Alex Ovechkin is the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history, but is he the greatest player? What about in the last quarter-century?
Let the debates begin.
Bill Clement, a Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster and 11-year NHL player, is a good person to ask.
Clement played against Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky and broadcasted countless games played by Ovechkin. Those four are among the best skaters in NHL history, though Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard also receive mention.
Ovechkin is sixth on Clement’s all-time list. That’s not a slight, he said, adding that the left winger’s ability to get into a shooting position is “second to none.”
Make no mistake, said the analytical Clement, that Ovechkin is one of the greatest players ever. But he ranks players based on several categories, including Stanley Cup titles, finals appearances, goals, assists, playmaking and puck-carrying ability.
The Super Six
Here is Clement’s all-time list:
1. Wayne Gretzky, C: 894 goals, 2,857 points, four Stanley Cups
2. Bobby Orr, D: 270 goals, 915 points, two Stanley Cups
3. Gordie Howe, RW: 801 goals, 1,850 points, four Stanley Cups
4. Mario Lemieux, C: 690 goals, 1,723 points, two Stanley Cups
5. Sidney Crosby, C: 622 goals, 1,682 points, three Stanley Cups
6. Alex Ovechkin, LW: 895 goals, 1,619 points, one Stanley Cup
“If someone said to me, ‘Who is the greatest goal-scorer?’ I would say Alexander Ovechkin,” said Clement, who is enjoying retirement after 30-plus years as a Philadelphia Flyers and national broadcaster. “But if you ask for a list of the greatest players, there’s more that goes into it than just scoring. Things like Stanley Cups, scoring. All of those guys (he ranked ahead of Ovechkin) won multiple Stanley Cups.”
Ovechkin, now in his 20th season, won one Cup in 2018, though his Washington Capitals are strong contenders this year.
“The one thing that keeps me from putting Ovi higher on that list is that he’s not a good puck carrier, and everyone else on that list could just dance when they had the puck,” Clement said. “Gordie would hold guys off with just one arm, and he was a great puck carrier.”
In Clement’s Super Six, he said Howe, Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Crosby had the most power and strength in the group and that Lemieux made it look like “it was a one-man ballet out there. He was so graceful, so fluid. He had it all – speed, size, reach.”
Clement noted that Ovechkin frequently has more goals than assists – this will be the 14th time out of his 20 seasons.
“I think half of Ovi’s assists are on rebound goals off his shots,” he said. “I look at the ability to make plays, too. I have Ovi as the sixth-best player ever, but I have five guys ahead of him just because of the puck carrying and the playmaking.”
Records Galore
Clement, who won two Stanley Cups with the Flyers, was asked why he gave Gretzky the nod over Orr.
“At one time, Gretzky had 61 records. For goals, assists, five-point games, six-point games. The list was endless,” said Clement. “And many of them, I don’t know if they’ll ever be broken.”
He added that it’s “always difficult to compare a great defenseman with a great center. Orr did revolutionize the position. He won eight Norris Trophies” – given to the NHL’s best defenseman.
On the flip side, because of injuries, Orr only played a total of 36 games over his last four seasons, Clement pointed out.
“He only played nine full seasons in the NHL, and the only season he didn’t win the Norris, he finished second to Harry Howell when Orr was 18 years old,” Clement said.
If Orr had been healthy, “there’s no question he would have been in that No. 1 slot” as the best player in history, Clement said. “All the other guys we’re talking about played 15 to 20 seasons. Or more. And Sid and Alex are still going. The great thing about Alex is his durability.”
As for Gretzky, “I would never call Wayne dynamic because he didn’t have much of a shot, and he wasn’t really fast, and he certainly wasn’t strong,” Clement said. “But nobody has ever thought the game the way Wayne thought and processed the game. When he was on the ice, he was the quantum computer of his era. He was way ahead of everything that was happening on the ice. It was almost as if he could see into the future.”
Gr8ness Achieved: How Alex Ovechkin Broke Wayne Gretzky's Unbreakable NHL Goals RecordIt’s officially official. Alex Ovechkin has passed Wayne Gretzky to become the most prolific goal-scorer in NHL history.
Ovechkin's 'Art Form'
Ovechkin isn’t a Gretzky, “but from the blueline in, he’s as smart a player who has ever played,” Clement said. “Nobody ever expected him to come close to winning the Selke as the best defensive forward, but his offensive sense of the game and his position – he has lived off the one-timer from the off wing – (is amazing).
“He created an art form out of finding dead spots, soft spots, in the offensive zone. And he had guys good enough to get him the puck. I mean, Nick Backstrom is one of the most underrated centers ever, I think. He assisted on more Ovechkin goals than anybody.”
Clement, who ranks Bobby Clarke, Bryan Trottier and Anze Kopitar as the best-ever two-way centers, said Ovechkin has been a master at getting his body in a deadly shooting position.
“Every pass that come to him in that shooting hole on the off wing is not perfect,” Clement said. “Everybody doesn’t make a perfect pass. But if you watch his feet, he has quick little steps, and he gets a read on the pass almost as it’s leaving the passer’s stick, and he knows if he has to adjust by a couple of feet, he’ll quickly move and get down on a knee if he has to. His ability to adjust to a powerful shooting posture – even when the pass isn’t perfect – is second to none.”
Just like his goal-scoring prowess.
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