Who is "the MAN"?

[Viking4Alpha]

I'm new to hockey. I love going to my local IHL games. (Fort Wayne Komets) I'll be honest, I don't know the first damn thing about this sport. I just like to watch, and know a few names like Gretzky, Messier, Lemieux, Brodeur, Crosby and Ovechkin.

I'm pretty stoked about having the opportunity to collect something completely new to me. It's alot like being 10 years old again and first discovering a sport and its cards, etc.

All this being said, who is "the man" of the NHL right now and why? I've already watched a ****-ton of Ovechkin and Crosby videos on youtube and read many of the comments.

Who do you have as top dog?

Also- shoutout to mstngtim and gmoney from the football boards who lured me over here with their badass hockey stuff.

 

[mstng99tim]

In my opinion, the top players are (in order):

Malkin - reminds me of Lemieux, which is just insane
Crosby - the best playmaker in the game right now, insane vision and awareness
Ovechkin - scores TONS of goals, but also shoots his ass off.....I'm not a fan of his celebrations and showing up the other team though
Datsyuk - the best defensive forward in the league and gets plenty of points
Iginla - he's just a badass, I'm sure GMoney will elaborate further
Brodeur - one of the best goalies to ever play

 

[G $MONEY$]

In my opinion, the top players are (in order):

Malkin - reminds me of Lemieux, which is just insane
Crosby - the best playmaker in the game right now, insane vision and awareness
Ovechkin - scores TONS of goals, but also shoots his ass off.....I'm not a fan of his celebrations and showing up the other team though
Datsyuk - the best defensive forward in the league and gets plenty of points
Iginla - he's just a badass, I'm sure GMoney will elaborate further
Brodeur - one of the best goalies to ever play

Pretty darn good list. Generally in the sport and the hobby, Sidney Crosby is presently "The man". He is the "poster boy" of the NHL and is just coming off winning his first Stanley Cup. Ovechkin and Malkin (Malkin won the scoring race this year in the regualr season and playoffs, Ovechkin won MVP of regular season)are also very, very popular, but are just a tiny step behind Crosby (imo), due to them being from Russia and Crosby being from Canada. Generally players that are Canadian or American born are the most popular in the Hobby, although in the last few years, Russians are proving they can be popular as well. The most popular born American player right now is probably Patrick Kane of Chicago. He is very young and won ROY (rookie of the year) in 07/08. Tims list above is very good, ill add a few more modern day players that get some Hobby love and are the stars of today...

Zach Parise- breakout year, very young, had RCs in 05/06, plays for New Jersey

Ilya Kovalchuk- Another Russian born player who has some hobby love, but plays in Atlanta so is not "seen" as much as the others 2 Russians.

Ryan Getzlaf- RCs in 05/06, plays in Anaheim, should be a top 10 scorer for the next 10 years at least.

Henrik Zetterberg- Plays in Detroit, was last years Stanley Cup MVP.

N. Backstrom- Plays with Ovechkin, top draft pick a few years ago, has RCs in 07/08.

Jeff Carter- Break out year, had the 2nd most goals last year, only Ovechkin had more. RCs in 05/06.

Jonathon Towes and Patrick Kane- I put them together, both had RCs in 07/08 and are both responsible for turning Chicago around, both are very popular in the Hobby, some compare them to a "mini" version of Crosby/Malkin.

Roberto Luongo- Goaltender, plays in Vancouver, one of the best.

Marc Andre Fleury- Goaltender, #1 draft pick in 2003, plays with Crosby and Malkin.

Henrik Lundqvist- Goaltender, plays in New York and has a very strong hobby following


2005/06 is generally known as the "best" year in Hockey cards. First year of the High end set called THE CUP (Hockeys Exquisite) and so many great RCs like Crosby, Ovechkin, Carter, Parise, Getzlaf, Lundqvist and many others. This year was very similar to Basketballs 03/04, that was B-balls first year of Exquisite with RCs of Lebron, Wade, Carmelo, Bosh Etc. Crosby's 05/06 Cup RC out of 99 is the entire Hobbys most expensive RC in the last 40+ years, no other rookies in any sport sell for as much as Crosby Cup RC (Lebron Exquisite is close though).

This is a great year to get into Hockey, 2009/10 Hockey cards are starting to be compared with 05/06 Hockey cards as 2 high profile rookies are playing this year. John Tavares for the New York islanders is gonna be HUGE this year, possibly as popular as Crosby or Ovechkin were in 2005. The other big RC this year is Victor Hedman, a 6' 6" defenseman for the Tampa bay Lighting.

Generally the best players of all time are Gretzky, Lemieux, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr. Also, much like Football, Defensive players dont get much love in the Hobby. The most popular players are Forwards/Centers followed by Goalies. Defensemen do get some Hobby love though as Dion Phaneuf proved in 2005. Hedman is a Dman but is supposed to be very popular this year.

