One of the greatest player rivalries in sports, Crosby vs. Ovechkin, will conclude at the end of this season. The two future Hall of Famers entered the league in the same year and instantly became the faces of the sport. Both became generational talents who helped the NHL make billions of dollars, and without them, the league may have completely collapsed. Ovechkin is the game’s greatest goal scorer. Crosby is the most consistent offensive talent in league history. They will each waltz into the Hall of Fame as soon as they’re eligible. However, one of these players is clearly a step above the other.
Sidney Crosby has played 152 fewer games than Ovechkin. He has 75 more points. He also has two more rings. He has two Olympic gold medals (while Russia was competing) and a World Cup of Hockey gold medal too. Crosby also has the most famous goals in Olympic and Winter Classic history.
Crosby has shown zero signs of his game slowing down despite being 39 years old. Ovechkin, on the other hand, has become a power-play merchant. Ovi has barely been able to move on the ice for the past few seasons, highlighted by the hilarious statistic that he was given just six defensive-zone starts last season.
Ovechkin will always be able to score goals; it’s simply in his nature. Crosby will always find a way to play hockey better than his peers; it’s simply in his nature.
Only one of these two players has a claim to the sport’s Mount Rushmore, and that’s Sidney Crosby. All these bizarre Twitter threads about who is the GOAT of their time are patently ridiculous. With the exception of their rookie seasons and concussion years, Alexander Ovechkin has never held a candle to Sidney Crosby.
Crosby has never finished an NHL season below a point per game. Ovechkin did it in his seventh year in the league. While they are both firmly in the top 10 players to ever live, Crosby so clearly clears Ovechkin in the pantheon of this sport that it is ludicrous to even debate the topic.
The two will begin their final season against one another tonight. I can’t wait to watch. Crosby will likely skate circles around Ovechkin just like he has for the past two decades.
