Would you rather draft Eric Lindros (assuming no concussion issues) or Alex Ovechkin?

[x Tame Impala]

One player to start your team with as an 18 year old, based on what we saw of Lindros before his head injuries and what we've seen of Ovechkin to date.

 

[Nathaniel]

Lindros for sure

 

[EdJovanovski]

Ovechkin AINEC

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

OV by a mile. Peaked higher and has remained an elite player for 17+ years. Even without concussions there is no guarantee what Lindros does in his career. Does he get some other major injury? Does he retire early for some other reason? Does he just fall off a cliff after a few years of dominance? If it was OV vs Lindros at 18 with no hindsight of OV's career then that's different (most likely Lindros). But knowing what OV has accomplished, you have to take him.

 

[Regal]

Lindros had a lot of other injuries as well, and it’s hard to know how he would have aged even if he was full healthy, considering his last year of good production was 28, when he was 9th in points per game, and even his last year on the Flyers at 26 he was also 9th in points per game. While that’s very good, for all the criticisms of Ovechkin not maintaining his 05-10 level of play past his mid-20s, he still had some better finishes than Lindros after the same age.

So with Lindros it’s not just projecting good health it’s projecting that health to also make him stay in his prime for longer, and then to have far more longevity than he did. That would be a lot of projection to ask for a player even if he was far more dominant at his best, which isn’t the case here. There’s a possibility that healthy Lindros maintains his prime through his 20s, which could make him more valuable, but the odds are so slim over a player who was as healthy and aged as well as Ovechkin that no one with skin in the game would actually do it.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Ovechkin is objectively a much better player

 

[David Suzuki]

assuming we’re drafting both at 18 and therefore have no idea how their careers will go if probably go lindros

 

[Jumptheshark]

Lindros for sure

but his health would be the issue. We got glimpses of what he COULD do, but to ask "if he stays healthy" When talking about comparing players with 10+ years there is no need to use IF--IF Lindros has stayed healthy--he could have been Mario-but he could not stay healthy.

Could you imagine how great Brian Savage could have been if he could have stayed healthy

I reject any question where "if" is suggested when it comes to player X staying healthy vs player who has stayed healthy

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

assuming we’re drafting both at 18 and therefore have no idea how their careers will go if probably go lindros

OP clearly says "what we've seen of Ovechkin to date."

 

[tarheelhockey]

This is a very hard question, and I don't see a huge gap between them if we assume good health.

I would take Lindros mainly for positional purposes -- it's just a lot easier to build a team around a C than around a LW.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

it's a hard question because Lindros would basically have to be superhuman to play that recklessly without hurting himself.

you're also negating one of Ovechkin's biggest strengths - his ability to play a physical game without hurting himself. he's arguably top 2 ever at that, along with Gordie Howe.

 

[David Suzuki]

OP clearly says "what we've seen of Ovechkin to date."

it’s a dumb premise that im
not taking part in

 

[bobholly39]

Ovechkin easily.

Lindros's ceiling is probably close to Ovechkin's actual career. Give him perfect storm health/fortune, can he surpass Ovechkin? Sure - maybe by a bit? But I wouldn't risk that over the sure thing that is Ovechkin.

And even with full health - it's a lot more likely Ovechkin ends up on top. No telling how consistent Lindros would have been, or how he'd have aged...it's all a guessing game.

 

[norrisnick]

Easily Ovechkin. A lot of Lindros' injury woes had nothing to do with concussions.

 

[triggrman]

So the idea of a Lindros versus Ovechkin?

So hypothetically, a center with Lindros size, speed, hands and mean streak?

 

[McVespa99]

I would probably take Lindros if I knew he would stay reasonably healthy. Really close call for me though.
Knowing what we know now about both players careers easily Ovi

 

[FourHourParekhtion]

OV or Messier would've been a more interesting debate.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

People will never be able to put aside something they know, asking them to pick between a player that was injury/concussion prone vs a player we know will likely break the goal record isn't really fair to Lindros at all.

Lindros was the definition of a unicorn in hockey, he could score, pass, hit like a freight train and fight, but Ovechkin will win because he stayed healthy and we don't have to imagine anything.

 

[tabness]

I'd draft Lindros as is again ainec, the reward far outweighs the risk

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Ovechkin is literally going to score 900 goals.

It Ovechkin and it isn't close

 

[dirtydanglez]

ovie

 

[Cursed Lemon]

You can't compare Ovi, someone whose career is what it is because of his resistance to injury, to Lindros, a guy whose career is basically defined by his injuries, and then say "what if Lindros had no injuries". Ovi plays that rough-and-tumble style and survived it, Lindros didn't.

 

[ole ole]

OV because he's proven.

Who knows what happens to Lindros later on especially with his style of play.

 

[ole ole]

I would probably take Lindros if I knew he would stay reasonably healthy. Really close call for me though.
Knowing what we know now about both players careers easily Ovi

But for Lindros to stay reasonably healthy he'd would have to some what change his style of play.

 

[Xspyrit]

I like OV a lot more and not a big fan of Lindros but it has to be noted that Lindros mostly played in the dead puck era

It is Ovechkin's ability to remain an unstoppable force through the years that gives him the nod. Lindros could have been generational too

A 100% healthy Lindros would have destroyed the league for years.