Anymore questions? ask away... :lol:

 

[adamcm]

In my opinion, the top players are (in order):

Malkin - reminds me of Lemieux, which is just insane
Crosby - the best playmaker in the game right now, insane vision and awareness
Ovechkin - scores TONS of goals, but also shoots his ass off.....I'm not a fan of his celebrations and showing up the other team though
Datsyuk - the best defensive forward in the league and gets plenty of points
Iginla - he's just a badass, I'm sure GMoney will elaborate further
Brodeur - one of the best goalies to ever play

Pretty darn good list. Generally in the sport and the hobby, Sidney Crosby is presently "The man". He is the "poster boy" of the NHL and is just coming off winning his first Stanley Cup. Ovechkin and Malkin (Malkin won the scoring race this year in the regualr season and playoffs, Ovechkin won MVP of regular season)are also very, very popular, but are just a tiny step behind Crosby (imo), due to them being from Russia and Crosby being from Canada. Generally players that are Canadian or American born are the most popular in the Hobby, although in the last few years, Russians are proving they can be popular as well. The most popular born American player right now is probably Patrick Kane of Chicago. He is very young and won ROY (rookie of the year) in 07/08. Tims list above is very good, ill add a few more modern day players that get some Hobby love and are the stars of today...

Zach Parise- breakout year, very young, had RCs in 05/06, plays for New Jersey

Ilya Kovalchuk- Another Russian born player who has some hobby love, but plays in Atlanta so is not "seen" as much as the others 2 Russians.

Ryan Getzlaf- RCs in 05/06, plays in Anaheim, should be a top 10 scorer for the next 10 years at least.

Henrik Zetterberg- Plays in Detroit, was last years Stanley Cup MVP.

N. Backstrom- Plays with Ovechkin, top draft pick a few years ago, has RCs in 07/08.

Jeff Carter- Break out year, had the 2nd most goals last year, only Ovechkin had more. RCs in 05/06.

Jonathon Towes and Patrick Kane- I put them together, both had RCs in 07/08 and are both responsible for turning Chicago around, both are very popular in the Hobby, some compare them to a "mini" version of Crosby/Malkin.

Roberto Luongo- Goaltender, plays in Vancouver, one of the best.

Marc Andre Fleury- Goaltender, #1 draft pick in 2003, plays with Crosby and Malkin.

Henrik Lundqvist- Goaltender, plays in New York and has a very strong hobby following


2005/06 is generally known as the "best" year in Hockey cards. First year of the High end set called THE CUP (Hockeys Exquisite) and so many great RCs like Crosby, Ovechkin, Carter, Parise, Getzlaf, Lundqvist and many others. This year was very similar to Basketballs 03/04, that was B-balls first year of Exquisite with RCs of Lebron, Wade, Carmelo, Bosh Etc. Crosby's 05/06 Cup RC out of 99 is the entire Hobbys most expensive RC in the last 40+ years, no other rookies in any sport sell for as much as Crosby Cup RC (Lebron Exquisite is close though).

This is a great year to get into Hockey, 2009/10 Hockey cards are starting to be compared with 05/06 Hockey cards as 2 high profile rookies are playing this year. John Tavares for the New York islanders is gonna be HUGE this year, possibly as popular as Crosby or Ovechkin were in 2005. The other big RC this year is Victor Hedman, a 6' 6" defenseman for the Tampa bay Lighting.

Generally the best players of all time are Gretzky, Lemieux, Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr. Also, much like Football, Defensive players dont get much love in the Hobby. The most popular players are Forwards/Centers followed by Goalies. Defensemen do get some Hobby love though as Dion Phaneuf proved in 2005. Hedman is a Dman but is supposed to be very popular this year.

Anymore questions? ask away... :lol:

Great post! I'll add a couple more:

Carey Price
Steve Mason

 

[jeff550]

i wouls say ovechkin is the best malkin second and crosby third. its all very close imo.

 

[G $MONEY$]

Great post! I'll add a couple more:

Carey Price
Steve Mason

Excellent additions! Both are goalies and both are very young. Steve Mason plays in Columbus and just won rookie of the year, his RCs are in all 08/09 products. Carey Price has RCs in 07/08 and has a very strong hobby following due to playing in Montreal. Collectors and fans of the Montreal Canadians and the Toronto Maple leafs are very hardcore. Im just waiting for the day that one of these two teams get a really high profile, high scoring rookie. Those cards will go for insane amounts. Toronto and Montreal haven't had a high profile, high scoring rookie in many, many years. Not since cards went the auto/patch route anyways.

 

[G $MONEY$]

i wouls say ovechkin is the best malkin second and crosby third. its all very close imo.

