There is truth behind the +\- when u apply it to how the OV plays. Very extended shifts, too much floating and unwillingness to play a team game all leads to a terrible plus minus.

Ovechkin for Kessel?


Would you do it?
- davecervo

No

No
- SolidGoldBricks

Would have to be Ovechkin, Backstrom + 1st to get Kessel.

Panthers 1st pick + Huberdeau for #8.

Goals win games. He scores a lot of them. Mike Green is worse, Marcus Johansson can't bury a chance to save his life, they are getting sub par goaltending... Lot's of problems in DC, Ovi is the least of them
- sbroads24

You make some good points about the Caps, but Ovi is the least of their problems? I think not.

Would have to be Ovechkin, Backstrom + 1st to get Kessel.
- Scooby_Doo

Meh. Washington should be able to get edler for that package.

Ovechkin has been put out there in a role he is not use to this year. More time against top lines. It will take him more than a year to get him into a defensive player, which is what the Caps have asked for him this year. Question is, if you have one guy that scores a ton, why try to get him to be a two way player? Paul Coffey was an amazing offensive defense man. No one minded that he was almost a fourth forward. The management should use their players to their strengths.

He is a franchise player and I think they could get an amazing return for him. One the Capitals might be better off having since they have a bunch of holes to fill. Personally I don't think he should or will be traded. However Gretzky was the Oilers, Considered the best player of all time and he was traded. There are still 99 jerseys at Oiler games. Anything is possible and I think they should hear the offers before rejecting them out of hand.

Meh. Washington should be able to get edler for that package.
- Tumbleweed

If that cap worked then maybe....but I'd probably want Kuznetsov thrown in.

If that cap worked then maybe....but I'd probably want Kuznetsov thrown in.
- Nucker101

Kuznetsov ... you've just moved this into sam gagner's price point.

No kidding that's my entire point. Criticizing Ovechkin for +/- is petty, especially when he's scoring 50 goals
- sbroads24

Really?

So the dude scores 50, half on the power play and same dude is on the ice for 50 against.

What's the Net Total?

Ovie is an awesome hockey talent, but @ 28, he never made it count
when everything was on the line, in any pressure situation.

+/- could be petty, but he never came through when it counted most, at least not yet.

Rangers are in......waiting on the Flyers.

Chara eats babies.
No one wants Karlsson outside of ottawa.
- IRON.MAIDEN

No one except maybe San Jose, the Islanders,the Panthers, the Caps, the Flames, the Sabres,the Flyers,Tampa Bay, Colorado or the Penguins.

Engo and a first caps hold onto half the cap hit get going shero.

Oh jesus...... Or maybe his +/- sucks because his team isn't very good and he's on the ice all...the..time

Niklas Backstrom is a -20 and only has 10 even strength goals.

I think it's safe to assume you cannot win with Backstrom either. I swear if Ovi were American or Canadian the media's tune would be so different towards him
- sbroads24

This is the most accurate comment on here. I have watched most of the Caps games this year, and while Ovie has been one dimensional this year, I think the Caps in general are a brutal team, and their goal tending is a complete joke. But even if he had stud +/- stats, the Russiaphobes would still be all over him. Lets face it, people hate all things Russian. Just look at the mainstream media and the coverage of the Olympics, even before it started, even though it was all mainly false reporting, it was the goal of the mainstream media to but a negative spin on the entire event...not to mention the toothpaste bomb 'potential' story they floated...just to get people to avoid travelling there. People have been trained to hate anything Russian for 60 years, and even though it seems silly to apply it to a hockey player, all one has to do is look at how Russian players in general are portrayed to see that, for a lot of people at least, unless there is a beloved Russian on their team, they will, more often than not, spout the anti Russian, Russian bad meme.

I'd say the bigger problem for the Caps is their overall management strategy and the way they have handled Ovechkin overall. I'm no Sid fan, but I bet if Ovie spent the summer working out and being around a player like Crosby, he could eventually be the player he HAS the potential to be.

this thread is HILARIOUS.


Absolutely HILARIOUS.


100% guarantee half the people criticizing ovie haven't watched him year in and year out.

Dude isn't gonna win a selke anytime soon, but LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.


Your team is bad, your +/- is bad. It's been proven time and time again. Relevant stats have been literally POSTED IN THIS THREAD and they are still ignored.

Eyes. Use them. Reading. It's a helpful skill.

Ps. GO UCONN. NATIONAL CHAMPS.

Here's the problem. The horrible +\- problem is only evident with washingtons top line. Washington has only allowed 5 empty net goals against and 9 short handed goals, 7 of which OV has been on the ice for. OV is bigger faster and stronger than 95% of the players he plays against but he believes he is above the team. The guy is physically gifted enough to be an awesome player but his ego is the reason the caps will never win anything.

Best to just ignore this guy, he cracks himself up all the time which is ok I guess. Nobody else thinks he's funny though. Guys an idiot.

See you guys in a couple days after my ban
- SpoiledByOil

I thought you only got banned after makin fun of ek?

Alex Ovechkin = Best LW + Best RW

Any updates on the Sedins to Islanders trade?


This is a good blog to remind us of the Ovechkin to Nasville rumour of 2008. Let us pause and reflect on it.
- hankthetank

Updates please..........

If I took offense to every shot at the Canucks on HB I'd turn into the Canuck fan version of Prock.
- Nucker101

*snicker*



.... prock.....

I'd take Ovechkin
Best one-timer I've ever seen (along with Brett Hull)
There's been plenty of "offensive" players over the years that weren't the best defensively
Just gotta put some solid defenders around him
When u have a guy as good as he is, you figure out a way to make it work

the bottom line, as has become increasingly clear, is that Ovechkin is a goal scorer, not a winner. he's the most one-dimensional player that the game has seen in a long time. he sulks. he abhors defence. he accepts no responsibility for anything.

there are teams who would take on his contract, i believe. the Islanders, Panthers and Canucks come to mind. but i would not want my team going near this guy.
- DoubleDown

Typical habs response, they are okay with their 50 pt players

I'd love to see Spezza an Ovechkin together. The other winger would have to be a defenseman, like Marc Methot or something.
- AlfieFever

in that scenario Karlsson would be gone

*snicker*



.... prock.....
- Beatle_john

Not much for this guy to smile about this year