Who will have the longer NHL legacy? Ovi vs Sid

[tacogeoff]

I think we all know Crosby has been the better overall rounded player when he is healthy.

100 years from now who will have the greater legacy in NHL history?

3 cups is nice but it only puts crosby ranked at 185 for most rings according to NHL records. His Conn S trophies puts him in a five way tie at 2nd for most won. He also has a slew of other trophies and accolades which puts him in an elite all-time ranking.

Ovi has an opportunity to possibly beat the Great one's goal totals and will be #2 in NHL history after this season. Currently holds many goal scoring NHL records for various achievements, Has the record for most "Rockets" won and also has a slew of other highly touted trophies in his trophy room.

So in the future ........Legacy wise will Ovi be more relevant/remembered? as his goal scoring records will be chased for a long time and be relevant in the NHL record books for possibly a very long time or will Crosby have a greater legacy?

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[Rengorlex]

Both will be remembered as long as there are people interested in NHL's history.

 

[amnesiac]

may be a slight Canadian bias for Crosby longterm, but both will be remembered forever, no question.

The aid of modern quality video highlights will amplify this for both.

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

They’ll both be remembered as long as the nhl is. They’re intertwined, their careers have overlapped perfectly.

 

[jigglysquishy]

If we are still debating Bowie vs McGee on the history forum 120 years after the fact, we will still be debating Crosby vs Ovechkin long after all of us are dead.

 

[NordiquesForeva]

Are Beliveau and Hull still discussed and debated? There is your answer.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Crosby due to being Canadian and the better player

 

[BB06]

Every goal scorer and Rocket winner of the future will be compared to Ovechkin

 

[Weztex]

If we are still debating Bowie vs McGee on the history forum 120 years after the fact, we will still be debating Crosby vs Ovechkin long after all of us are dead.

Bowie wins this one hands down since his prime extended to the Thin White Duke era. McGee had been dead for like 6 decades. No brainer.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Are Beliveau and Hull still discussed and debated? There is your answer.

This here is a debate with no wrong answer.

 

[Jumptheshark]

SID

Ovi has already said when he retires he will be spending more time in Russia--Sid will stay stateside and grew his rep and legacy

 

[FrankSidebottom]

What is exactly Crosby’s legacy? He may have been the better player since 2010, but there are many players who won 3 cups and/or some individual awards. In 20-30 years he’ll be remembered as Messier, Mikita, Esposito and such. But the best goalscorer ever is the only one.

 

[BruinsFan37]

They'll be "remembered" as long as there are people alive that saw them play. They'll be "talked about" as long as there are "hockey nerds" that care about "old-timey stats".

If we are still debating Bowie vs McGee on the history forum 120 years after the fact, we will still be debating Crosby vs Ovechkin long after all of us are dead.

Which kind of proves my point, since honestly I had to stop and think who Bowie and McGee were.

 

[SEALBound]

What is exactly Crosby’s legacy? He may have been the better player since 2010, but there are many players who won 3 cups and/or some individual awards. In 20-30 years he’ll be remembered as Messier, Mikita, Esposito and such. But the best goalscorer ever is the only one.

How often do we really talk about Brett Hull? What about compared to Joe Sakic or Steve Yzerman?

Sid and Ovi have obviously gone back and forth in terms of individual performance a lot but it's tough to deny that Sid doesn't have a significantly better "tradition of winning" to his name. You look at the teams he has led to major victories - Cups, WC, Olympics, World Cups...and I mean, it's tough to ignore.

 

[BeastoftheEast85]

Based on height I assume Ovy has the longer legacy.

 

[Connor McConnor]

The fact they both played during the exact same era will almost inevitably keep both remembered almost equally. Voted Ovi just because the Gretz record but would have picked "both equally" if it was an option.

 

[tfwnogf]

Same as the other thread. The obvious answer is ovechkin, because he will lead the most eye popping statistic in hockey. Nothing gets the casual fan more excited than goals, so people will see Ovi in the history books and wonder how he did it.

Crosby is a top 10 player all time pretty easily, but how many other centers won multiple cups as captain? Theres a few that come to mind. His achievements are not as flashy, so he will be forgotten more easily.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

OV by a mile. Crosby is a great player, all time great. But what's his legacy outside of Pittsburgh? Not much. No records, no awards dominance, no historical stats. Compare that to a legacy of the most goals ever, most goal scoring titles ever, only 900+ goal scorer, most road goals, most PPG goals, most 50/45/40/30 goal seasons, 1 of 8 3x hart winners, highest single season goal total of the century, 3rd most individual awards ever, etc. Better player can be debated and go either way. Legacy wise there is no debate. In 50 years Crosby's name will be among many other great players near the top of some things. OV's name will be right at the top.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I rank Crosby as the greater player all-time, but assuming Ovechkin reaches 895 goals, it's very likely that he'll be better remembered in 50 years.

