Would you sign Alex Ovechkin to a 5 year 10M$ AAV contract if he was UFA this summer?

[bobholly39]

Similar to the Crosby thread - do you sign Alex Ovechkin to a 5 year 10M$ AAV contract if he was UFA this summer? Lower $$ value than Crosby because he's 2 years older.

I expect this one will be more controversial, as people's opinions on where Ovechkin ranks currently among NHL players seem to vary a lot on here. Two years older is also a bigger risk to see a decline.

Pros to the contract:

- Most consistent goal-scorer in the league, still today. Even when/if he declines, good chance it's progressive, vs all at once.
- He's trying to break 895 goal record - would be cool if he breaks it on your team. If he averages 38 goals a year for 5 years, he'll break it in year 5. Considering he's scored 48 or more goals in 6 of the last 7 seasons, that seems doable. Is Ovechkin breaking the record on your team even a consideration though, or is it all about what he can do for your team?
- Marketability/leaderships are also big pros for him

Cons:

- Unlike Crosby - most people don't necessarily call him a top 2, maybe not even a top 5 player in the league today still. He's also 34. He'd be 35, 36, 37, 38 & 39 throughout contract. Will he live up to that value of $$?
- He's certainly a bit more one dimensional a player than Crosby, especially this late in his career. If his offense/goal-scoring starts to slip a bit with age, can he compensate with better defense? Not sure.

So - vote. Do you sign Ovechkin to a 5 year 10M$ AAV contract this summer? Please explain in your answer if you're basing your answer on a specific team, and if it would be different otherwise.

Click to read more...

 

[TheKingSlayer]

He wouldn't ask for it, so I'll vote no.

 

[bobholly39]

He wouldn't ask for it, so I'll vote no.

Assume that's his asking price to sign with your team. "If you do 5yrs/10M$ ill sign - if not i go elsewhere".

 

[JoeThorntonsRooster]

It’s definitely prudent from a strictly financial standpoint but if I just wanted to win the Stanley Cup I wouldn’t do it. You can spend that money better elsewhere.

 

[Merrrlin]

He wouldn't ask for it, so I'll vote no.

I don't understand why people feel the need to do this.

OP asked a very simple question, and it didn't say "Would Ovechkin ask for...". In this scenario, Ovechkin wants 10m/5, and you are asked to answer if you would sign him for that.

 

[Mickey Marner]

If I were Washington I'd re-sign him for that.

 

[LT]

For Dallas specifically, no, simply because we couldn't afford the contract. He's amazing but not worth that cap hit plus the cap casualties we'd have to give up. Maybe if we had a taker for Benn/Pavelski for cheap?

Generally, though, absolutely.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Cons:

- Unlike Crosby - most people don't necessarily call him a top 2...

lol Crosby is objectively not close to top 2 in the NHL. The best players have 75-85 more points than Sid over the past 3 seasons and Ovie has 68 more goals.

 

[jetsforever]

lol Crosby is objectively not close to top 2 in the NHL. The best players have 75-85 more points than Sid over the past 3 seasons and Ovie has 68 more goals.

In 97-98, Jagr had 100 more points than Hasek, making him "objectively" better, yet Hasek won MVP?

 

[jetsforever]

Ovechkin and Laine on the same PP would be too good to resist.

 

[filinski77]

lol Crosby is objectively not close to top 2 in the NHL. The best players have 75-85 more points than Sid over the past 3 seasons and Ovie has 68 more goals.

This. Crosby is still absolutely one of the best players in the league, but still nowhere near top 2.

Players I believe to be better than Crosby, based on the last 2 seasons:
McDavid - Miles better offensively
Draisaitl - See above
Kucherov - See above
Pastrnak - Better offensively, and a much much better goalscorer (Crosby's defense does not make up for this gap imo)
Marchand - Better offensively and defensively

Players that are toe-to-toe with Crosby over the same period:
Kane/Mackinnon: Better offensively, and better goalscorers (Crosby's defense does not make up for this gap imo)
Malkin
Ovechkin: Say what you want, but he has twice as many goals than Crosby in the last 2 years

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

It's funny because OV was better than Crosby in 2 of the last 3 seasons (17/18 & 19/20). OV was also better in the last 2 playoffs, especially last year when Crosby pulled one of the best disappearing acts ever. So I have no idea how anyone considers Crosby a "top 2" player because if he is then OV is top 1. But in reality neither guy is top 2 now or even particularly close.

To answer op, it depends. Caps are obviously an easy yes. For a bad team it's an easy yes too imo. They would benefit from his production obviously, but also leadership, marketability, the "buzz" he generates, etc. For good teams it depends. For example stars, Tampa, blues I'd say yes. Get rid of Benn/Stamkos/Tarasenko 9.5/8.5/7.5M and work out the difference. OV gives you a better chance to win because he is better and you aren't making any drastic changes. For a team like Boston maybe not because their best players are signed at such great deals so you'd have to move too many pieces. Overall I'd say yes for the majority though.

