Looking Back at Alex Ovechkin and how he's – somewhat surprisingly – becoming underrated in fantasy hockey.
This isn't your older brother's Alex Ovechkin.
Gone are the years of 50 goals and 110 points. Replaced with up and down goal totals to go along with a middling Washington team devoid of consistent secondary scoring. A downturn was inevitable, especially for a scorer entering his late twenties.
A lot of the talk this summer has centered on the fact that he is becoming increasingly reliant on the man advantage to pad his totals. And that's true, to a degree. He'll be 29 years old in September and isn't quite the same dominating, physical force he was five or six years ago. But I almost look at his difficulties producing at five-on-five as an opportunity. He scored 51 goals with virtually zero help from his linemates, on a Capitals team that was 13th in goals per game. Can you imagine what his numbers would look like with a bit more puck luck at evens and a better supporting cast?
If Washington can improve, even modestly, in 2014-15, and Ovechkin's linemates shoot at a percentage higher than 3.8%, then we could be looking at something special. Is 60, or even 65 goals possible? Maybe. There is plenty of room to push upward from last season.
A scary thought if you don't own the first overall pick.
| Looking Back…at April, 2003 Top Players |
Darren Kennedy (@fantasyhockeydk) is a contributor for DobberHockey and Mckeen's. He'll talk about anything and everything… except Kovalchuk. Never, ever, Kovalchuk.
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