Frozen Fantasy: Stop Taking Ovechkin for Granted

On Wednesday night, Alexander Ovechkin became the 84th player in NHL history to score 1,000 points. He did it in 880 games – that's the 24th fastest pace of all time. And 58 games fewer than the great Gordie Howe.

So, why doesn't he get any respect?

Aside from this week, Alexander the Gr8 has been disparaged, denounced and denigrated. He has been condemned because he's flashy and emotional. And he doesn't have a Stanley Cup.

Is that really fair?

He has long list of successes. Ovechkin has led the NHL in goals six times and hit 50 in seven seasons. He's topped 80 points seven times and 100 points four times. And his list of awards is huge – Ovie has won 14 trophies (Calder, Art Ross, three Harts, three Pearsons and six Rocket Richards) and made too many All-Star teams to even count.

Ovechkin is also stunningly durable, despite those freight-train hits he delivers. He has never missed more than 10 games in a season since he first laced them up in the NHL. And he's led the NHL in shots in 10 of his 11 seasons.

But, still no Cup. Just a whole lot of criticism.

Do we take his energy, flash and relentlessness for granted? Ovechkin is a fantasy beast. He has fun on the ice. He's an absolute joy to watch.

Maybe it's time to stop judging players against an antiquated code that says hockey players need to be stoic and emotionless. And that the only way to be truly great is to deliver a silver chalice to their city.

Ernie Banks is one of the very best players in MLB history. And not even he could break the Cubs curse.

Now, let's look at who caught my eye this week.

Andreas Athanasiou, LW/C, Detroit (2 percent Yahoo owned) – Athanasiou's most recent benching (yes, most recent) lit a fire in his shorts and the speedster rang up three goals, three assists and a plus-6 rating in three games prior to Thursday night. Bam. Athanasiou doesn't always think when he skates and that gets him into trouble. And he's easily distracted by … wait, SQUIRREL. Athanasiou will get benched again soon enough. But he's talented enough to put up points in bunches if the spirit moves him. I benefitted from having him on my roster this week and I'll drop him at the first sign of bushy-tailed rodents. Until then, Athanasiou might fire up your stats.

Tyler Bozak, C, Toronto (10 percent) - Bozak is looking more comfortable playing down the Toronto lineup and he's ripping it on the power play. He's on a three-game scoring streak (two goals, four assists) heading into the weekend and all of those points have come with the man advantage. The Leafs are one of the most exciting offensive teams in the NHL and Bozak is benefiting from the young talent around him. Why not take advantage?

Markus Granlund, LW/C, Vancouver (1 percent) - Markus will never deliver as many points as his older brother, Mikael (Minnesota). But he has scored four goals in his last four games to bring him to 11 on the season. Hey – that's one more his big brother at this point in the season. The younger Granlund is actually on pace to score 20 goals. There's real value in that. Go get him on the cheap.

Ryan Hartman, LW/RW, Chicago (6 percent) - Hartman is the kind of player every team wants. He will do whatever job is asked – kill penalties, dig in the corners and jump into the offense. And it's the latter that Hartman has been delivering of late. Prior to Friday's shellacking at the hands of the red-hot Caps, Hartman put up five points in two games. And that included a hat trick Sunday. He's more of a two-way guy than an offensive forward, but Hartman does have good hands. Short term, he might help.

Dennis Seidenberg, D, NY Islanders (9 percent) - Seidenberg is here for one reason and one reason only – plus minus. He's plus-19 in 34 games on a team that's going nowhere fast. Your blue line is the place to run single-category guys – their lost scoring just won't hurt you (as much). I've actually climbed one spot in a Yahoo! league, simply on Seidenberg's plus minus. Seriously. Consider him, depending on your needs.

Andrej Sekera, D, Edmonton (20 percent) - Sekera started the season with six points in 23 games and many owners pulled the chute. Bad idea. In his last 19 games, Sekera has delivered at a 60-point pace (14 points). He should be owned in a lot more than one-in-five leagues. Go scour your wire, just in case. Sekera might be sitting out there. Alone. In need of a team. Your team.

Drew Stafford, RW/C, Winnipeg (4 percent) - Stafford is doing his best Patrik Laine impression now that the young 'un is in sickbay. OK, he won't score like Laine – few can. But Stafford can pass, so he'll have no problem finding Mark Scheifele. Or Bryan Little. Or whoever is a top-six pivot in the Peg. I locked him down Friday night. Go get him yourself.

Austin Watson, LW/RW, Nashville (1 percent) - Watson isn't a guy you want on your roster long. He's big with decent hands, but his skating isn't on par with the speed of today's NHL. But Watson can deliver a bit of this and a touch of that in short spurts, and he's doing that right now. He heads into Saturday's game against the Avs on a three-game goal streak. And since late last week (five games), Watson has 18 PIM, 16 hits, 11 shots and nine blocks. He may be the kind of journeyman you need if your league uses more obscure categories.

Back to Ovechkin.

The guy has flair. He tied Rocket Richard with 544 career goals in Montreal. He then marched into Sidney Crosby's barn and hit 1,000 points a mere 35 seconds into the game.

Dang. No – HOT dang.

Ovechkin is one of the league's best players. And the milestones are going to keep piling up. He should hit 600 goals and 1,000 games next season.

And he has a legitimate shot at 800 goals.

Ovechkin may already be the best pure goal scorer the NHL has ever seen. Let's start enjoying what we're seeing and stop judging a man's value on a silver Cup. Or the country he comes from.

Who knows – that might even take some of the pressure off. And you never know what shiny object might come.

Until next week.