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Thoughts From Around the NHL: OV for Hart, Kopitar Underrated, Lindros HOF |
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Anze Kopitar
Considering that he has won two Stanley Cups in three years, been close to a point per game player since he was 19 (he's now 26) and is one of the NHL's best - if not it's premier- two-way centres, Anze Kopitar doesn't seem to be a player anyone talks about all that much.
He might be one of the best all-round players in the NHL. Well, scratch the "might," he definitely is.
Maybe it's because he's been consistent, but not offensively dominant, or maybe it's that he hasn't had the offensive breakout he has promised for so long. He scored 61 points in 72 games during his rookie year, but in his best year he has only notched 81 in 82. Obviously, those are good totals, but it seems like fantasy owners have been waiting forever for that 100 point break-out that he seems capable of. Five years ago he notched 35 goals and hasn't even broke 30 since then.
Now, if you are strictly a hockey pool guy, Kopitar might seem like a disappointment, but in reality, he has kept the offensive fairly consistent while becoming a dominant defensive player. I think it's also obvious that he could score more if playing defense wasn't such a big part of his game.
If you don't watch the Western Conference a lot, you might not know that Kopitar could be the best all-round player in the NHL. He has lead the league in playoff scoring in both years he won the Cup and he is usually deployed against the other team's top players. He might be the best defensive centre in hockey and he might be the strongest - and Jimmy Fallon once named him "Most likely to be mistaken for Franken-berry."
If there is an underrated player who doesn't deserve to be, it's Anze Kopitar.
Hall of Fame
I might give this a full post at some point, but it's ridiculous that there is any debate about Eric Lindros going into the Hall of Fame.
Lindros was so dominant in his prime that if he didn't have his career ruined by injuries we would be talking about whether or not he was better than Lemieux or Gretzky, not whether he should go into the HOF.
There should be no debate - during the time he was injury free he had a PPG average close to the best in history and I have never seen a more dominant player in my life.
The NHL Awards
The awards are coming up next week before the Draft, and the Finalists for the Hart Trophy are Getzlaf, Giroux and Crosby.
I think hockey is the ultimate team sport. In the NBA for example, you could add Lebron James to the worst team and they'd be an instant Championship Contender. Hockey doesn't work like that, and you can miss the playoffs even with the best player on your team. To me, the idea that you can't win the award for best individual player if your team doesn't make the playoffs is part of the ridiculous meat-head culture you have to put up with sometimes in sports.
There is no logic behind the idea- the Hart Trophy is the award for the Best Player and this year, the best player in the NHL is not even nominated.
Alexander Ovechkin.
Say what you will about his defensive game, scoring goals is the hardest thing to do and it is the most important stat and he dominates. He scored 8 more goals than the next highest total and in three less games.
He is the most dominant player in the game at doing the one thing that matters most - scoring.
Yes, Crosby lead the league with 104 points, which is a great accomplishment. However, his coverage is lessened because he has Malkin to take some heat off of him, and assists are awarded out at an almost 2:1 rate over goals. The fact that Ovechkin outscored him by 15 goals is more impressive than Crosby getting 25 extra points.
Crosby will win the Hart. But he shouldn't- the best player in the NHL is Alexander Ovechkin, who isn't even nominated and that's a joke. The reason it's a joke is that Ovechkin shouldn't just win it - it should be unanimous.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading.
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