Let Ovie be Ovie

Alex Ovechkin: Too Dirty?

So in lieu of Alexander Ovechkin’s suspension after a knee-on-knee hit against a Carolina Hurricanes player, and a game misconduct in the previous game against the Sabres, many have begun to ask the question if Ovechkin’s playing style is too dirty. They question the fact that he’s the league’s highest scoring player, but plays a style of hockey that endangers not only others’ careers, but also his own career.

Far too often have people accused European players, especially Russians, of being too soft when they play, and that they are too afraid to make a hit on an opposing player. So now I find it extremely interesting that people are now complaining that Ovechkin is too rough and should tone it down.

So what do these people want?!?!

As a Capitals fan, I would like to defend Ovechkin’s actions during these past few games and his overall style of hockey. Unfortunately, I can’t allow Ovechkin to make knee-on-knee hits on other players. Even his coach, Bruce Boudreau, won’t excuse his recent actions. He calls his playing style “reckless”.

And of course it’s reckless! The worst part about his actions that got him suspended was that the Hurricanes player wasn’t even hurt! Ovechkin was the one who was day-to-day with an injury from the hit. I fear that if Ovechkin were to continue playing with reckless abandon, he DOES, in fact, run the risk of giving himself a possibly career-ending injury. As the Capitals’ star player, the face of the NHL, and possibly one of the greatest to ever play in the NHL, that would be a disaster.

But do I necessarily want him to change his game? Not really. Yes, I would like Ovechkin to thinking about how he plans to make a hit, especially since now, the referees are going to scrutinize him. Ovechkin, being as big and strong as he is, should consider the force and angle at which he chooses to make a hit on an opposing player.

However, I am not going to ask him to stop being aggressive toward other players, and I want him to continue to deliver bone-crushing hits (cleanly). It is what draws his fans in; his mixture of a European scoring touch and a North American sense of toughness. Afterall, it’s just Ovie being Ovie.

Should the NHL be in the Olympics?

For the past decade it’s been common for NHL players to take a break from the league in February and head to wherever the Winter Olympics are being held. Sometimes players return to their homeland, such as Canada or Russia. But when the roster is being announced on January 1, 2010, is it enough time to form a team that’s capable of winning? For that matter, does it make it less special if a bunch of professionals win?

We all know the story of the 1980 U.S. hockey team, otherwise known as the “Miracle on Ice.” They defeated the Soviet Union and took home the gold medal. The team had good players, but none of them were players in the NHL. I think it somehow made the win more meaningful, because the team truly bonded.

With professionals taking all the glory, what happens afterwards? Sure, a team may have won a medal and brought home something for their country. But then they all go back to their separate teams, splitting them up from this common goal they shared. They have their multi-million contracts, post-season hopes, and friends that they’ve left back home.

I really hope that in the future the trend goes back to getting amateurs and college players to participate in the NHL. I think the team bonds better, thinking about what their win could mean for their country instead of what it would mean for their individual career. They’ll never be another team like in 1980, but maybe it would bring more distinction back to the Winter Games.

A Captain, he is not

When life is good, as it was after the first eight games of the season when the Rangers were 7-1, it’s very easy to overlook the flaws that plague a team. Of course, we were aware that this team wasn’t truly an elite powerhouse in the NHL, but we saw what kind of potential this team had. Now, after going just 7-13-1 since that torrid start, the Rangers are not only seeking a win, but they’re searching for an identity. The wins at the beginning of the season masked their imperfections, the losses ever since has accentuated them. The Broadway Blueshirts were supposed to be a run-and-gun offense–for a team that really worked hard in the offseason to get in better physical shape, they wanted to be an aggressive, full out attack hockey club. Maybe that was the case in the first eight games of the season, but ever since that they’ve lacked that extra gear, as more often than not their opponent has dictated the play.

