Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings: #1
It should come as no surprise that Alex Ovechkin is the best wing in the Metropolitan Division. Let’s put some perspective into his dominance.
- Ovechkin has won the Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals) five times in his career. The only other person on this list to win the award? Nash won it back in 2003-2004 (split it with Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk).
- He has 216 points since the beginning of the 2012-2013 season. The next closest wing? Voracek (189).
- He has scored 136 goals over the past three seasons. The next closest on this list? Rick Nash (89).
- Despite what people say, his defense isn’t terrible. He has always been a positive possession player by a pretty wide margin.
Ovechkin’s job is to score goals. He does it better than everyone else. It’s comical how much better he is at scoring goals than everyone else. He gets the criticism of not getting enough assists. However, assists are not as valuable as goals. There would be a Wayne Gretzky award given to the guy who gets the most assists each season if assists were as meaningful as goals.
Ovechkin’s cemented at the top of this list. If someone else wants to be the best wing in the Metropolitan Division, they’ll have to outperform Ovechkin. Good luck doing that.