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Can Ovechkin Be Gretzky
by Paul on 02/22/08 at 03:44 PM ET
Comments (4)
from ESPN,
Editor’s note: In our “Friday Face off,” ESPN.com NHL writer Scott Burnside (based in Atlanta) and Toronto Star columnist and frequent ESPN.com contributor Damien Cox (based in Toronto) duke it out over any given hockey topic. Let the games begin!
This week’s topic: Is Alexander Ovechkin poised to be the new Gretzky, the player all the others will be chasing for years to come when it comes to goals?…
Scott: We often hear people bemoan the lack of a dynastic team, a team that captures the imagination of the hockey world. Do you think a single player can have that effect? We all know Crosby has proved himself to be special early on, but his high ankle sprain is going to cost him back-to-back MVP awards and league scoring titles. But if Ovechkin got to 60 or 65, do you think that would be some sort of catalyst to great excitement that transcends the normal?
Damien: Nope. Not while he’s in Washington. I know that won’t make the millions of Capitals fans across the world happy, or owner Ted Leonsis, or GM George McPhee, but the fact is, having Ovechkin not only in D.C. but in the Southeast Division just isn’t going to afford him the profile he deserves. At least not in the near future.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin,
Comments
Maybe the problem the Caps are considered such a small market is because ESPN and other media don’t cover them with the same interest as Toronto, NYR, and others. Many of the things said here have some truth, but this is flatly wrong:
I remember covering the 1998 finals in Washington and you had to look high and low for any evidence there was an NHL franchise in town, let alone one in a championship series.
In 1998, Piney Orchard (Caps former practice arena) was filled to the brim with spectators and autograph seekers, unlike any time ever before. They had prime spots on the local news channels, specifically NBC4, which is usually Redskinsville. They were talked about at the watercooler. And true, it didn’t last, but most teams that go to the champs, and then lose, year after year, lose fans. Build a yearly contender, and the fans will come out. The league and media needs to get over their Toronto, Detroit, Colorado, Pittsburgh (since Crosby) and New York complex and cover the whole league equally.
Posted by penguinsfan on 02/22/08 at 04:57 PM ET
Obviously it’s too early to say, but so far Ovechkin has proved that he can do unimaginable things. Everything that he does is special. Nobody believed he could beat Crosby in the ‘Rookie of the Year’ contest, even Ovechkin himself didn’t believe it. Yes, his English probably never will be as flawless as Sharapova’s, so what? Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t have a perfect English either. So watch out when Arnold will change the law to run for the President’s office, it will be Schwarzenegger vs. Ovechkin. Maybe he has to marry Chelsea Clinton or someone from Kennedy’s clan for that. 
BTW, Andrei Nikolishin said (you can find that interview in my blog) that 5,000 fans were meeting Caps at 2:30 am at the airport when they made to the SCF in 1998.
Posted by alex ovetjkin on 02/22/08 at 05:50 PM ET
Sharapova might be Russian, but didn’t she grow up here in the US? Not quite the best comparison there (plus the fact that Ovechkin isn’t also a model 
)
Posted by K24 from NYC on 02/22/08 at 08:29 PM ET
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I’m impressed these two had the time to tear themselves away from their latest diatribes against Mats Sundin to debate other hockey issues.
Ok, I know, it’s a cheap shot. Sorry.
Posted by Lyle Richardson from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada on 02/22/08 at 04:43 PM ET