Alex Ovechkin: “Sidney Crosby and I saved the NHL”.

Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are two NHL legends.

When they retire, they will enter the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility because they did great things in their respective careers.

If I started naming all the trophies for both players, I’d have until next week to do it!

The Penguins’ captain and the Capitals’ captain arrived in the big league at the same time. They both began their careers at the start of the 2005-2006 season and quickly became the faces of the NHL due to their undeniable talent.

At the time, let’s not forget, things weren’t going great for the NHL. The league was coming out of a lockout year and was looking for the identity of the man who would become the new star of the Bettman circuit.

There were some good players in those years. Martin St-Louis, Ilya Kovalchuk, Joe Sakic… But the list of top scorers from the 2003-2004 season isn’t exceptional, if you take a step back to assess the situation:

Still here. There were good players, but no Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin.

Things changed quickly when they started their careers and took control of the National League.

Ovechkin was scoring endlessly, at a time when there weren’t many goals being scored in the league… And Crosby was the perfect all-around player.

Let’s not forget that they finished their first season with over 100 points each…

The league attracted a lot of fans that year because all eyes were on the two young stars. And that’s why Alex Ovechkin firmly believes that they (he and Crosby) saved the NHL, as we read in a piece for The Athletic:

We saved the league. Now the young players are coming, and I guess we’re in over our heads. But we saved it. – Alex Ovechkin

Theirs is NHL’s greatest rivalry. And it’s evolved.

Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby reflect on their battles, ponder their relationship, and together try to be living legends that don’t fade away.

My story for @TheAthletic https://t.co/nyuP1Hz8l7

– Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) November 23, 2023

The NHL needed new blood, and the arrival of Crosby and Ovechkin came at just the right time.

The two guys aren’t as young as they used to be, and they know it: they don’t have many years left before retirement, and until then, they’re going to enjoy it all the way.

But in all this, I realize that maybe we haven’t really appreciated everything they’ve brought to the NHL in recent years. We took for granted that it was normal to see Ovechkin score 50 goals a season and Crosby collect over 90 points a year…

And we should have taken the time to love them both, instead of always wondering which one of them is the best hockey player.

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– It goes without saying.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends pic.twitter.com/Q7nEkDTYBs

– Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) November 23, 2023

– Yikes.

I’d argue that’s a very arbitrary cutoff date , but still, point taken. pic.twitter.com/PNN84eYCRO

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 23, 2023

– It’s now done!

Samuel Montembeault of @CanadiensMTL: “I’ve been dreaming of making a mitten save like that ever since I started watching Carey. He’s done so many.” https://t.co/sHGtYqWUxg pic.twitter.com/fMKykIw1fT

– 98.5 Sports (@985Sports) November 23, 2023