That's not enough to most hockey analysts. With the Capitals they look at all of them as these big super stars who should be huge team players. The fact of the matter is the Capitals core are "overrated" not superstars. The only 2 that can be considered super stars are Semin and Backstrom. Ovi is overrated as hell and within time his production is going to drop significantly (just look at Rick Trash, same thing is happening to him)

I'm amazed anyone is actually interested in Nash, he's not the all star captain he was in his 20's, and Columbus wants so much for him it's insane. Ovi isn't going to have as much of a decline as Nash in my opinion, but he won't be a household name for long. And Semin would be so much better with a top tier playmaker on his line. His name'd be used with the Ovechkins, the Crosby's, the Nashes. He just needs someone who can really set him up

Columbus wants so much because he's their only good player, the problem is that all rival GM's look at the situation and say, what's the point of giving up a top 6 forward, a prospect, and a draft pick for a guy who will be on a third line in less than a season. Ovi hasn't been playing up to par because the talent around him as improved and left him in the dust. Everyone praises him from that goal he scored on his ass against Phoenix. Not only was that Phoenix team at the time complete shit, but everyone held him up so high saying "OMGZ THIS IS SOOO AWWESOME." When there have been plenty of players who have done that. Fuck Bergeron set up Sturm for a powerplay goal when Bergeron was sliding on 1 knee and it isn't played on highlight reels for years and years.

Semin is very much like Samsonov in the sense that they rely heavily on their linemates. Which is not a bad thing, because you get spread offence across the line because you have someone who is relying heavily on his mates, while also making things happen for them. Semin's ideal line would be him along side a two-way forward and a play-maker.

It's sad to me that Ovi is a house hold name and Stamkos isn't, granted, he's playing on a great first line down there in Tampa, but, 60 goals in a season is no easy feat. He lead the NHL in goals last season and, he isn't getting praised like he's the second coming, but, Ovi is? Stupid. And I agree with you on Semin.

Give Stamkos another season and he'll be the new face of the NHL. Unlike Crosby and Ovi, Stamkos is a tough kid and isn't a total fucking douche bag. He's a respectable classy player, and he is a scoring machine. I definitively think he will rival Lemiuex and Gretzky as time passes.

Another guy I would love to see become a household name is Alex Pietrangelo. He has the scoring touch of Ray Bourque and in only his second professional season hit 51 points. That is really impressive for a sophomore rookie, and in his rookie season he landed 47 points. Keep him with Roman Polak and you will see St. Louis get one of the best defence cores in the leauge.

I don't know, he doesn't play as finnesse-y as Crosby or Ovi, and, the nhl commentators love the finnesse, so, he probably won't get half the time of a Crosby or a Ovi. Also, I hated this uproar of Crosby returning he had a concussion. A serious concussion, but, still a concussion. Nearly every single young player who has had a concussion in any sport came back to play about the same. Also, I think Malkin is better than Crosby. He's a more complete player.

Malkin is better than Crosby, but they are both arrogant assholes. Everyone made such a big deal of Crosby getting his concussion and all of the media was like "We aren't just getting up in arms because it's Crosby." , which is the case. When Marc Savard got knocked out by Matt Cooke they never brought it to the extent they did with Crosby, and when Bergeron got concussed, or when Eric Lindros got concussed, or when Lecavalier got concussed.

Stamoks has the ability to improve his deking and stick handling. If you saw the 2011 Conference Finals he showed some pretty good stick work. As soon as he puts up huge numbers and starts getting 100+ point seasons he will be the new big name in the NHL. And he deserves it; Crosby, Malkin, and Ovi are all heralded for their skill when everyone forgets how big of a bunch of arrogant fucks they are. Ovi is a tad more tolerable but he's still over the top, it's like ok you scored a goal you don't need to jump around like a fucking ape. Crosby's favorite thing is to coax people into a fight and then either turtle, hide behind a linesman, or he jerseys the guy and hits him while he's down like a little pussy. The only thing I can respect about Malkin was that he laid out Nash in a preseason game a few years back.

Agreed. Alot of hockey players get too big for their britches. And, Crosby's fights are some of the least entertaining in the nhl, unless he's getting his ass beat. Speaking of fights should they ban them?

They've been trying to ban fighting in the NHL for years. They can't, because players will continue to fight regardless. It's part of the game, players have to police themselves because 99% of the time linesmen can't do their job properly.

This is a player's poll on what they thought about it



People (like Mike Milbury) think that visors will help erase fighting, when he seems to forget you can rip another guys helmet off and then pumble him into the ice. Anyone who says fighting should be banned in the NHL, know nothing about the game of hockey and don't deserve to play.

Fighting is also one of the biggest drawing things in hockey. And, the linesmen in the NHL now are the worst in NHL history. Just look at that last game of the Stanley Cup Finals, and all of the biffed calls in the playoffs. It was disgusting.