While I could write a whole post about this team’s flaws: a lack of secondary scoring, too many defensive lapses, and a dearth of any sort of physical presence, to name a few, I’ll save that for a future entry. Every team will go through their trials and tribulations during a season. The fact is, the good ones are able to weather the storm and stop the bleeding more quickly than the inferior teams. The Rangers right now are a submissive hockey club; they’re one game above .500 at MSG, which is supposed to possess a huge home-ice advantage. And they’re a team without any sort of attitude or spunk.

Maybe it’s because we’ve been fortunate enough to have one of the better leaders in professional sports, Mark Messier, grace the Garden ice for a decade that I’ve been spoiled. But, right now the “C” on Chris Drury’s sweater is meaningless to me. What kind of leader is he? When Messier was in town, he was outspoken, sensible, and unsatisfied. But ever since Drury has been named the “captain,” he’s been nothing more than another player choking in the limelight of New York.

First off, Drury is making the most money on the Rangers’ roster: more than Marian Gaborik, more than Wade Redden, and more than Henrik Lundqvist. Signed a few years ago to be a number-one type center, Drury has been anything but, especially since the “C” has been patched on his jersey. Last season, Drury’s point total dropped to its lowest point since the 2003-2004 season, which wouldn’t be too terrible had his plus/minus not been a negative-eight. Or maybe none of us would care, had Drury produced when the fans of New York want it most: in the postseason. After the Rangers went up two games to one against the Capitals, what did the “captain” do? Well, he played just forty minutes combined in three games, compiling zero points, three shots on a goal, and a plus/minus of negative four.

Okay, so maybe this season would be different. John Tortorella would have a full offseason to implement his system, the players would become more acclimated to his style, and Drury would begin to fulfill the obligations of a captain in New York. My hopefulness was a bit short-sighted, it’s been much more of the same in this year’s campaign, maybe even worse.

Drury is a tough player in some regards, yet he’s not in others. He’s an excellent shock blocker, absorbs crunching hits like the best of players, and he’s a hard-worker. But he’s not a fierce player; he doesn’t hit anyone. A captain in New York needs to be someone willing to not only receive hits, but dish them out as well. With 23 hits in 22 games played this season, Drury is far from a physical presence–and the team follows suit, as Ryan Callahan and Sean Avery are probably the only consistent bangers on the team.

For someone who was originally signed to be the number one center, this season is the perfect opportunity to show that he is capable. After all, Vinny Prospal , who’s been a winger for the majority of his career is centering the first line and a rookie in Artem Anismov is centering the second line. There is no legitimate faceoff threat. Drury’s faceoff winning percentage has declined over the past three seasons: 55%, 51%, to 50% this season. Even Prospal has won more faceoffs than Drury this season and he’s signed for quite the bargain!

So not only is Drury not taking the body, winning his share of faceoffs, but he’s not scoring (surprise!) at all, either. With just two goals on the year, Drury is projected for six goals and 27 points this season! I think half the Rangers’ AHL team could score more than that. I’m no coach, but possibly if Drury would shoot more than just 1.7 times per game, he’d score more goals? Again some wishful thinking, considering he’s missed the net 17 times already this season. Compare that to Gaborik who has 93 shots and 36 misses, and you realize Drury is a futile offensive presence.

As I begin to wrap this up, we’ll stray away from the numbers. Ultimately captains represent more than the figures shown on a stat-sheet anyway. They’re the ones who have to say the right things in the locker room to the press after the games conclude. Messier never shied away; he never patted the team on his back if it wasn’t warranted. Drury though, is a different story. It’s quotes like this after the 5-2 loss to the Penguins that make me question his leadership qualifications more than just the production on the ice:

“Every loss hurts,” captain Chris Drury said. “I always feel it’s hard to find good things in a loss but tonight I certainly felt we did some good things. A couple of unfortunate breakdowns results in two goals.”

It would be fine had it not been the same thing he says after every other loss. This “captain” doesn’t speak up, call people out, or motivate his teammates. It’s like he’s perfectly okay with the level of effort, but doesn’t really care about winning.

It’s about time Drury be a man for once. If he’s not going to be a leader on the sacred Garden ice, then give up the “C.” Us New York fans know a captain when we see one… and right now you’re far from it.

-Jimmy