A little Washington homerism wouldn't you say? :lol:


Also jeff550, we have spell check here at FCB (not on players name though). If your word is underlined in red while posting a reply, it means its spelled wrong. Don't take it the wrong way though, it is just a tip to help your spelling

 

[jeff550]

i wouls say ovechkin is the best malkin second and crosby third. its all very close imo.

A little Washington homerism wouldn't you say? :lol:


Also jeff550, we have spell check here at FCB (not on players name though). If your word is underlined in red while posting a reply, it means its spelled wrong. Don't take it the wrong way though, it is just a tip to help your spelling

i just dont proofread. also i dont see any spell check. to be honest crosby and ovechkin are at about the same level.

 

[Viking4Alpha]

Sidney Crosby seems like a cool kid, and obviously a great player *BUT* I have noticed alot of people say he cries and whines alot. In fact, there was a league survey amongst the NHL players who complained the most and it was Crosby by a landslide. There are numerous youtube videos on it as well. What's that all about? True?

 

[mstng99tim]

That all stemmed from his first 2 seasons in the league. He was an 18 year old kid who had the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. He also had players on other teams taking liberties on him, watch the video of Derian Hatcher high stick him and constantly **** with him. He was instantly one of the most popular players throughout the league, I'm sure that had to bother some of the seasoned veterans on the other teams.

Watching him from those first 2 seasons until now, he is a completely different person and player. People will say he still "whines and cries", but as the captain of the team, it's his job to work the refs and get into their heads about things the other team is doing so that the Pens can get calls later in the game.

 

[Viking4Alpha]

That all stemmed from his first 2 seasons in the league. He was an 18 year old kid who had the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. He also had players on other teams taking liberties on him, watch the video of Derian Hatcher high stick him and constantly **** with him. He was instantly one of the most popular players throughout the league, I'm sure that had to bother some of the seasoned veterans on the other teams.

Watching him from those first 2 seasons until now, he is a completely different person and player. People will say he still "whines and cries", but as the captain of the team, it's his job to work the refs and get into their heads about things the other team is doing so that the Pens can get calls later in the game.

Cool. Good to hear. Sounds like a bunch of haters.

 

[mstng99tim]

That all stemmed from his first 2 seasons in the league. He was an 18 year old kid who had the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. He also had players on other teams taking liberties on him, watch the video of Derian Hatcher high stick him and constantly **** with him. He was instantly one of the most popular players throughout the league, I'm sure that had to bother some of the seasoned veterans on the other teams.

Watching him from those first 2 seasons until now, he is a completely different person and player. People will say he still "whines and cries", but as the captain of the team, it's his job to work the refs and get into their heads about things the other team is doing so that the Pens can get calls later in the game.

Cool. Good to hear. Sounds like a bunch of haters.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Fans are always making signs and what not, but you know if he was on their favorite team they'd be loving him just like the Pens fans do.

 

[pghbuccos]

all you have to do is ask any Flyers or Capitals fan and they will tell you Crosby and Malkin are the top 2 players in the league right now and unlike Ovechkin who is a great offensive player they both play amazing on offense and defense.

I know it probably sounds like all of us Pens fans sound like homers but it's true that we have the two top offensive players in the game and one of the top goalies as well.

 

[Viking4Alpha]

all you have to do is ask any Flyers or Capitals fan and they will tell you Crosby and Malkin are the top 2 players in the league right now and unlike Ovechkin who is a great offensive player they both play amazing on offense and defense.

I know it probably sounds like all of us Pens fans sound like homers but it's true that we have the two top offensive players in the game and one of the top goalies as well.

Seeing as how I'm neutral and asking the questions as the thread starter, I have to ask; are you kidding me? :?

Didn't Ovechkin have as many goals as Malkin and Crosby combined last season? Didn't Ovechkin win the MVP of the NHL (or whatever the NHL calls the MVP) last season? You are actually the first person I've ever seen on a message board along with youtube to claim that. Complete majority 180 all over youtube comments. The only thing Malkin and Crosby were able to do over Ovechkin that I'm aware of is win the Cup, and even then they barely squeeked by the Capitals in 7 games to get there. All things considered, I doubt any Capitol fan is going to proclaim that anyone else in the league letalone a Penguin is tops.

 

[pghbuccos]

all you have to do is ask any Flyers or Capitals fan and they will tell you Crosby and Malkin are the top 2 players in the league right now and unlike Ovechkin who is a great offensive player they both play amazing on offense and defense.

I know it probably sounds like all of us Pens fans sound like homers but it's true that we have the two top offensive players in the game and one of the top goalies as well.

Seeing as how I'm neutral and asking the questions as the thread starter, I have to ask; are you kidding me? :?

