would be far and away the greatest goal-scorer of all-time. Which I believe he is.