Ovechkin is still the best player in the World, just a reminder

By Scott Burnside, July 5, 2006, ESPN.com:

Before the Detroit Red Wings won their first of three Stanley Cups in six seasons back in the spring of 1997, captain Steve Yzerman was in Las Vegas during the offseason playing craps.

Two elderly gentlemen from Detroit's Canadian neighbor, Windsor, Ontario, sauntered by and noticed Yzerman.

"Let's go play somewhere else. There's no luck at this table," the one said to the other.

Ovechkin will lead the Caps to win the Stanley Cup one day and will quiet his haters just like Stevie Yzerman did with Red Wings a while ago.

Yes, Ovi's stock went down after a loss to Canada in Vancouver. But remind you it was Ovechkin who singlehandedly took Canada out of Olympics in Italy 4 years ago. This year there were questionable suspensions by NHL, unbelievably unprofessional coaching of team Russia in Olympics, unfortunate accidents with Russian reporters and Ovi was never the same after coming back from Vancouver. His goal in game 7 was disallowed by Canadian refs. Luck was not on Ovechkin's side this year.

Luck was on Crosby's side though. He was non-factor and -3 when Canada lost the first game to team USA. He should be thankful to Gionta who forced overtime. No overtime, no mentioning of Crosby. He was non-factor in the last game vs Senators and in minus territory, but his other teammates like Matt Cooke scored and propelled Pens to the next round. Lots and lots of luck for Crosby. Do you think it's gonna last? We'll see, but I am rooting for Habs though I am not sure they would be able to show the same level and intensity as they did vs. Caps.

One day the army of Ovechkins will win it, Ovechkin will still be the best player in the World, Crosby will still be the Whiny One, you can't change that. And that is the difference.

By Christopher Botta, Apr. 29, 2010, NHL.com:

On the day after a heartbreaking, season-ending defeat, Alexander Ovechkin will not take any solace in being nominated for the Hart Trophy. But Ovechkin joins Sidney Crosby and Henrik Sedin as the three worthy finalists for the NHL's award for the most valuable player.

Even before the playoffs started, the debate over Ovechkin's Hart candidacy raged. As a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, I made my ballot public on FanHouse:

1. Ovechkin
2. Sedin
3. Crosby

This prompted, as almost everything does involving Ovechkin and Crosby, a Willie Ways-Mickey Mantle argument. The over-riding sentiment was anti-Ovechkin. Some of the volleys:

"The Capitals won when Ovechkin was out of the lineup."

"Crosby doesn't have anywhere near the calibre of linemates as Ovie."

"Ovechkin isn't even in my top five! I'd put Miller and Bryzgalov over him."


The case for Ovechkin was not helped by the Capitals' shocking first round ouster at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. While Ovechkin seeks his third consecutive Hart Trophy -- only Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr have won three in a row -- Crosby takes his Penguins into the second round against Montreal and Sedin's Canucks face Chicago.

However, like all MVP awards in pro sports, the Hart is based on the regular season. Within those guidelines, Ovechkin belongs with Crosby and Sedin in the top three. Within those guidelines and in my estimation, Ovechkin deserves to win his third straight.

Joe O'Connor, National Post, Apr. 28, 2010:
The Stills rocker writes song about Ovechkin

Tim Fletcher is a musician and an artist--one of those real creative types. When he closes his eyes he can see things. Things like a 17th century hamlet out on the Russian steppes surrounded by fields of swaying golden wheat tended by honest hardworking peasants oblivious to the terror headed their way.

The approaching menace, in Fletcher's mind, is not pestilence, a plague or even a marauding band of Cossacks. It is the captain of the Washington Capitals.

"I see an army of Ovechkins marching over the hills in Siberia, by the tens of thousands, and I see fields and hamlets and small towns in 17th century Russia that have no idea they are about to be sacked and pillaged and looted," Fletcher says. "I see a giant spectre, a shadow covering the land and it is in the shape of Ovechkin."

Fletcher sees all that, but the first thing he saw -- and the thing that inspired the two-time Juno Award winning member of the Montreal indie rock band The Stills to write a tribute song to Alexander Ovechkin -- was Ovechkin playing hockey.

Fletcher was not interested in watching hockey, or any sport, until the Russian came along. But Ovechkin's wild rushes, thunderous body checks, highlight reel goals and ecstatic celebrations resonated with him. The 30-year-old musician found an unexpected muse.

"Ovechkin is living life in an unbridled way," Fletcher says. "He is not navel-gazing or over-thinking things, he is just like: 'I love hockey. I love to score goals and I love to play my heart out.' A lot of people dream of living with that kind of freedom. He is rock and roll on skates."

But Fletcher's ode to Ovechkin is anything but rock and roll. Simply titled Alexander Ovechkin, the tune, which is 80 seconds in length, sounds more like a march or a Russian funeral dirge.

Martial in tone, and muscular in structure, the song features the verse: "Alexander Ovechkin, he will hit you and break your bones, ride like eagle to glorious, Alexander Ovechkin."

Fletcher closes his eyes and sees Alexander the Great sweeping across the Russian steppes. Another listener might shut theirs and picture Red Square, Nikita Khruschev and the Cuban missile crisis.

"I was also toying with him hanging out with Tolstoy and maybe writing some plays," Fletcher says. "But I need to word that verse properly. There is some Cold War stuff as well, and some Khruschev vibes and some political wrangling and spy work. These are all verses I am toying with for a bigger version of the song, hopefully with a 237-piece orchestra."

To bring his opus to life, Fletcher will need to live to see another morning. He is a Montrealer after all. And Ovechkin is the enemy. An enemy the musician reverentially refers to as: The Glory. Pushed to the brink by the Glory and his Capitals, the Canadiens have been pushing back, forcing Game 7 in Washington tonight.




"I have taken heat from some friends," Fletcher says of his devotion to Ovechkin's team. "But I haven't taken any violent-style heat, like threats, or the crooked evil eye or anything like that. I haven't felt scared for my physical safety yet."

The songwriter does not know if Ovechkin has actually heard his song. But he knows he knows it exists. Fletcher told Ovechkin about it last summer at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto. The musician even got to hang out with his muse when Ovechkin, thanks to The Stills, wangled an invitation to an after-party hosted by Nickelback.

"It was really strange to be there," Fletcher says. "It was totally Twin Peaks. I told him, 'Dude, I wrote a tune about you.' He was excited. He was a really good dude."

Fletcher, meanwhile, is an accomplished musician, a dedicated artist who stands behind his work. "Game 7, I am going for the Caps, and I hope that they blast the tune I wrote for him over the PA," he says. "I want everyone to sing along, and for Ovechkin to pump his fist in the air and go out there and score seven goals."

And ride like eagle to glorious.

H/t to our field reporter Emily.

Related post: The interview with Tim Fletcher

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