Ovi watch/prediction thread.

[Sophomore Jinx]

2 hours ago, Alflives said:

Yes, but not enough times to catch #99. 

 

17 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

It would be pretty sad if Ovie is 43 years old and needs those 5-6 goals to pass Gretzky.  So Washington puts him out there in a wheelchair and lets him score in the empty net.  Imagine if Ovie breaks the record with an empty net goal.  It would be sad.  Hopefully, Gretzky doesn't even bother to show up.

 

I remember when Gretzky broke Howe's records.  He was still in his prime doing his thing.  He wasn't even 30 years old.  Ovie is going to be an old man when he breaks the record.  So sad...

 

15 minutes ago, Alflives said:

OV was awesome. But now he’s cooked. He should just retire. He’s only being selfish. He’s hurting his club. 

I find it fascinating that peeps here make every excuse for EP40 when his play isn't up to par, but offer none to Ovie...maybe HE is ailing....whatever the case, there's still 60 games left in the season, he will wake up at some point...and he will break the record next year

[Sophomore Jinx]

1 minute ago, Alflives said:

Love OV. But watching him now is like watching an old boxer trying to hang in. It’s just sad. He is hurting his club. Just retire. 

He's not done yet, not like your empties

[Alflives]

7 minutes ago, Sophomore Jinx said:

 

 

I find it fascinating that peeps here make every excuse for EP40 when his play isn't up to par, but offer none to Ovie...maybe HE is ailing....whatever the case, there's still 60 games left in the season, he will wake up at some point...and he will break the record next year

.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Alflives

[Alflives]

5 minutes ago, Sophomore Jinx said:

He's not done yet, not like your empties

That’s awesome! Wish I could upvote you 200 times! 

[IBatch]

15 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Will Ovie ever score again?

He's on a 18 goal pace right now.   And WSH for the first time in his career, is not a threat to make the playoffs, and is entering full rebuild mode.   Not sure if they will re-tool around him, just to give him a shot at breaking Gretzky's record (and lucky for him, EDM/WHA didn't join the league a year earlier, or those 53ish goals he scored at 17, would also be added to the tally, and this wouldn't even be a thread yet)...he's certainly having a slow start and looks old.   Jagr old lol.   70 goals remaining.    Must be tough for him.  Last year he said he wanted to finish out his contract,  then go play with Moscow.   

 

Has 224 games left in his deal, to score 70 goals.   A couple seasons ago,  that seemed more than doable, likely really.    Maybe the stress has got to him, or maybe he just doesn't have the players he used to have help dish the pucks.   

 

Messier also hit a wall.   At 35-36, came off two typical Messier seasons, in the dead puck era,  scoring close to 100, and close to 50 each year.    Came to Vancouver and the rest is history.   Second season was doing ok until he broke his leg, then that was it.    His production flailed, lost some of his speed, and was a 40-50 point guy until the end.   

 

Ovi appears to have hit the same wall.    Seemed like he could be another Gordie Howe.   And just keep going.   Instead he's probably the most overpaid LW in the league.   Like Messier was the most overpaid center when he came to Vancouver.   Excited either way, if Ovi breaks, or if Gretzky keeps it. 

 

Ovi's shooting the puck a ton like usual, his shooting percentage is off though.   Way lower than it should be (like D level lows). 

Edited December 6, 2023 by IBatch

[Elias Pettersson]

7 hours ago, IBatch said:

He's on a 18 goal pace right now.   And WSH for the first time in his career, is not a threat to make the playoffs, and is entering full rebuild mode.   Not sure if they will re-tool around him, just to give him a shot at breaking Gretzky's record (and lucky for him, EDM/WHA didn't join the league a year earlier, or those 53ish goals he scored at 17, would also be added to the tally, and this wouldn't even be a thread yet)...he's certainly having a slow start and looks old.   Jagr old lol.   70 goals remaining.    Must be tough for him.  Last year he said he wanted to finish out his contract,  then go play with Moscow.   