Didn't Ovechkin have as many goals as Malkin and Crosby combined last season? Didn't Ovechkin win the MVP of the NHL (or whatever the NHL calls the MVP) last season? You are actually the first person I've ever seen on a message board along with youtube to claim that. Complete majority 180 all over youtube comments. The only thing Malkin and Crosby were able to do over Ovechkin that I'm aware of is win the Cup, and even then they barely squeeked by the Capitals in 7 games to get there. All things considered, I doubt any Capitol fan is going to proclaim that anyone else in the league letalone a Penguin is tops.

yes I was kidding as far the Caps and Flyers fans go but they should. Ovechkin did win the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP but he does not play both ends of the ice and even in the Pens Caps series he would just stand there and watch Sid and Malkin skate by and hope his defensemen would stop them nor did he win the most important trophy to win in the NHL The Stanley Cup (sorry I just enjoy bashing the Crapitals).

I am in no saying Ovechkin isn't a great player but he just has the all for myself mentality. he constantly leads the league in shots on goal and that leads to his high goal totals. he scored 56 goals last season and Crosby and Malkin scored a combined 68. he had 54 assists compared to Crosby's 70 and Malkin's 78. until he learns to be a better teammate and utilize the talent around him the Caps will never win a Cup. that's what the greatest players in the game have always done. like Gretzky with Kurri and Anderson, Lemieux with Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown and John Cullen, Crosby and Malkin with Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal.

 

[pghbuccos]

... and I should have added Ovechkin didn't score this goal in the Pens blowout of the Caps in Game 7...

 

[Viking4Alpha]

all you have to do is ask any Flyers or Capitals fan and they will tell you Crosby and Malkin are the top 2 players in the league right now and unlike Ovechkin who is a great offensive player they both play amazing on offense and defense.

I know it probably sounds like all of us Pens fans sound like homers but it's true that we have the two top offensive players in the game and one of the top goalies as well.

Seeing as how I'm neutral and asking the questions as the thread starter, I have to ask; are you kidding me? :?

Didn't Ovechkin have as many goals as Malkin and Crosby combined last season? Didn't Ovechkin win the MVP of the NHL (or whatever the NHL calls the MVP) last season? You are actually the first person I've ever seen on a message board along with youtube to claim that. Complete majority 180 all over youtube comments. The only thing Malkin and Crosby were able to do over Ovechkin that I'm aware of is win the Cup, and even then they barely squeeked by the Capitals in 7 games to get there. All things considered, I doubt any Capitol fan is going to proclaim that anyone else in the league letalone a Penguin is tops.

yes I was kidding as far the Caps and Flyers fans go but they should. Ovechkin did win the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP but he does not play both ends of the ice and even in the Pens Caps series he would just stand there and watch Sid and Malkin skate by and hope his defensemen would stop them nor did he win the most important trophy to win in the NHL The Stanley Cup (sorry I just enjoy bashing the Crapitals).

I am in no saying Ovechkin isn't a great player but he just has the all for myself mentality. he constantly leads the league in shots on goal and that leads to his high goal totals. he scored 56 goals last season and Crosby and Malkin scored a combined 68. he had 54 assists compared to Crosby's 70 and Malkin's 78. until he learns to be a better teammate and utilize the talent around him the Caps will never win a Cup. that's what the greatest players in the game have always done. like Gretzky with Kurri and Anderson, Lemieux with Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown and John Cullen, Crosby and Malkin with Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal.

Ahhh ok then. Ovy is a selfish bastard who is thinking about changing his name to "Ocho". :lol:

 

[pghbuccos]

well I wouldn't go as far as comparing him to Chad Johnson but yes he is a little high on himself. I really think if the Caps can get him to believe in the team and not just himself they can win a few Cups but until then it will never happen.

 

[jeff550]

well I wouldn't go as far as comparing him to Chad Johnson but yes he is a little high on himself. I really think if the Caps can get him to believe in the team and not just himself they can win a few Cups but until then it will never happen.

oh and have you seen crosby complaning to the refs at least 20 times a game. and you also say ovechkin cant play defence well here you go[youtube:1klbidzv]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sajv3uR7vXs[/youtube:1klbidzv]. and you say we dont have a good goaltender. well here.[youtube:1klbidzv]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Ow7Kxaqb4&NR=1&feature=fvwp[/youtube:1klbidzv]. alothough crosby is also great.

 

[G $MONEY$]

Sidney Crosby seems like a cool kid, and obviously a great player *BUT* I have noticed alot of people say he cries and whines alot. In fact, there was a league survey amongst the NHL players who complained the most and it was Crosby by a landslide. There are numerous youtube videos on it as well. What's that all about? True?

Wayne Gretzky was also known as the biggest crybaby back in his days as well. Infact when him and the Oilers came to play Calgary the ENTIRE building would chant "Winer" whenever he touched the puck. Thats what happens when you are the best.