OVECHKIN’S TOO PHENOMENAL TO ACT HIS AGE
In a league loaded with young stars, vet shines brightest
There is a temptation, after watching 20-year-old Connor McDavid win the Art Ross Trophy and Auston Matthews score 40 goals as a rookie last season, to conclude that the NHL is undergoing a generational shift, that the kids with their baby faces and backward hats are taking over, that it’s becoming a young man’s game and a torch is being passed from one generation to the next.
But just as we’re putting every 30-year-old on an ice floe to an early retirement, Alex Ovechkin, aged 32, goes out and scores a hat trick in his first game of the season — not including an overtime shootout goal — and he follows it up with four goals in his second game.
Surprised? Not really. After all, this is still Ovechkin we’re talking about, albeit with a lot more grey in his beard.
“Maybe it’s his way of saying, ‘Just wait. I’ve still got it,’” Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom said in a phone interview on Sunday.
Indeed, we might want to hold off on all the talk about this being a young man’s league. While the NHL is younger than it’s ever been, veteran players like Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are not going anywhere just yet. A torch is not being passed. If anything, it’s being shared — or fought over.
This is an unique time. The NHL is not only faster and stronger than ever, it’s also overflowing with talent born in the 1980s and ’90s.
On one hand, you have a slightly older generation of stars, such as Ovechkin, Crosby and Patrick Kane, who are still in their prime and capable of playing their best hockey. On the other hand, you have a younger generation that includes McDavid, Matthews and anyone else who was part of Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey, who are not waiting around for their turn. The result could be a season that looks more like a rec room wrestling match between a father and his 16-year-old son.
Think McDavid versus Crosby for the Art Ross, Matthews or Patrik Laine versus Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard, Matt Murray versus Carey Price for the Vezina.
“That’s perfect for the game,” said Backstrom, 29. “All the kids coming up, they’re hungry and they’re already absolutely the top players in the league. But I think some guys — like Alex — like the spotlight.”
The thing to remember is that Ovechkin is 32. Crosby is 30. They’re not old. They’re not past their prime. This isn’t 2005-06, when both entered the league as rookies and Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic and the previous generation’s stars were on their last legs. Whether you believe that McDavid has already moved past Crosby for the title of best player in the world, the Edmonton Oilers star has hardly pushed Crosby to the curb.
Crosby finished second to McDavid in the Art Ross race last year with 89 points in 75 games. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy with 44 goals and then led Pittsburgh to its second straight Stanley Cup, winning MVP honours once again. With four points in three games this season, he is arguably still the best overall player in the league.
The same is true of Ovechkin, who was named the NHL’s first star of the week on Monday.
While he scored only 33 goals last season — a career-low 16 were at even strength — he is only two years removed from scoring 50 goals and winning his sixth Rocket Richard Trophy. As he showed in the first two games of the season, where he scored seven goals on 14 shots, his one-timer hasn’t weakened or become any less accurate.
If anything, with the youngsters nipping at his heels and Jaromir Jagr telling reporters that McDavid is capable of scoring 100 goals, Ovechkin has found an extra gear.
“I mean, it’s just been incredible,” Backstrom said. “First of all, it’s been incredible to watch him for all 10 years. But we all know he’s got a great shot. It’s not like we’re just realizing this.”
So, how many goals can Ovechkin score? Sixty? Seventy? A hundred?
“After this start, why not,” Backstrom said, laughing.
“If he keeps it up, then it’s good for us.”
Not just that — it’s good for the league.