 

Has 224 games left in his deal, to score 70 goals.   A couple seasons ago,  that seemed more than doable, likely really.    Maybe the stress has got to him, or maybe he just doesn't have the players he used to have help dish the pucks.   

 

Messier also hit a wall.   At 35-36, came off two typical Messier seasons, in the dead puck era,  scoring close to 100, and close to 50 each year.    Came to Vancouver and the rest is history.   Second season was doing ok until he broke his leg, then that was it.    His production flailed, lost some of his speed, and was a 40-50 point guy until the end.   

 

Ovi appears to have hit the same wall.    Seemed like he could be another Gordie Howe.   And just keep going.   Instead he's probably the most overpaid LW in the league.   Like Messier was the most overpaid center when he came to Vancouver.   Excited either way, if Ovi breaks, or if Gretzky keeps it. 

 

Ovi's shooting the puck a ton like usual, his shooting percentage is off though.   Way lower than it should be (like D level lows). 

Yes. He is still shooting at his regular pace. Problem is his shooting % is only 6%. That’s the worst of his career. Last year he was at 14%. 
 

He has 5 goals this year, but 2 were empty net goals and one was on the PP with only 10 seconds left in the game. So he really could be at only 2 goals. With Washington looking like they will miss the playoffs, Ovi probably won’t get alot of chances for empty net goals if his team is always behind. So he’s gonna have to score real even strength goals if he wants to break the record. And he only has 2 of those this year so far. 
 

At this pace he certainly won’t break the record before his contract is up. So the question becomes does Washington extend him another couple of years so he can break the record. And does Ovi even want to continue playing into his 40’s?

 

I guess we will see where he’s at after this season. If he’s at like 10-15 goals then it’s not a slam dunk he breaks the record. 

[Miss Korea]

15 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yes. He is still shooting at his regular pace. Problem is his shooting % is only 6%. That’s the worst of his career. Last year he was at 14%. 
 

He has 5 goals this year, but 2 were empty net goals and one was on the PP with only 10 seconds left in the game. So he really could be at only 2 goals. With Washington looking like they will miss the playoffs, Ovi probably won’t get alot of chances for empty net goals if his team is always behind. So he’s gonna have to score real even strength goals if he wants to break the record. And he only has 2 of those this year so far. 
 

At this pace he certainly won’t break the record before his contract is up. So the question becomes does Washington extend him another couple of years so he can break the record. And does Ovi even want to continue playing into his 40’s?

 

I guess we will see where he’s at after this season. If he’s at like 10-15 goals then it’s not a slam dunk he breaks the record. 

 

I bet his finishing will return to a slightly better percentage.  But his playdriving ability is terrible.  

 

 

 

HOLY JESUS

Edited December 6, 2023 by Miss Korea

[IBatch]

42 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yes. He is still shooting at his regular pace. Problem is his shooting % is only 6%. That’s the worst of his career. Last year he was at 14%. 
 

He has 5 goals this year, but 2 were empty net goals and one was on the PP with only 10 seconds left in the game. So he really could be at only 2 goals. With Washington looking like they will miss the playoffs, Ovi probably won’t get alot of chances for empty net goals if his team is always behind. So he’s gonna have to score real even strength goals if he wants to break the record. And he only has 2 of those this year so far. 
 

At this pace he certainly won’t break the record before his contract is up. So the question becomes does Washington extend him another couple of years so he can break the record. And does Ovi even want to continue playing into his 40’s?

 

I guess we will see where he’s at after this season. If he’s at like 10-15 goals then it’s not a slam dunk he breaks the record. 

Phil Esposito, somewhat annoyed and angrily said it best when asked who the greatest goal scorer ever was a couple years ago when arithmetic geniuses did some grade school math:

 

"Wayne, is, until anyone beats him it's Wayne".    That comes from a guy was on his way to challenge Howe for awhile, and probably the best net front guy in the league ever.  

