Bloggers snub Sid

With "The Neelies" up over at Hockey Dirt -- the midseason bloggers' picks for the NHL's top awards -- one question: Can somebody give Sidney Crosby some love?

Oh, there are other categories among the Neelies, like Top Jerk, the ballot reading "Sean Avery" and "Other". But it's that rookie race that made me blink and look twice (To view the whole list, go here).

Among the freshmen, Crosby got three per cent compared to Ovechkin's 71 per cent -- which, according to my math, means the Caps phenom outpolled Crosby 22-1. That's not only low, it's freakin' ridiculous. I mean, these two are virtually even in points. Ovechkin has a few more goals (25, to Crosby's 21) and has a greater proportion of his team's offence, while Crosby has toiled in Pittsburgh, where yes, he has a better supporting cast but has also had a host of distractions -- a coaching change, Mario Lemieux's health problems, the Penguins' bleak future in Pittsburgh and a spotlight that never turns off. Martin, Mr. Hockey Dirt his own self, cast the only vote for young Sid -- well done, MT! -- and notes the discrepancy in his postscript.

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

It's not like Leaf fans don't do it.

Okay, Ovechkin got my vote, but it was a close call, really. But Dion Phaneuf and Henrick Lundquist? They're having fine rookie seasons, but they also got four votes apiece and Crosby can manage just one?

Why the landslide? It's surely a holdover from the early backlash in the blogosphere against the immense hype and media attention around him. Then there are the accusations of diving (which can be levelled at a number players in this the year of the new, no-touch NHL -- and at those dratted Russkie juniors, says Pierre McGuire, although when Steve Downie flops he's just a brilliant pest -- and at least in the case of the Flyers have as much to do with gamesmanship from a division rival as anything else. I mean, c'mon, these guys have Peter Forsberg).

The narrow gap between the two clear leaders in the rookie race is going to close, I reckon -- even The Cherry was climbing down from his usual piling on Saturday night (When he wasn't climbing up on the bench in Stephenville to greet his adoring public with a heartfelt "oh, shit" into the open microphone, that is).

No such shockers elsewhere -- Redden for the Norris is a little bit contentious, but Hasek and Jagr got pretty solid nods for the Vezina and Hart, and I was pleased to see my "Retire this Award" show up, Ms Byng deserving to have her jewels returned as we head into this hands-off hockey age -- best among the rest was the Jerk of the Year Neelie, Avery the runaway choice (*yawn* the idea of giving this mediocrity any kind of award, even one acknowledging his ability to commandeer the 24-hour sports news cycle, is kinda numbing. Why not have something for Elisha Cuthbert? Top Whiner? Dumb and Dumber? We could go on and on) over a host of pretenders which included a stalemate between Gary Bettman (six per cent) and Ted Saskin and the NHLPA (three per cent apiece), and one vote for Bob Cole and Harry Neale, for pete's sake.

Anyway, great job putting it together, Martin, and thanks for including us.

One more from the blogs this lovely Monday morning: a Theo Fleury moment, going over the boards and after a fan in Belfast (Nice catch, Vancouver Canucks Op-Ed).

(C.Y.)   

Comments

[Carla]

I have seen the replay of Ilya Kovalchuk's taunting of Sidney Crosby, and, frankly, I think Kovalchuk came off as a total asshat. I was glad to hear Grapes actually reverse gears on Saturday and come to Crosby's defence.

I am wondering if the Pens might still be thinking about Tie Domi... Or could we interest them in Wade Belak, by any chance? Neither of them is doing much for the Leafs. I think we could spare 'em.

[Jlo]

What about Orpik? I thought he was the tough guy in Pittsburgh?

Yeah, I think Sidney is getting the shaft here. If he weren't an 18-year-old, he would be getting the kind of love from Cherry (on a regular basis) that Don gives Darcy Tucker.

Hockey in Belfast rules.

What is an asshat? Underwear?

[Carla]

For Jlo: http://www.confusednation.com/asshat/

[Fred]

Sidney Crosby is an extremely overrated player. He is pretty good, but there are rookies in the league that will beat him in any race. Ovechkin is one, another would be Svatos. Crosby is only 19 and shouldn't be shown doing the kind of stuff he did against Washington. You can't even compare him to a player like Kovalchuk talent-wise. Kovalchuk is one of the best players in hockey, and Crosby didn't only embarass himself but he embarassed his team.. since they ended up losing both games to the Caps. Crosby should grow some balls before stepping up to the pro's.

