Sidney Crosby VS. Alexander Ovechkin

Why Ovechkin?

Some may ask why I would compare Sidney Crosby against Alexander Ovechkin when there are other hockey players such as Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, etc. that are available. Yes, all these men made a huge impact around the National Hockey League, but the problem is all of these players played in a different era than Crosby did. I do not feel I could fairly compare let’s say Crosby with Wayne Gretzky because the game is not the same as it was back then. For instance, gear is now much more advanced. Goalies are more protected, sticks are a lot lighter, skates are built better with more protection, and these are just a few examples of the many advances that have been made in this great game. So I would not be able to fairly judge whether Crosby or Gretzky is the better athlete because they had to complete the task not only with different tools, but playing against different competition. Players are training better now, and I would not be able to fairly assess if Gretzky would flourish in this era, or even if Crosby would be able to flourish in Gretzky’s or Howe’s era. Back then, the game was much more gruesome. Players were allowed to get away with a lot more, and fighting was a lot more prevalent.

Alexander Ovechkin seems to be the best match. Ovechkin only entered the National Hockey League a year before Crosby (and did not actually start his rookie year till Crosby did because of the NHL lockout in 2004), and is only two years older than him. Crosby and Ovechkin were both drafted first overall in their draft years. Ovechkin fits as the best candidate to pit Crosby against because they both had to go against the same competition of players, were able to use the same equipment, and both had equal training opportunities to advance their game.

Let’s talk stats

Sidney Crosby

Crosby has played ten seasons in the National Hockey League, and played in a total of six hundred and twenty-seven regular season games out of a possible seven hundred and seventy-seven. Crosby was side lined a lot with various major injuries throughout his career (concussions, a broken foot etc.). In the six hundred and twenty-seven games Crosby played in, he tallied three hundred and two goals and five hundred fifty-one assists for a total of eight hundred and fifty-three total points. Crosby sits at a plus one hundred and twenty-nine, has five hundred and ten penalty minutes, and two thousand and ninety-three shots on net. Crosby has won the Hart Memorial Trophy twice (2007, 2014), the Best NHL Player ESPY Award three times (2014, 2013, 2010), the Art Ross Trophy twice (2014, 2007), the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy once (2010), the Mark Messier Leadership Award once (2010), and the Ted Lindsay Award three times (2014, 2013, 2007). Crosby has won the Stanley Cup once in 2009, and has won two Olympic gold medals (having played in the Olympics in 2010 and 2014) (Information obtained from https://www.nhl.com/news/penguins-crosby-already-ranks-among-games-greats/c-753273). This is certainly a feat in itself, some players only dream of winning the Stanley Cup, and never quite obtain this goal. To have achieved all of this, and is still a couple years out from turning thirty is amazing. One might be excited to see what the following years will bring. (Information obtained from http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/c/crosbsi01.html)

Alexander Ovechkin

Ovechkin was drafted in 2004, but due to the NHL lockout, Ovechkin’s rookie year was the same as Crosby (2005-2006 so both guys have played in a total of ten NHL seasons). Ovechkin has played in a total of seven hundred and sixty regular season games out of a possible seven hundred and seventy-seven games. Over the last ten seasons, he has tallied four hundred and seventy-five goals, and four hundred and twenty assists for a total of eight hundred and ninety-five points. He currently sits at a plus fifty-seven, with five hundred and fourteen penalty minutes, and three thousands eight hundred and thirty shots on net. Ovechkin has won the Hart Memorial Trophy three times (2013, 2009, 2008), the Ted Lindsay Award three times (2010, 2009, 2008), the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy three times (2014, 2013, 2009), the Art Ross Trophy once (2008), and the Calder Memorial Trophy once (2006). To present Ovechkin has not had the honor of hoisting the Stanley Cup, and does not have any Olympic medals. (Information obtained from http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/o/ovechal01.html)

What does this tell us?

Let’s see what all of this data looks like in a table. This will give us the chance to better compare these two athletes.

Individual Success

From the above data we can see that Ovechkin has in fact forty-two more points than Crosby. However, before anyone gets all excited does this really make him the better athlete? In addition to having forty-two more points than Crosby, Ovechkin has also played in one hundred and thirty-three more games than Crosby. Crosby averages about one point four (rounded) points a game, whereas Ovechkin averages about one point two points (rounded) a game. This brings me to conclude that at first glance it may seem like Ovechkin gets more points, but in reality Crosby averages more points a game, and therefore wins this column. I did not include penalty minutes in my table for the numbers are pretty comparable for each player. They are both rather disciplined, and the number for each of these guys is not very high at all. Ovechkin wins in the shots on goal category outshooting Crosby by one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven shots. Some may speculate whether this really makes Ovechkin a better player or not. Guys around the league all have different styles of play. Ovechkin is more of a player that thinks to shoot first over pass, and Crosby passes sometimes a little too much. Overall, it does show that they have slightly different styles of play. In the plus/minus category, Crosby wins by a landslide (+129 vs. +57). This basically shows that when Crosby is on the ice good things happen, and it also means his line does not get scored on as much. In regards to the awards column, Crosby is only ahead by one award. Showing that they are pretty comparable here. It is impressive to note however that Crosby was able to finish with one award more than Ovechkin and play in a lot less games.

Team Success

This is, where in my opinion, Crosby steals the show. He shuts out Ovechkin in this category. Wining a Stanley Cup, and two Olympic gold medals. Ovechkin received goose eggs in this category, and with Ovechkin reaching thirty years old soon, he may have a hard timing catching up. Crosby has proven himself as a leader being able to help lead his team to win the Stanley Cup, and lead Team Canada as an assistant captain and captain to win two gold medals back to back (Information obtained fromhttp://espn.go.com/olympics/winter/2014/icehockey/story/_/id/10317908/sidney-crosby-hero-2010-captain-canada-sochi-olympics). Ovechkin is the captain of the Washington Capitals currently, and has been given leadership roles in the Olympics, but has not been able to bring home the hardware.

Conclusion

Here is a quick summary of our findings.

• Crosby averages more points per game than Ovechkin
• Ovechkin has been able to stay healthier than Crosby giving him the ability to play in more games
• Both guys are comparable in awards and penalty minutes
• Ovechkin outshoots Crosby by a good amount
• Crosby’s plus/minus is a great deal better than Ovechkin’s
• Crosby’s team success is leagues above Ovechkin’s

This proves that Crosby has been able to do more with the time that was given to him than Ovechkin was. Crosby has had to fight a lot more adversity than Ovechkin has as well. I can say from my own personal experiences that the road back from an injury is treacherous. Crosby has not been the luckiest with injuries as shown above. On top of the uphill battle with injuries, Crosby has had to fight against the publicity surrounded him saying he could not hack it with the “big guys”. They have come up with such nicknames as “Crybaby” or “Crybaby Crosby”. However, drawing from all the statistical data neither of the drawbacks have held him that far back. All of this combined makes Sidney Crosby the better all-around player. The data (stats) does not lie, and all-around it points to Crosby over and over.

Although, one cannot simply discredit Alexander Ovechkin, for he is a very talented individual. He has proven himself in the National Hockey League time and time again. However, in comparison with Crosby he does not quite meet the same mark…