 

A bit surprised with Ovi this year.   Nobody is ever going to be better than Gretzky.  It's almost impossible.   Same way Mario and Orr were just next level.    I've seen better, so have you.   Hull(s), Gretzky,  Bossy, Bure in their primes were at a different level.   Ovi had some years that matched them too,  matched.   Brett Hull looked to be the guy at one point that could do it as well, wonder what he'd have accomplished outside of the dead puck era and guys draped all over him.      There is a big difference between shooting the puck 350-400 times a season, and shooting it and scoring 1/4/-1/5 of the time.   Hull junior and Ovi had the shot.   So did Robataille, and well a lot of other guys.  So did Nasund for a couple seasons.   Don't want to minimize what Ovi is doing, because it's special, but his best years weren't really on par with Gretzky's, Mario's and Hulls.   More like on par with Kurri's.. and pick one of Bossy's, minus the reps...to me he's like Ray Borque but on the wing ... and well that's actually a huge compliment.  Borque fired a ton of shots at the net too, a lot went in. 

 

.   A really consistent player at another level then most.   And durable.  

 

Not Gretzky's fault he injured his shoulder, and it wasn't really his game anyways.     Guy changed the game he was so good.   Ovi.   Well if Brock scores 65 this year, does that make his season as good as Ovi's best year?   Doubt anyone would even bring it up.   More likely just a fluke.    Ovi's the "Great 8" for a reason.     Durability and longevity plus a top level player combined.   Hull Senior might be his best comp.    One of 3 guys so far, to score 900 pro goals.   That's also no slight either.   Ovi's at the very tippy top, of best scorers ever.   But agree with Espo, he's not "The Best" until he scores more goals.  

 

Glad the youtube generation at least gets to see it. 

Edited December 6, 2023 by IBatch

[Integra250]

Too bad Ovechkin doesn't have Jagr's work ethic in terms of fitness. Looks like he really dropped the ball this off-season and it's showing in his production. At this point he might not even hit 20 goals.

 

On that note, Jagr probably would've broken the record if he didn't spend so much time overseas.

[Diamonds]

15 hours ago, Integra250 said:

Too bad Ovechkin doesn't have Jagr's work ethic in terms of fitness. Looks like he really dropped the ball this off-season and it's showing in his production. At this point he might not even hit 20 goals.

 

On that note, Jagr probably would've broken the record if he didn't spend so much time overseas.

Jagr quite possibly would have passed 2000 points, but I don't think he would have passed Gretzky for goals. He still needed another 128 goals to catch Gretzky and only missed 3 seasons by going to the KHL. The 2 seasons prior to him going to KHL he scored 30 and 25 goals respectively so expecting him to then average 43 goals for the next 3 seasons seems unlikely. Also, it's important to remember with Jagr that part of his reason for leaving the NHL was because he was starting to lose the joy of playing and his time in the KHL reinvigorated him. It's very possible if he didn't go overseas he would have retired a few years earlier.

[Elias Pettersson]

Will Ovie ever score again? 

[Kevin Biestra]

13 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Will Ovie ever score again? 

 

I said at the start of the year that he was reminding me of Brett Hull in that season right after the 2005 lockout.  Hull played 5 games or something and noped out of the rest of his career.

 

Kind of interesting I guess that the season where Hull decided he couldn't do it anymore was also Ovechkin's rookie year.

 

Ovechkin is still putting up some numbers so I guess it's more like end of career Marcel Dionne or Guy Lafleur or Gretzky's final year as opposed to being completely cooked.

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Kevin Biestra

[Elias Pettersson]

47 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

I said at the start of the year that he was reminding me of Brett Hull in that season right after the 2005 lockout.  Hull played 5 games or something and noped out of the rest of his career.

 

Kind of interesting I guess that the season where Hull decided he couldn't do it anymore was also Ovechkin's rookie year.

 

Ovechkin is still putting up some numbers so I guess it's more like end of career Marcel Dionne or Guy Lafleur or Gretzky's final year as opposed to being completely cooked.

 

Yeah, Hull was 41 I think and just said fuck it after 5 games and retired. 
 