 

[nowhereman]

1. MJ is triggered by the mere mention of Crosby and posts about how he's "objectively not close" to being as good as people think (and worse than OV). "Objectively"? Midnight Judges?
2. The usual suspects roll in.
3. Thread becomes another Sid vs. OV discussion.
4. Rinse and repeat.

Just another Monday on HFBoards...

 

[nowhereman]

If I get 50+ goal OV for the next 5 seasons, sure. But his goalscoring will probably drop off in the next 2-3 years and he doesn't provide enough beyond that anymore to warrant a 10 million dollar ticket. If I'm going to drop big-money on a sniper, he'll have to be on the younger side. That said, OV is OV and good enough that I'd have to really think this one through.

 

[Krewe]

Absolutely not. And same with the similar poll about crosby

 

[koyvoo]

lol Crosby is objectively not close to top 2 in the NHL. The best players have 75-85 more points than Sid over the past 3 seasons and Ovie has 68 more goals.

Question for you. Based on the metrics you so often reference, who is the better hockey player, TJ Oshie or Nicklas Backstrom?

 

[Midnight Judges]

Question for you. Based on the metrics you so often reference, who is the better hockey player, TJ Oshie or Nicklas Backstrom?

Which metrics are those?

Whatever the case, it's Nick Backstrom.

 

[koyvoo]

Which metrics are those?

The ones you often post which devalue playmakers in relation to goal scorers.

Just use any of the ones you often link in Crosby/Ovechkin comparisons, apply those to an Oshie/Backstrom comparison, and tell me who it suggests to be the better hockey player.

 

[Midnight Judges]

The ones you often post which devalue playmakers in relation to goal scorers.

Just use any of the ones you often link in Crosby/Ovechkin comparisons, apply those to an Oshie/Backstrom comparison, and tell me who it suggests to be the better hockey player.

Backstrom. Although, offensively, it does put them closer together for regular season stats. In the postseason since Oshie became a Capital, Backstrom has virtually the same GPG as Oshie with more than twice as many primary assists.

 

[LeafsNation75]

It's funny because OV was better than Crosby in 2 of the last 3 seasons (17/18 & 19/20). OV was also better in the last 2 playoffs, especially last year when Crosby pulled one of the best disappearing acts ever. So I have no idea how anyone considers Crosby a "top 2" player because if he is then OV is top 1. But in reality neither guy is top 2 now or even particularly close.

If you look at their stats those years I don't think you can say Ovechkin was better than Crosby.

Crosby 2017-18: 29 Goals, 60 Assists, 89 Points.

Ovechkin 2017-18: 49 Goals, 38 Assists, 87 Points.

As for the 2019-20 season yes statically Ovechkin was better, however Crosby had injury problems and it's the reason his numbers were down.

If you go back 1 year to the 2018-19 season Crosby had 35 Goals, 65, Assists and 100 Points. Ovechkin had 51 Goals, 38 Assists, and 89 Points.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

If you look at their stats those years I don't think you can say Ovechkin was better than Crosby.

Crosby 2017-18: 29 Goals, 60 Assists, 89 Points.

Ovechkin 2017-18: 49 Goals, 38 Assists, 87 Points.

As for the 2019-20 season yes statically Ovechkin was better, however Crosby had injury problems and it's the reason his numbers were down.

If you go back 1 year to the 2018-19 season Crosby had 35 Goals, 65, Assists and 100 Points. Ovechkin had 51 Goals, 38 Assists, and 89 Points.

There's a reason Crosby missed the top 15 in hart voting in 17/18. Stats don't mean anything. OV was way better.

 

[topshelf15]

Most serious playoff teams likely would, the middle or lower tiered likely not......

 

[Fataldogg]

53.7% of people are not thinking of this from a business perspective. Ovechkin will bring the franchise a lot more than $50 million during his five year term. It makes financial sense to sign him. And he still has a lot of life left in the tank.

 

[Merrrlin]

Leave it to the usual “Actuaaaally” crowd to come in and downplay Crosby, while the players playing the game continue to regard him as one of the top few guys in the league - and all of it happening in an Ovechkin thread.

This is some prime HFBoards content right here.

 

[LeafsNation75]

There's a reason Crosby missed the top 15 in hart voting in 17/18. Stats don't mean anything. OV was way better.

Their stats still show them being even since Crosby had 2 more total points. So just because Ovechkin had 20 more goals and finished 9th in Hart Trophy voting doesn't mean he was "way better" than Crosby as you say he was.

Using your logic I guess during the 2016-17 season Auston Matthews was "way better" than Ovechkin since he had 40 goals and Ovechkin had 33 goals. Plus both of them were tied with 69 points.