The Case Against Alex Ovechkin…or Why I’ll Never Own Him

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Dominance, talent, desire, skill, drive, rock star.

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things is not a desirable trait in a hockey player.

All of these words at one point in time used to describe the enigma that has become Alex Ovechkin.

It’s no secret that Ovechkin is struggling this season. After all a player that was expected to be the next great player hasn’t been anything more then an average player in two seasons. So what’s to blame for the down fall from Hall of Fame career to merely a popular player who just can’t get it done anymore.

Few players have had a career that started with as much promise or gusto as O-Show’s. Through his first five years he never failed to score more then 90 points. In four of those seasons he broke the 100 point plateau with a career high 112 points coming in his third season.

He followed that year up with two near carbon copy seasons that saw him top the 100 point mark and the vaunted 50 goal mark. Once the most feared marksman in the league Ovechkin has fallen on hard times over the past two seasons.

Last year marked the first time in his career that he failed to surpass 90 points and yet still he finished with a respectable 85 points. He still managed to play at a 1.07 point per game pace but that was still considered a disappointment for a player that up until last season had been a 1.34 point per game monster.

This season has been even worse for one of the league’s most recognizable and marketable figures.

As of right now Ovechkin has a rather pedestrian 48 points in 58 games played. Resulting in a mere .83 points per game pace. A mark that would see him finish the season with a disappointing 68 points. A far cry from the mark that many were expecting from their super star when they selected him with their first pick in fantasy drafts this season.

So what gives? Is there some magic reason to explain his demise from fantasy hockey god to mere complimentary player?

It could be something as simple as the number of shots on goal. After all we all know just how much Ovechkin loves to score. If you don’t shoot, you won’t score, it’s a simple adage that has seemingly slipped Ovechkin’s mind.

His shot totals per game have slipped over the past 4 seasons from a ridiculous 6.683 shots on net in 2008-2009 to 3.775 this season. That may not be enough to explain his tremendous slide but it helps to shed some light.

But what is the cause of that? Is it an unwillingness to go to the dirty spots to score goals? We all know that Alex loves to shoot the one timer from the outside, and he loves to shoot the big slapper from the circle but how many goals to do you see him shooting from the slot or around the net?

Could it be that teams have finally learned that keeping him to the outside renders him nearly useless. I highly doubt that. After all teams have been trying to do that since his rookie season and that proved futile for 6 years.

Could it be a lack of cohesion with his head coaches? That doesn’t appear to be the case as Bruce Boudreau and Dale Hunter aren’t the kind of coaches to let a player walk all over them.

It could be blamed on a lack of talent surrounding him as Nick Backstrom – an offensive dynamo in his own right- has missed significant time with a concussion. Without an elite play maker feeding him the puck Ovechkin may be facing more pressure when he has the puck. But that can’t be the root of the problem. After all his first two seasons he played without Backstrom.

For me Ovechkin’s problems stem from the blueline. Yeah that’s right Ovechkin is struggling so mightily because defenceman Mike Green can’t stay healthy.

During Ovechkin’s three most productive seasons Green played in 68 or more games. From the 2007-2008 season to the 2009-2010 season Green averaged 72 games played and an impressive 68 points per season. Over that stretch Ovechkin saw his own stats explode as he averaged an amazing 110 points.

Since the start of the 2010-2011 season Green has only played in 64 games picking up a mere 30 points along the way. That coincides with Ovechkin’s tremendous drop in production down from an average of  110 points the previous three seasons to a disappointing 66.5 points the past two years.

Clearly Ovechkin is still a tremendously talented player but without an offensively gifted player like Mike Green on the blue line feeding him picture perfect break out passes from the blue line he won’t be able to return to his former glory days.

A healthy season from Nick Backstrom and Mike Green next season could see Ovechkin return to the top of the fantasy rankings but that’s not likely to happen any time soon. After all injury prone players like Mike Green don’t suddenly become healthy. It wouldn’t be out of line to say that Green could be healthy it’s not very likely and until then you can’t count on Ovechkin to be anything more then a complimentary player for your fantasy roster.

If someone else is willing to pay top dollar for his services let them, you know better.