It will be interesting to see what he does in Sochi when we know he'll care.
It will indeed be interesting. His skill is unquestionable, but this raises questions about Ovechkin's character. As a player of his caliber and as the leader of his team, his drive should never, ever be an issue. His motivation should not be hindered by the poor effort of his team. In fact, his team's motivation should be strengthened by his efforts. If he was truly a world-class competitor, no one would ever have to wonder about his level of care.
I hate to bring his name into a thread that's solely about Ovechkin, but I can't ever imagine a thread about Sidney Crosby's motivation issues preventing him from playing at the highest level. Ovechkin needs to be more like Crosby.
I liked that stop move, I want to see him try that a bit more. And then the fake slapper, where did that come from? I love the fake shots and passes, versus the crester or shooting wide all the time. Make no mistake, Ovi is still in his prime. He is just trying to stay motivated through the long regular season, giving some grey hairs. He has always given his all in every playoff game, and usually in all "big" games.
Again, deep down, i wonder what Dale thought about that spear. Politcal correctness prevents him from telling a reporter that he liked it, so dont listen to what he says. It got us a PP to boot, and dispatched their tough guy to locker room, what's not to like. His captain his star got pissed, scored a big goal... I think it made an old captain like Dale proud. What Cap fan isnt happy tonight?
I doubt Hunter would even ever acknowledge that there was a spear. He's no dummy.
__________________
George McPhee....The Teflon GM. 15 years of failure and counting....
6 - Number of playoff series the Capitals have won since George McPhee took over as General Manager in 1997 (which makes him the third-longest-tenured GM in the League), three of which came in McPhee's first season on the job.
I liked that stop move, I want to see him try that a bit more. And then the fake slapper, where did that come from? I love the fake shots and passes, versus the crester or shooting wide all the time. Make no mistake, Ovi is still in his prime. He is just trying to stay motivated through the long regular season, giving some grey hairs. He has always given his all in every playoff game, and usually in all "big" games.
Again, deep down, i wonder what Dale thought about that spear. Politcal correctness prevents him from telling a reporter that he liked it, so dont listen to what he says. It got us a PP to boot, and dispatched their tough guy to locker room, what's not to like. His captain his star got pissed, scored a big goal... I think it made an old captain like Dale proud. What Cap fan isnt happy tonight?
This is exactly what I want to say and feel... but part of me says be wary.
Ovechkin is an elite talent... he's Pavel Bure with more size and physicality. He is far from done... another dozen years of dominance and then some is not out of the question. What is true is that there are serious problems in Washington. Something is wrong with that organization and in the dressing room... for a team that good to turn into what they are this year is incredible really and not in a good way. Some serious shake-ups will have to happen but Ovechkin won't be going anywhere.
The thing that surprises me the most in the threads like this is how people seem to be lumping it all together.
Take the idea that "his slump is 1.5 (or 2) years old". It would look like that if you just look at the point totals. However, if you dig deeper, it instantly looks really incorrect.
What made Ovechkin's last season look sub-par was his prolonged slump which lasted since late November to late February. In October-November and March-April he was the same good old OV, on pace for 40+ goals and 110+ pts.
The only thing that changed in his play in these periods compared to the first five seasons is, to an extent, the goal scoring. It looked like BB/team elected to use OV for low-percentage shots, and it sort of worked, because OV's goals just transformed into assists on tip-ins/redirections at about 1-to-1 rate.
Right now, he is undergoing another slump. What do we learn? First, to me the common thing between the period that spoiled Ovechkin's last season and the current state is the situation with the team. Last year, in December and January, the team was messed up and everyone was playing badly. The same is true about now. It is not just Ovechkin not being 100%, it is about basically everyone not being 100%.
Things like that do happen to Ovechkin. One most recent example is how he went to the Worlds this spring and had 0 points in 5 games, right after he was the best player on the Caps in the playoffs. It was not really about him, the whole Russian squad was confused and disorganized. This confusion instantly rubbed on Ovechkin. An example from more distant past is Ovechkin's showing in WC-2007 in Moscow, his home city, when he had 3 points in 9 games.
I think Ovechkin gets lost and plays badly every time the coach loses him and does not know how to use him. It is not about him getting upset, fat, lazy, losing his skill or whatever. It is about him getting the proper guidance and settling in a system he can understand. It happened more than once, it is happening now, and, as we learned from the previous regular season and the playoffs, eventually he and the coach collectively find a way out of that.
So no, I do not see much evidence so far that something extraordinary and totally new has happened to Ovechkin. I do not think he became a worse player, has been solved or anything like that. He got lost when the old system stopped clicking, he is currently adjusting to the new system, he will come back to his usual ways. Happened several times before, will happen again.
How do you explain the constant fumbling of the puck, the constant attempts at the same moves that rarely work anymore? Coach lost him? System?
How do you explain him getting 11g and 29pts in the last 8 weeks of the last season? He was going at a pace of 40g, 110pts for 2 whole months and carried it into the playoffs. It's not like he started using new moves then and clean forgot them over the summer. And he was still breaking sticks, losing the puck at the blue line and whatnot.
The thing that always made OV great to watch is that he routinely gave you the impression that with a bit more luck he could have scored much more than he did. When he was scoring 50 goals a season, it was just adding to the fun. When he is currently in a funk, everyone starts noticing that as if it is something new and holds it against him.
Answer a question with a question...nice dodge of the tough issue to explain.
How do I explain it? I explain it as him admitting to saving himself for the end of the season and the playoffs. I mean he admitted to coming into camp and working himself into shape. He started getting amped up for the playoffs as they approached.
