He is called “The Great Eight” and rightfully so.
When Alex Ovechkin wants to turn it on in order to dominate a game he can flip that switch and this past season was a prime example of the talent which lays dormant within this superstar.
The numbers tell the same story in the lock-out shortened season as Ovechkin netted 32 goals and added 24 assists finishing third in the scoring race behind Martin St. Louis Steven Stamkos.
It was a year which ended with Ovechkin being named as the first team right winger and no argument there from me given the season he had.
But just to show you what kind of season that was for him, the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted in favour of Alex being named the all-star left winger on the second team as well.
Now in their defence, Ovechkin did manage a handful of games at left wing which may have even been enough to garner a few votes from some uninformed writers but even that is a stretch.
A close look at the voting from these experts from the press box show that 45 writers felt it was enough to give him the needed votes as a left winger.
He managed to edge out the Oilers Taylor Hall for that honour and now the kid in Edmonton is left scratching his head, wondering how that could have happened.
Hall likely was feeling comfortable at having a shot at the all-star spot and what a treat it would have been for the hard-working kid but alas, the writers had a different story scripted.
What we can read between the lines of this one is varied.
Firstly, Ovechkin is that good he deserves to be an all-star at both positions.
Secondly, Taylor Hall needs to step up his game in order to be named to at least one position next season with multiple selections a few years down the road.
Thirdly, the writers who cast those votes didn’t watch much in the way of NHL hockey this season.
You can choose which option you think is the most likely scenario.
I can’t wait for next year to see if Alex blocks enough shots in the season to garner votes for first or second team all-star goalie!
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