There’s always been a great deal of controversy around Alex Ovechkin. Older hockey fans thought he was too flashy or he didn’t work hard enough. Younger hockey fans always favoured Sidney Crosby. But quietly over his career, Ovechkin has emerged as the most impactful NHL player of all time.
As Alex Ovechkin approaches Gretzky’s all-time goal record, it’s easy to find ourselves comparing “the great 8”, to “the great one” but no-one has evolved the sport the way Alex Ovechkin has, there’s just no comparison.
Alex Ovechkin is the NHL’s most impactful player of all time.
Ovechkin’s most prominent competition for this honour would likely be Wayne Gretzky, and while Gretzky was incredibly impactful in his own regard, Ovechkin has produced only 41 fewer goals thus far, in a much tougher defensive era.
Over Gretzky’s 20-year career the NHL’s average goals per game throughout the season was 3.502, and while Gretzky did average slightly more goals per game over his career than Ovechkin has – Gretzky has .601, while Ovechkin has .599 – Ovechkin’s era has significantly fewer goals allowed per game at roughly 2.9.
One knock on Ovechkin’s career for many years has been his inability to win the Stanley Cup, especially when his biggest rival, Sidney Crosby, was always the one beating him out. However, Ovechkin was always the best goalscorer and most younger hockey players love the glamour of scoring a goal.
Ovechkin holds the record for most Rocket Richard trophies, as the league’s leading scorer with nine. Many kids growing up wanted to shoot it like Ovechkin and modeled their game after Ovechkin’s one time shot, which has now become the specialty of so many NHL superstars. This can be attributed to Ovechkin’s style, and swagger, which led to emulation across minor hockey, and thus, the evolution of the one timer.
Finally, you can’t speak about Alex Ovechkin’s career without talking about the power-play and, of course, the penalty kill trying to stop him. Alex Ovechkin has by far the most power-play goals all time, having basically invented a new power-play formation.
Any hockey fan knows where Ovechkin’s office is: right around the left faceoff dot where he’s taken one timers, in one of the most effective power-play units throughout the years.
The NHL has seen an increase in the 1-3-1 power-play formation over the years, which features strong one timer threats on both wings, to defend this many teams have gone to a style of penalty killing which sees a player mirror ovechkin. This is the best example of how Ovechkin has changed the game. Without Ovechkin, the league likely wouldn’t have seen such prolific shooters, or such a drastic power-play change.
Alex Ovechkin will always be one of hockey’s most controversial icons, but that shouldn’t overshadow his contributions to the sport.
Love him or hate him, Ovechkin has transformed the game in a way few others have. His influence is ingrained in hockey culture, and while young players may build on aspects of his style, his legacy will always be a defining part of the game.