• Ovechkin could score the most goals all-time. That's a major record, and it seemed unbreakable a decade ago. The two greatest forwards of all-time, Gretzky and Howe, have held this record, for 60+ years.
• Ovechkin being (likely) the greatest goal-scorer of all-time will make him more memorable than Crosby (who's neither a top ten goal-scorer nor top ten playmaker all-time). For the record, I'm not saying this actually makes him better (Crosby currently has more points in significantly fewer games), but certainly more memorable.
• Playing during the same era, Ovechkin won more Hart trophies than Crosby. (Crosby earned more votes over the course of his career, which is one of the reasons I rank Crosby ahead, but this isn't something a casual fan will know).
• Crosby was, and will probably be remembered as, the better playoff performer, but Ovechkin has a Cup and Smythe, so at least for a casual fan, that should be "good enough".
• Crosby drove his team's goal differential to a much greater extent than Ovechkin (this can vaguely be characterized as "two-way play"). But I doubt most fans will look at today's so-called advanced stats in fifty years, so unless Crosby wins a Selke trophy, most people will likely ignore this point.
• McDavid's legacy could also hurt Crosby. In many ways, McDavid is dominating the way that Crosby was expected to. McDavid has a legitimate chance of becoming the #5 player all-time. So far there's a massive gap in their playoff resumes (even though McDavid was extraordinary this past spring). But, over time, if McDavid puts together the resume that many of us expected Crosby to, that hurts.
• I don't think this is a major factor, but it doesn't hurt the Ovechkin is unquestionably the greatest player in the history of his franchise (and his country), while Crosby is neither. (Not a fair comparison since we're comparing Crosby to Mario Lemieux and Ovechkin to Rod Langway, but again, we're talking about what a typical fan would think, not a hardcore hockey historian).
• Ovechkin, with so many goals and big hits, has a more exciting highlight reel than Crosby, who's a more subtle and cerebral player. (Anyone who thinks that Ovechkin just scores on the powerplay from the circle is forgetting how varied his skillset was).

As I said, I rank Crosby higher all-time. But if Ovechkin scores another hundred goals, it's very likely that he'll be better remembered fifty years from now. (Then people will talk about how Ovechkin dominated a weak era, and he wouldn't be able to compete against the Vietnamese cyborgs of the 2070's).

 

[LightningStorm]

I rank Crosby as the greater player all-time, but assuming Ovechkin reaches 895 goals, it's very likely that he'll be better remembered in 50 years.

• Ovechkin could score the most goals all-time. That's a major record, and it seemed unbreakable a decade ago. The two greatest forwards of all-time, Gretzky and Howe, have held this record, for 60+ years.
• Ovechkin being (likely) the greatest goal-scorer of all-time will make him more memorable than Crosby (who's neither a top ten goal-scorer nor top ten playmaker all-time). For the record, I'm not saying this actually makes him better (Crosby currently has more points in significantly fewer games), but certainly more memorable.
• Playing during the same era, Ovechkin won more Hart trophies than Crosby. (Crosby earned more votes over the course of his career, which is one of the reasons I rank Crosby ahead, but this isn't something a casual fan will know).
• Crosby was, and will probably be remembered as, the better playoff performer, but Ovechkin has a Cup and Smythe, so at least for a casual fan, that should be "good enough".
• Crosby drove his team's goal differential to a much greater extent than Ovechkin (this can vaguely be characterized as "two-way play"). But I doubt most fans will look at today's so-called advanced stats in fifty years, so unless Crosby wins a Selke trophy, most people will likely ignore this point.
• McDavid's legacy could also hurt Crosby. In many ways, McDavid is dominating the way that Crosby was expected to. McDavid has a legitimate chance of becoming the #5 player all-time. So far there's a massive gap in their playoff resumes (even though McDavid was extraordinary this past spring). But, over time, if McDavid puts together the resume that many of us expected Crosby to, that hurts.
• I don't think this is a major factor, but it doesn't hurt the Ovechkin is unquestionably the greatest player in the history of his franchise (and his country), while Crosby is neither. (Not a fair comparison since we're comparing Crosby to Mario Lemieux and Ovechkin to Rod Langway, but again, we're talking about what a typical fan would think, not a hardcore hockey historian).
• Ovechkin, with so many goals and big hits, has a more exciting highlight reel than Crosby, who's a more subtle and cerebral player. (Anyone who thinks that Ovechkin just scores on the powerplay from the circle is forgetting how varied his skillset was).

As I said, I rank Crosby higher all-time. But if Ovechkin scores another hundred goals, it's very likely that he'll be better remembered fifty years from now. (Then people will talk about how Ovechkin dominated a weak era, and he wouldn't be able to compete against the Vietnamese cyborgs of the 2070's).

Great detailed version of why I've come to the same conclusion of Crosby being the better player but Ovechkin being the bigger icon due to having a more memorable career.

 

[bobbyking]

ripoff

 

[jetsforever]

As silly as it sounds, it will probably depend in part on what side of 895 Ovi ends up on.

 

[The Red Line]

The Canadian, regardless of outcome.

 

[Satoru Gojo]

Ovechkin if he breaks that record

 

[The Nuge]

Assuming Ovi keeps it up, he’ll have a much bigger trophy case, and a major record taken from the GOAT. That overshadows the extra couple cups imo