Ovi the best shooter in history?

[Big Phil]

No. He's a great shooter obv. But he took the most shots all time in 08-09 and only scored 56 as an example

Close. Phil Esposito with 550 in 1971. Ovie is 2nd all-time in single season shots.

But to answer the question, I think there are two parts to it. He isn't the best shooter with accuracy. Like someone else said, he definitely is the best when it comes to volume. He shoots constantly, even wild shots. But his accuracy isn't the greatest. You could say that doesn't matter, and maybe it doesn't, but this thread is asking about best shooter. I would say best power shooter for sure. There is no one who can fire a one-timer better with more velocity and force over and over again. Brett Hull, Steve Stamkos, they come to mind as other right handed shots who were experts at that left dot one-timer, but Ovie is the best.

But could he score in the diverse ways Lemieux could? No. He couldn't. But who could? Bossy as well had better hands and maybe even a quicker release, although not a harder shot. Ovie isn't one to deke the goalie like some other snipers or pick the top corner with a flick of the wrist. His shot is more about power.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Maybe one of the math whizzes will come in and tell me I'm a klutz, but all things being equal, if Ovechkin took 1,000 shots in a season and only scored on 10% of them, I'd be pretty happy if he was on my team...

That's 12 shots a game, presumably not playing too much more than a third of the game. If your team is pacing for 36 shots a game while this guy's on the ice (and he's gotta be creating a few rebounds here and there too), that's gotta be good enough that it's hard to imagine deferring to his teammates would help drive those corsis up any more than that. Unless his teammates were just straight up not allowed to shoot the puck or pass to anyone else, the fantasy player you're describing would have to be some kind of forechecking demon to get that many looks.

 

[The Panther]

I don't think I've ever seen a shooter just consistently overpower goalies like Ovechkin does. From his favorite spot on the left side, he has pretty good accuracy, but otherwise it's just the sheer force and speed of his shot that is unstoppable. Like, half the time the goalie gets a bit of it, but it's not enough to stop the force of it.

It's moving objects meeting an unstoppable force.

 

[quietbruinfan]

Bossy is it for me. He had a greater variety of releases and could change the angle of his shot better than anyone. Ovi is a pretty clear two though.

 

[sdf]

Yeah, he's also untalented turd. There are way better and skilled snipers, as well

 

[NigerianNightmare]

Ovechkin is arguably the best scorer.

But not the best shooter.