[Gary]

Why do Canadians have to put down talented people? Crosby in my mind has been doing a phenomenal job for an 18 year old in a man's league. Consider as a 17 year old he was not even the best player on last year's junior team (behind Bergeron, Carter, Richards and Phaneuf) and look at how he has progressed. I would not trade him for a hypothetical package of those 4 guys combined! His upside is truly in the Gretzky/Lemieux stratosphere and he has handled himself very well with the over the top media coverage. Give the guy a break!

[David Johnson]

Lundqvist got my vote because he is the only player on that rookie list that could be considered for another major award. The Vezina. His goals against average and save percentages are almost identical to some guy named Dominik Hasek and he has a very solid 15-5-5 record. The guy has been awesome and he and Jagr have turned the Rangers from a horrific team to a pretty good team. Crosby has done squat to improve the Penguins and Ovechkin hasn't done much either.

[Shinnyislife]

Fred, before you "embarass (sp)" yourself by posting on a blog, use a spell-checker and fact-checker.

The Penguins played Atlanta (Kovalchuk's team) back to back, not Washington.

Crosby is 18, not 19.

And Crosby does not, nor did he embarrass the Penguins; they were doing a good job of that on their own, pre-Therrien. Now that the task-master is behind the bench, hopefully he can whip them into shape.

Also, regarding criticism about Crosby's "whining", which seems to be popular these days, he's being accused of the same behaviour Wayne Gretzky once took flak for when he broke into the NHL. Thing is, Wayne never faced the volume of media scrutiny and expectations Crosby has been bombarded with.

If Sid is behaving the same way in a few years, then judge him harshly. Otherwise, everybody give Sid the Kid a break. Wayne turned out pretty well, don't you think?

Crosby, along with Ovechkin, Phaneuf, Svatos, Fleury, Staal, Spezza, etc., comprise the future of this league. I'd hate to see Sid's love of the game soured by the negative rantings of people who are clearly jealous of his success.

[NR]

I like Crosby's spirit. I like his heart and I like the way he plays the game. He's got balls and he plays with them. He's going to get a lot of crap while he's in this league and I like a kid that stands up for himself and doesn't take the "nice guy" approach that some of the other kids do. He's got skills and he can back up his mouth. He's got eyes in the back of his head like Gretz does and he's got that fiesty attitude that make Bertuzzi and Shanhan so great. He's a complete player that's only 18 and his best years are ahead of him. He's a competitive kid that hates losing and he'll make a tremendous leader 3 or 4 years down the road - more so than a Kovalchuk, Carter, Richards or Phaneuf would. Don't get me wrong they're all great players and they will always be at the top of the league in points. But this kid Crosby is something special and he's such a treat to watch. Kovalchuck only plays when he feels like playing. This kid puts in 110% every night - hopefully that stays with him throughout his career. Crosby without a doubt should win the rookie of the year, even if Ovechkin continues to play as well as he has. Ovechkin is incredible as well but in terms of his future he's more of a lead by example rather then rally the troops type leader. Crosby will make players around him great, where as Ovechkin will be end up being the best of a group of talented players. Which one will be more like Gretzky remains to be seen...

[Jlo]

Carla, thank you, that is a great word.

Seriously, lay off the kid. Ovechkin and the others have had more time to mature, either by virtue of their age, or by playing in the AHL last year, or the Russian league. Who else in the NHL has made the jump from junior, is 18, is the best player on his team, and is one of the top players in the league? One on one, Ovechkin has more flash, and I don't think it is fair to discount his leadership ability, either. He is a kid who plays hard as well. When Crosby is 20, he will be a better player than Ovechkin is now.

[Fred]

Another thing, some people don't have time to sit and research Sidney Crosby's age, I knew he wasn't older than 20.
My point being that Sidney Crosby is the most overrated rookie to play in the NHL in a long time. He must improve his temper, and has no one to blame but himself. Good thing Kovalchuk punked him in thise 2 games vs the Thrashers, scoring a hat trick in one of them. Pittsburgh failed to record a point in either of those games.
Some hockey "know-it-alls" claim that Sid should be the rookie of the year thus far. I laugh at that thought. The polls also suggest otherwise. Ovechkin is the best rookie thus far in the NHL, including the most points among them, as well as his Caps have 2 more wins than Pittsburgh. This contributing to the fact that Washington has one of the worst rosters on paper in the NHL. Who can Ovechkin get support from?... In Steeltown, Crosby has Leclair, Recchi, Gonchar, Lemieux, etc... That is the most significant and important reason.

