Pavel Datsyuk: Best Forward in the NHL?

I'd say Lecavalier, Iginla and Joe Thornton are better all around players than Ovechkin as well

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:I'd say Lecavalier, Iginla and Joe Thornton are better all around players than Ovechkin as well

Heck, Alfie is too.

The thing I really do love about OV though, is that he can take over a game like no other forward out there (although Crosby's pretty good at that too). I recall one game against New York where he basically turned into the T-1000, as another fan put it, and won the game basically by himself.

Ovechkin is definitely one of those T-1000 types. Hey, at that level, they're all soooo good.

But Datsyuk just does everything. And a lot of stuff you don't notice unless you watch the game really closely, such as what Farber cited in his article.

Datsyuk made one of those kinds of plays last night against the Sabres. His work helped set up Hossa's goal that basically nailed the game shut.

When Ovechkin will be 29-ish years old, I think his overall game will be much more complete. Him and Malkin are still making "yougers" mistakes, hence the turnovers.

marakh wrote:When Ovechkin will be 29-ish years old, I think his overall game will be much more complete. Him and Malkin are still making "yougers" mistakes, hence the turnovers.

I think his game will have vastly declined by that time. That crash and bang style probably plays havoc on his body. He can't be running around trying to run Malkin and end up hurting himself.

For what it's worth, Malkin I think is far more complete and may one day win both the Art Ross AND Selke trophies. His problem is that he seems to be overwhelmed in pressure situations, whereas Crosby, who I think is a worse player, rises to the challenge.

If Malkin can change that, there's little limit to the heights he can reach IMO. But right now, I'd take Crosby because I'm not sure how Malkin will perform in the clutch.

Some of the reasons why I like Datsyuk for the long haul...his game is soooo smart.

I think this is what larionov would have looked like in his prime ,too bad he was on the older side when he got to the nhl,another slick center in his day

top shelf15 wrote:I think this is what larionov would have looked like in his prime ,too bad he was on the older side when he got to the nhl,another slick center in his day

Prince Igor salutes you!



Na zdarovye!