Ovi is 38 and is rapidly declining. If not for 2 empty net goals he’d only have 3 goals this year. Not sure how much longer he can continue at this pace. 
 

Obviously he wants to break the record. So his situation is different than the others. Problem is at his current pace he won’t break the record before his contract is up. So then Washington needs to make a decision. Do they re-sign him at 41 years old just to break the record or do they let him walk?  
 

Does Ovi still want to play at 41 years old? These will be tough decisions to make. At the start of the year people were thinking Ovi would break the record next season, so he could get the record and then retire at 40 when his contract is up and go back to Russia. Now that this isn’t happening there are decisions that have to be made. 
 

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[Alflives]

Just now, Elias Pettersson said:

Yeah, Hull was 41 I think and just said fuck it after 5 games and retired. 
 

Ovi is 38 and is rapidly declining. If not for 2 empty net goals he’d only have 3 goals this year. Not sure how much longer he can continue at this pace. 
 

Obviously he wants to break the record. So his situation is different than the others. Problem is at his current pace he won’t break the record before his contract is up. So then Washington needs to make a decision. Do they re-sign him just to break the record or do they let him walk?  
 

Does Ovi still want to play at 41 years old. These will be tough decisions to make. At the start of the year people were thinking Ovi would break the record next season, so he could get the record and then retire at 40 when his contract is up and go back to Russia. Now that this isn’t happening there are decisions that have to be made. 
 

 

Doesn’t OV have two more years on his current contract after this season? He will be lucky to score 20 each of those years and is far more likely to get 15. So he’s going to fall well short of Gretzky. 
OV is cooked. 

[Kevin Biestra]

3 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yeah, Hull was 41 I think and just said fuck it after 5 games and retired. 
 

Ovi is 38 and is rapidly declining. If not for 2 empty net goals he’d only have 3 goals this year. Not sure how much longer he can continue at this pace. 
 

Obviously he wants to break the record. So his situation is different than the others. Problem is at his current pace he won’t break the record before his contract is up. So then Washington needs to make a decision. Do they re-sign him at 41 years old just to break the record or do they let him walk?  
 

Does Ovi still want to play at 41 years old? These will be tough decisions to make. At the start of the year people were thinking Ovi would break the record next season, so he could get the record and then retire at 40 when his contract is up and go back to Russia. Now that this isn’t happening there are decisions that have to be made.

 

 

I'm no mind reader but I think Ovechkin will play as long as they will let him in pursuit of the record.  Chip away like Crash Davis in Bull Durham until he gets there.  You only live once so you might as well be dragged off the ice with a Vaudeville Hook like Paul Coffey.  They would have probably had to do that to me.

[Elias Pettersson]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Doesn’t OV have two more years on his current contract after this season? He will be lucky to score 20 each of those years and is far more likely to get 15. So he’s going to fall well short of Gretzky. 
OV is cooked. 

Yes. He’s 67 goals short of the record. So at his current pace he’ll be short maybe 20-30 goals after his contract is up in 2.5 years. So will Washington re-sign him to allow him to break the record?  Will he even be able to get those 20-30 goals?  Will they put him out there just for the power play and when the net is empty?  

Edited December 11, 2023 by Elias Pettersson

[Elias Pettersson]

1 hour ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

 

I'm no mind reader but I think Ovechkin will play as long as they will let him in pursuit of the record.  Chip away like Crash Davis in Bull Durham until he gets there.  You only live once so you might as well be dragged off the ice with a Vaudeville Hook like Paul Coffey.  They would have probably had to do that to me.

Yeah Coffey was on his 9th team before they had to pull him away for good. I don’t think he hit 40 years old though. I think he was 39 when they pulled the plug. 
 

I think we are going to see Ovi the power play and empty net specialist for the next 4-5 years until he breaks the record. It will be sad. If he breaks the record with an empty net goal Gretzky should not even bother to show up. 

