One of the top players to come out of the 2004-05 lockout was Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin. The Russian star became a premier scorer in the league and was widely touted as the best player in the world alongside Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby. However, "The Great 8" has seen his production and status come down the last few seasons. Can he regain his top form under new coach Adam Oates?
In his first season, Ovechkin scored 52 goals and won the Calder Trophy for Best Rookie of the year. A year later his stats dropped but he still compiled 46 goals and 46 assists in 82 games. The 2007-08 turned out to be the best season of his career as Ovechkin scored a monstrous 65 goals and 47 assists. Since then, his production has dropped. He scored 56 goals in 2008-09; he notched 50 in 2009-10, but then he only scored 32 in 2010-11 before rebounding with 38 in 2011-12.
His points have dropped substantially as well. Back in 2008-09, he managed 110 points. The following year, that number dropped to 109. However, in 2010-11 Ovechkin only tallied 85 points and last season that number fell to just 65 points. A great deal of blame has been placed on Ovechkin's party and tabloid lifestyle. Many claim that his numerous of endorsement deals and party antics keep him away from concentrating on hockey.
The addition of new coach Adam Oates could put his back on track. Over the course of his NHL career, Oates compiled 1,420 career points; he is the 16th highest scorer in NHL history. So it is safe to say that Oates knows a great deal about offense. More importantly, the new coach has repeatedly stated that he wants Ovechkin to be positioned for success. According to the Washington Post, the star winger has been switched from his usual left wing to the right wing during training camp this year. Ovechkin states that it was Oates' idea. "I think it will give new looks for me, new looks for different teams to try [to] cover us," said Ovechkin.
"We're going to use him every way we can and try to utilize him. He's a force in this league," said Oates. "He's very important to us, and I want to make sure that he knows that I'm going to do my best to let him be successful."
Trust in his coach might also help Ovechkin find his game. The star winger was known to have his battles with his past coaches Bruce Boudreau and Dale Hunter. Both resorted to benching the winger at important junctures in certain games to send a message and his point reduction could be a result of these problems. Ovechkin recently claimed that "I'm happy what I did last year because it was a pretty hard year for me, starting with Bruce [Boudreau] and ending with Dale [Hunter]....It was [Hunter's] decision and he had his own mind and his own kind of personality and his own systems. Of course sometimes I felt trapped."
However, Ovechkin seems to be whistling a different tune regarding Oates. "I feel trust is most important thing [to have] from him," Ovechkin said. "And I know he going to give me that opportunity to be who I am, and I'm going to do my best to play for him."
Ovechkin did not rest during the lockout. He went to Russia to play in his hometown of Moscow to work on his game. ""It's better to play hockey than sit out there and just come here and make a skate by yourself and do nothing because we're hockey players," said Ovechkin. While in Russia, the winger compiled 19 goals and 21 assists and should be primed for the NHL season. If he returns to form, 20 to 30 goals are not out of reach for the star winger. He could even eclipse the latter figure.
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