Who's More Impressive To You: 2024-2025 Ovechkin Or Recent Crosby?

[DitchMarner]

There hasn't been a good old Crosby/Ovechkin poll in a while. Crosby dominated last season, but Ovechkin is having his best and most impressive season in a while. How impressive has he been relative to recent Crosby?

Keep in mind that impressive doesn't necessarily mean better. It's highly subjective.

You can consider lack of team support, age, overcoming injuries, apparent value to team etc.

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[CascadiaPuck]

What?

 

[DitchMarner]

What?

It's a poll asking if Ovechkin has been more impressive to voters than Crosby from one, two or three of the last three seasons Crosby has had.

 

[Dallas Winston]

Always crosby

 

[WarriorofTime]

The last time Crosby had a top 10 point, goal or assist finish was 10th in points in the abridged 2020-21 season. He hasn't had any team success in a while either. 2018-19 (age 31) was his last season where he was really "great". There's really nothing overly standout about his late career other than just consistency.

 

[nowhereman]

What Ovechkin is doing this year is other-worldly, so my vote goes to him this year. The previous two seasons have been a very clear edge to Sid.

The last time Crosby had a top 10 point, goal or assist finish was 10th in points in the abridged 2020-21 season. He hasn't had any team success in a while either. 2018-19 (age 31) was his last season where he was really "great". There's really nothing overly standout about his late career other than just consistency.

The guy has been a top 10 scoring in points over the last 3 season combined. That is very impressive for a guy in his mid-to-late 30s. Similar PPG to Gretzky at the same age, albeit in a higher scoring era.

 

[Regal]

Ovechkin is rocking an insane 107PDO at 5v5 this year with a 45% xGF%. I’d give him the edge this year as you still have to score the goals but I don’t think he’s as good as Crosby was last year or the year before. Granted Crosby was giving up a ton defensively, but he was also one of the best 5v5 scorers. Impressive is subjective, but I think Crosby was definitely a better player.

 

[wetcoast]

There hasn't been a good old Crosby/Ovechkin poll in a while. Crosby dominated last season, but Ovechkin is having his best and most impressive season in a while. How impressive has he been relative to recent Crosby?

Keep in mind that impressive doesn't necessarily mean better. It's highly subjective.

You can consider lack of team support, age, overcoming injuries, apparent value to team etc.

I'm just wondering if this poll stems from this original assertion as your terms above are quite different.

Personally, I find what Ovechkin is doing this season more impressive than anything Crosby's done recently (since like 2021 - maybe earlier).

Yeah, Crosby's had some nice ~90 point seasons on a subpar Penguins team that hasn't been quite good enough for the playoffs, but he's not the all around player he used to be. His defensive play/impact has tanked in recent years. So there's not too much more that he's providing other than offense (well, and a good possession game and leadership).

I'm not pretending Ovechkin is the force he was in the late 2000s or a Mark Stone-esque two-way winger, but he's showing tremendous heart and resilience and seems to be a really good veteran presence and leader at this point. He's also showing that he can integrate his skills well into a system that benefits both himself and his team (something that he was criticized - perhaps unfairly - for not being able to do in the past).

He's been an important contributor to the best team in the East and the Capitals have a better record with him in the line-up than without this year (and the sample size of missed games is considerable). I find all of this more impressive than making some crappy team that would be 13th or so a 9th or 10th placed team (although the bottom really seems to be falling out this year for PIT)

Ovechkin is rocking an insane 107PDO at 5v5 this year with a 45% xGF%. I’d give him the edge this year as you still have to score the goals but I don’t think he’s as good as Crosby was last year or the year before. Granted Crosby was giving up a ton defensively, but he was also one of the best 5v5 scorers. Impressive is subjective, but I think Crosby was definitely a better player.

I just wonder if at any time this season you could have Ovi in a vacuum, (or any point in last 3 for Crosby)in a hypothetical you can have one guy if people are really looking past the counting stats here?

Somehow I doubt it.