With Alexander Ovechkin scoring his 802nd NHL goal and passing Gordie Howe as the league害羞草研究所檚 second all-time leading goal scorer, the debate continues as to whether or not he can catch Wayne Gretzky, who finished his illustrious career with 894.
Ovechkin害羞草研究所檚 two goals in Friday night害羞草研究所檚 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets moved him to within 92 goals of The Great One.
The debate on whether or not Ovechkin can overtake Gretzky isn害羞草研究所檛 the only one that is taking place 害羞草研究所� I害羞草研究所檝e actually even heard discussions on who is the better goal scorer and the better player.
The argument that you hear from those who favour Ovechkin is that he is a far superior athlete when it comes to a physical skill set than Gretzky 害羞草研究所� and I害羞草研究所檇 agree.
If you were to put Ovechkin in the DeLorean with Marty McFly and drop him off in 1982, he would be Biff Tannen on skates. At the same time, if you picked up Gretzky and time travelled to 2022, he wouldn害羞草研究所檛 be as great.
But it害羞草研究所檚 almost impossible to compare the two because there are so many different 害羞草研究所� and fluid - factors that weigh into the debate.
Ovechkin is the beneficiary of advancements in physical conditioning, equipment, skill development, scouting, nutrition, etc., that Gretzky could never access.
Physically comparing the two athletes is absurd. The same goes with comparing Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon or any other superstar from today害羞草研究所檚 era to the likes of Howe, Phil Esposito and Guy Lafleur.
Yet Gretzky and his contemporaries had their advantages, too.
Former NHLer and current ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro always liked to point out that the gap between the top six and the bottom six of team害羞草研究所檚 forward group has narrowed considerably over the years because of the aforementioned advancements.
Gretzky could feast on mismatches because the floor of the talent level was so much lower in his era. Ovechkin doesn害羞草研究所檛 have the same luxury.
And as far as goaltending is concerned, watching the position being played in the 1980s is almost comical. I害羞草研究所檝e always argued that no other position in sport has transformed itself more than goaltending in the last half-century.
READ MORE:
Then again, I害羞草研究所檝e never been a fan of comparing athletes from different eras.
What I am a fan of is comparing the level of domination of athletes from different eras.
Ovechkin has led the league in scoring on nine different occasions, Gretzky managed the same feat five times.
Gretzky害羞草研究所檚 career-high was 92 goals in 1981-82 害羞草研究所� which was 28 more than the next closest player in Mike Bossy.
Ovechkin害羞草研究所檚 best tally was the 65 goals he scored in 2007-08 害羞草研究所� which was 13 goals better than Atlanta害羞草研究所檚 Ilya Kovalchuk害羞草研究所檚 52.
Those are the types of numbers that should be used to determine who was the more 害羞草研究所榙ominant害羞草研究所� player.
And if you want to talk about how dominant Gretzky was versus his peers, look no further than the 1985-86 season in which he scored 52 goals and added 163 assists to finish with 215 points. Some guy named Mario Lemieux finished second in scoring that season with 141 points. In other words, Gretzky had more assists than Lemieux had points.
Gretzky害羞草研究所檚 dominance was such that some hockey pools would either make him ineligible or split his goals and assist totals into separate two categories.
When Barry Bonds finished his career with 762 home runs and was drawing comparisons to Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth, I shook my head again for the same reasons that I mentioned earlier when talking about Gretzky and Ovechkin.
When it came to who was the more dominant player in his generation, it was easily Ruth and it wasn害羞草研究所檛 even close.
In 1920, Ruth hit 54 home runs for the New York Yankees. The next closest player was George Sisler from St. Louis 害羞草研究所� who hit 19. In 1921, Ruth hit 59 homers with the next closest being his teammate Bob Meusel who hit 24.
I could go on but you get the idea.
If you want to debate about who is the better or more dominant player, comparing players from different generations is a flawed argument.
Compare them against their peers and you害羞草研究所檒l find out who truly was great and or dominant.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 害羞草研究所渢he Moj害羞草研究所� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media. And check out his weekly podcast every Monday at or your local Black Press Media website.
THE MOJ:
