Pittsburgh Sports with a Side of Sarcasm

The Sidney Crosby versus Alex Ovechkin rivalry is now old enough to legally drink. That’s right, this coming season will mark the 21^st, and perhaps final season in their storied rivalry. Despite the longevity of their careers, the question still rages on of which superstar is the better player; it’s a fun debate, but I think we can all agree that they’re both really, really good.

Crosby and Ovechkin both entered the league as highly-touted rookies for the 2005-06 season. Both, needless to say, have lived up to the hype. In fact, Ovechkin and Crosby rank first and second, respectively, in goals scored since 2005-06 amongst active players. Although both are entering their 21st season, expectations still remain high because of the accomplishments they achieved last season with Crosby securing his 20th-consecutive point-per-game season; the most in NHL history and, of course, Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record with his 895th goal.

As you can see in the chart below, heading into this season both players are still averaging more than a point per game for their careers, Crosby at 1.25 and Ovechkin at 1.09. You would expect two players approaching the age of 40 to have their point-per-game production trend sightly downward over the past few seasons, but that is not the case. Crosby’s point-per-game average last season was higher than five of his previous seasons and Ovechkin’s points-per-game last season matched or exceeded 13 of his previous seasons. Surprisingly, both had their career-lowest points per game average much earlier in their careers. For Crosby it was the 2015-16 season, averaging “only” 1.06 points per game. For Ovechkin it was the 2011-12 season when he “bottomed out” at .83 points per game.

	Crosby			Ovechkin
Season	GP	Points	Points/Game	GP	Points	Points/Game
2005-06	81	102	1.26	81	106	1.31
2006-07	79	120	1.52	82	92	1.12
2007-08	53	72	1.36	82	112	1.37
2008-09	77	103	1.34	79	110	1.39
2009-10	81	109	1.35	72	109	1.51
2010-11	41	66	1.61	79	85	1.08
2011-12	22	37	1.68	78	65	0.83
2012-13	36	56	1.56	48	56	1.17
2013-14	80	104	1.30	78	79	1.01
2014-15	77	84	1.09	81	81	1.00
2015-16	80	85	1.06	79	71	0.90
2016-17	75	89	1.19	82	69	0.84
2017-18	82	89	1.09	82	87	1.06
2018-19	79	100	1.27	81	89	1.10
2019-20	41	47	1.15	68	67	0.99
2020-21	55	62	1.13	45	42	0.93
2021-22	69	84	1.22	77	90	1.17
2022-23	82	93	1.13	73	75	1.03
2023-24	82	94	1.15	79	65	0.82
2024-25	80	91	1.14	65	73	1.12
Totals	1352	1687	1.25	1491	1623	1.09

While Crosby has racked up more points in fewer games, there is no doubt that Ovechkin is the more prolific goal scorer. Ovechkin has racked the most goals in NHL history with an incredible 897 goals as compared to 726 assists. Opposite of Ovechkin, Crosby is definitely more of the playmaker with 625 total goals compared to an astounding 1062 assists.

Crosby is signed through the 2026-27 season, which would be his 22^nd. However, Ovechkin’s contract is up at the end of this season. There is obviously no doubt that both will be in the Hall of Fame someday, but there is still some time for them to add to their already incredible legacies. Undoubtedly, each is still relied up as their team’s primary source of offense as evidenced by Crosby ranking 10^th in the NHL in points last season with 91 and Ovechkin ranking 37^th with 73 in just 65 games.

The numbers that Crosby and Ovechkin put up last year were indeed historic. When comparing what they did to what other greats did in their 20th season, well, there really isn’t much of a comparison. Most, with the exception of Gordie Howe, dipped way below their career average of points per game in their 20^th seasons. However, Crosby’s points per game in his 20th season were higher than anyone on the list and Ovechkin’s were second-highest on the list and actually exceeded his career average.

In the same manner, it is interesting to see how some of the all-time greats faired in their 21st season. Predictably, many of the all-time greats dipped well below their career points per game average in their 21^st season. Based off the chart below, Crosby and Ovechkin are defying the odds and Father Time.

	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points	21st Season Points/Game	Career Avg. Points/Game
Ovechkin	tbd	tbd	tbd	tbd	tbd	1.09
Crosby	tbd	tbd	tbd	tbd	tbd	1.25
Selanne	64	9	18	27	0.422	1
Recchi	81	18	25	43	0.531	0.927
Howe	69	25	40	65	0.942	1.05
Messier	66	17	37	54	0.818	1.07
Marleau	82	16	21	37	0.451	0.672
Jagr	77	17	30	47	0.610	1.11
Francis	80	27	50	77	0.963	1.04
Thornton	73	16	35	51	0.699	0.898
Yzerman	75	18	33	51	0.680	1.16

Both players already rank in the top-11 all-time in career points. Joe Sakic ranks 10^th all-time with 1641 career points. Barring injury, Ovechkin will certainly record the 19 points he needs to pass Sakic this season and cement himself amongst the top-ten in career points. Meanwhile, Crosby sits at ninth all-time and needs 36 points to catch his former landlord, Mario Lemieux, for eighth all-time. With an 85-point season, Crosby could skyrocket up the list past Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, and Marcel Dionne and move into sixth place all-time.

Hockey fans have been treated to the exploits of Crosby and Ovechkin for 20 seasons. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their nearly unprecedented levels of production as the final seasons of their careers unfold. So, after examining all of the numbers above, can we definitely say who is the better player? Well, let’s just say we are all better for having had the opportunity to watch these two all-time greats for the past two decades.