[NewbieCanuckFan]

5 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yeah Coffey was on his 9th team before they had to pull him away for good. I don’t think he hit 40 years old though. I think he was 39 when they pulled the plug. 
 

I think we are going to see Ovi the power play and empty net specialist for the next 4-5 years until he breaks the record. It will be sad. If he breaks the record with an empty net goal Gretzky should not even bother to show up. 

I don't think he was quite the same after he ran into Eric Lindros.  

[Kevin Biestra]

9 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yes. He’s 67 goals short of the record. So at his current pace he’ll be short maybe 20-30 goals after his contract is up in 2.5 years. So will Washington re-sign him to allow him to break the record?  Will he even be able to get those 20-30 goals?  Will they put him out there just for the power play and when the net is empty?  

 

5 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Yeah Coffey was on his 9th team before they had to pull him away for good. I don’t think he hit 40 years old though. I think he was 39 when they pulled the plug. 
 

I think we are going to see Ovi the power play and empty net specialist for the next 4-5 years until he breaks the record. It will be sad. If he breaks the record with an empty net goal Gretzky should not even bother to show up. 

 

 

I think Coffey was still playing better than he got credit for in his last couple years when he was getting healthy scratched.  I thought he was still an every day quality player (same as I thought Linden was in his final year) but the coaches didn't seem to agree.  I do remember a quote from Coffey from that final year though...  "Some days it feels like I couldn't break a pane of glass with a slap shot."

 

I think Washington will keep re-upping Ovechkin until he breaks the record.  Why not really...  They're going into a rebuild...let him Stan Smyl it for the last couple years if that's what it takes.  That said I prefer he doesn't break Gretzky's record but it would be something memorable for the Capitals and really when it's all said and done probably worth a bit of extra pain for a couple years if that's what it takes.  Breaking Gretzky's record and all of the goals in a Capitals uniform...  Only thing that can really beat that in terms of timeless achievements is a Stanley Cup.

 

Coffey really got kicked around quite a bit though.  I was always surprised every time he was traded...at least the first handful of times.  I thought LA was crazy to trade him in 1993 and he might have been the difference in the final that year for the Kings.

[Northern_Nuck]

Age unfortunately has caught up with Ovenchicken. Unfortunately Washington is keeping an old core around him too which isn’t helping. I see him now as a 10-15G/year guy, so it could potentially take him 6 seasons to break Gretzky’s record. 

[AatuD2]

1 hour ago, Northern_Nuck said:

Age unfortunately has caught up with Ovenchicken. Unfortunately Washington is keeping an old core around him too which isn’t helping. I see him now as a 10-15G/year guy, so it could potentially take him 6 seasons to break Gretzky’s record. 

 

I've never been a fan of putting out legends well past their prime, so I hope that Ovi calls it a career if he doesn't break 20 goals this year. 

 

I didn't enjoy watching Gretzky get 9 goals in his last year, really wish that he had called it a year or two earlier. 

 

Ovi can easily get hot though and rattle off 5 goals in a week, and he will get get every chance to do so. 

[NewbieCanuckFan]

Just now, AatuD2 said:

 

I've never been a fan of putting out legends well past their prime, so I hope that Ovi calls it a career if he doesn't break 20 goals this year. 

 

I didn't enjoy watching Gretzky get 9 goals in his last year, really wish that he had called it a year or two earlier. 

 

Ovi can easily get hot though and rattle off 5 goals in a week, and he will get get every chance to do so. 

Ovi can easily get a job as Poutine's fluffer if he retires early.

[AnthonyG]

If it hadnt been for all the lockouts and shortened seasons, Ovie would have beaten the all time goal scoring record 3 seasons ago. Seems like age finally hit him

[AatuD2]

4 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Ovi can easily get a job as Poutine's fluffer if he retires early.

 

I got no issues with Ovi.  

 

Keyboard warriors want him to denounce Putin and put his family and friends in danger. Keyboard warriors that have nothing on the line. 

 

 

[Elias Pettersson]

Will Ovi ever score again?