The facts:

1. Crosby's rookie season is probably as hyped up as NBA star's Lebron James was. The Difference? James significantly made his team better, while the Pens currently sit dead last in the Atlantic division with 31 points.

2. Look at the year Ovechkin was drafted, and all the young talent. He is without a doubt the best in his group, which includes the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Cam Barker, Blake Comeau, just to name a few.

3. In the Crosby Draft, you would be crazy to pick a player such as Bobby Ryan over highly scouted Sid.

4. Good players always make their teams better, the Pens are even worse this year, even with all their new additions: Leclair, Recchi, Gonchar, CROSBY.

5. If the Pens keep up at this pace, they will be in the draft lottery and end up with one of the top picks for the 5th straight year. They might get a player like Kessel, Toews, or even Russian sniper Emeulin. THEN, they might just sneak in that 8th playoff spot in the East.

All in all, to even mention that Crosby should be considered as the next "great one" is a joke. Gretzky and even Lemieux contributed greatly to their team's success in their first year. Unlike the Penguins, who sit at the basement of the Eastern Conference.

[Jlo]

I don't think there is any question that Ovechkin should win rookie of the year. He is the best first-year player in the league. That being said, Crosby is the second best. It is hard to compare with goalies, but as far as skaters go, he is a very good player. He may be over-rated, but don't over-compensate by going on about how bad he is. Crosby is NOT a bad player. It is NOT his fault that the Pens are horrible. They don't have a very good goalie for one thing, and their defence is brutal for another. Gonchar is ok on offence, but that's it. All Crosby's support is up-front, and it shows as he has been putting points on the board. Last time I checked the Caps were as bad as the Pens, so I don't see how you can say Ovechkin has helped his team all that much. Anyway, relax, it is enough pressure for an 18-year-old to be playing in the NHL, much less having to be the best player in the league or else...

[derf]

I am so sick of hearing "overrated" this and "overhyped" that. That annoys me more than anything about Crosby, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk.

on Fred's Comments:
"In Steeltown, Crosby has Leclair, Recchi, Gonchar, Lemieux, etc" So what? According to you "good players always make their teams better". Have any of those players made the team better? It can be argued that Lemieux has actually made the situation worse. What in the world have Leclair and Recchi done? And Gonchar isn't great either.

[NR]

Just so we're clear on Gretzky and Lemiux's Rookie years:

79-80 Gretzky - 137 points (1st on team - tied 1st NHL)
Oilers - 28-39-13 69 pts
- lost in 1st round of playoffs 3 straight to the flyers (remember only 21 teams in the league that year).

84-85 Lemiuex - 100 points (1st on team - top 20 NHL)
Pens - 24-51-5 - 53 points
- finished 2nd LAST in the NHL (the leafs were last)...

05-06 Crosby - on pace to get 94 pts (1st on team - top 20 NHL)
Pens - 22-44-18 - 62 points (on pace)
- potential 4th worst in the NHL

The stats between Crosby and Lemieux's rookie year aren't that different and as great as Gretzky was in his rookie year the Oilers got thumped by the Flyers in the 1st round of the playoffs. My vote is still for Sid and I think he's lived up to all the hype and then some. He'll be even better in the years to come and so will the Pens wherever they end up - they've got 7 rookies on the team this year, they've got Malkin, Letang, Salmonsson on the way and Fleury will only get stronger...

BTW - there's no proff that Malkin isn't going to better then Ovechkin - Malkin's a year younger and not in the NHL yet. He was stellar in the JRs Championship.

[Fred]

I don't think Malkin will ever be as good as Ovechkin. Ovechkin actually led his team to the Gold medal, while Malkin didn't do much in the final game. Crosby isn't a bad player, don't get me wrong.. but he isn't as great as other rookies in the NHL. Look at Svatos for instance, he is having a marvellous year, with 26 goals thus far, and he leads the league in PPG. Crosby would be 4th on my list in top rookies, after Ovechkin, Svatos, and Lundqvist.