This has been an 18 month'ish issue...not a few months here or there...every single Caps fan has seen it since around the Campbell suspension if not the Olympics. He's never had the fumbles like he's had this year specifically....he's never struggled like this over an extended amount of time.
A 2 month sample of stats isn't going to win a lot of arguments. And no he didn't start using new moves....and most agree that's part of the issue...lack of creativity and adapting to the NHL's approach at defending him.
How do you explain the constant fumbling of the puck, the constant attempts at the same moves that rarely work anymore? Coach lost him? System?
IMHO...thinking too much. Early in his career he just was bull in china shop ala kolzig's recent comments. Part of that is a positive in that he is making better decisions for the 'team' when circumstances demands. That being said why is he thinking too much is a pertinent question....some obvious questions and some not.
Answer a question with a question...nice dodge of the tough issue to explain.
How do I explain it? I explain it as him admitting to saving himself for the end of the season and the playoffs. I mean he admitted to coming into camp and working himself into shape. He started getting amped up for the playoffs as they approached.
This has been an 18 month'ish issue...not a few months here or there...every single Caps fan has seen it since around the Campbell suspension if not the Olympics. He's never had the fumbles like he's had this year specifically....he's never struggled like this over an extended amount of time.
A 2 month sample of stats isn't going to win a lot of arguments. And no he didn't start using new moves....and most agree that's part of the issue...lack of creativity and adapting to the NHL's approach at defending him.
Let me use some logic on you.
This March and April OV was as productive as he was on average during his career while using the same old moves that "has been solved", fumbling on the puck, etc.
Now he is still doing all the same, but the production is way lower. And somehow "the lack of creativity" and "fumbling" is the issue.
You are trying to get yourself out of that. First, you bring in the effort. Then you should switch from "the same moves" and "fumbling" to "he does not care". I do not think it is true, but I will ask you anyway: do you want to claim that as the main reason of what we are seeing from him now?
Second, you say "it was only 2 months". Well, let's stop this discussion then, this season is exactly 2 months old.
Moreover, if last March and April OV was as productive as ever with his old moves and fumbling, how exactly did he do that? Did he become better at something else so that it compensated for that? What is this "something else" and where is it now?
Or, probably, he was predictable to an extent and was prone to fumbling all the way? This last one is what I think. I believe he just got a free pass for that because of all success he had, and once he had one prolonged slump due to team issues, everyone jumped at what was basically always there and started kicking him for that. And I do not think this is the right thing to do, he has never been perfect and that is fine. I bet you that once he gets on 60-goal pace again, his "predictable" moves will be labeled "unstoppable" again, and his "fumbles" will turn into "high-risk plays".
Answer a question with a question...nice dodge of the tough issue to explain.
How do I explain it? I explain it as him admitting to saving himself for the end of the season and the playoffs. I mean he admitted to coming into camp and working himself into shape. He started getting amped up for the playoffs as they approached.
This has been an 18 month'ish issue...not a few months here or there...every single Caps fan has seen it since around the Campbell suspension if not the Olympics. He's never had the fumbles like he's had this year specifically....he's never struggled like this over an extended amount of time.
A 2 month sample of stats isn't going to win a lot of arguments. And no he didn't start using new moves....and most agree that's part of the issue...lack of creativity and adapting to the NHL's approach at defending him.
For an OV fan you sure do ***** about him a lot.... So what is it that you are trying to achieve?
I'm just glad he's getting first line minutes again. It's a lot easier to play your way out of a slump when you're getting 22 minutes than when you get 17.
Also, and this may have been discussed elsewhere, did I briefly see Ovy on the PK earlier this week?
I think Ovechkin's fumbling of pucks and all of that has been worse over the last couple years (and I think the overthinking explanation is probably pretty correct), but not as much so as some people think. His puck control was always much worse than a lot of people seemed to think, but it was in some ways irrelevant because he was productive. His downfalls have always been his predictability and his ability to control the puck consistently. His predictability may have become more of a problem in that teams started exploiting it more, and his puck control has probably been somewhat worse, again probably because of overthinking. When those two problems coincide, his rushes start to look a lot worse. Hopefully we're starting to see him adjust in a way that allows him to keep scoring goals.
It's mostly mental, but I do think he has to adapt his game.
I'm not sure he was willing to do so, or able to do so under Bruce.
It's not a knock against Boudreau, but I think he had to have change in order to make the differences he needed to in order to get back on task.
I also think a task master is probably best for him. He's a fun loving guy who enjoys goofing around, having a laugh more than really getting his nose to the grind stone. Yet, how do you think he became what he is? Hard work and motivation along with a lot of genetic ability. Who drove that hard work into him? I'm fairly certain his mother who doesn't take any mess from him and cuts out the crap is a lot of what drove it. He also had one of his best seasons in the KHL with a task master coach.
If Hunter can ride him, he can mold him, and drive him. While I do think the fun loving, joking kinda guy in Bruce was what Ovechkin might have enjoyed, when it comes down to it, Ovechkin probably needs someone to crack the whip at this stage.
How do you explain the constant fumbling of the puck, the constant attempts at the same moves that rarely work anymore? Coach lost him? System?
confidence....its a funny thing. Without it a player just isnt the same....with gobs of it there is little they cant do
its pretty obvious to me that he is a player who has lost a lot of confidence...and it snowballed to an extent. Fumbling the puck and using the same moves doesnt scream "i dont care"....but maybe thats just me
