Quoting: cap2018champs
Ovi is second in the league in Even strength goals... I understand the power play specialist maybe in 5 years, but the guy has been top 3 in the league Even strength goal for the last 3 years. I thinking 3 or 4 years at 10M is no problem. That'd be a much lower percentage cap hit then he signed for his current deal. And if he cant skate, please watch the Islanders game on 1/18/20 with 23 Mins of ice time. He will slow down, but hes 34 and his 32-34 years have been better than his 30-32 years production wise.
his production is better because his line mates are better.
He can't skate. I don't know why you argue that. He's slow. He's not winning a foot race anytime soon.
Scoring goals and being a skater are two different things. He has a whole system build around his shot. He's like the only player in the whole league who has a whole system rotating around him. If you don't see that you are blind. And I'm not knocking it because it works. But he absolutely can not skate. There is no way in hell you would put him one to one with dozens of players in this league. He'd get smoked. Why do you have a hard time admitting that. He's 235-240 lbs at 34 years old. He can't move.
He plays best with other people who pull traffic and he finds open ice to shoot. If his linemates can't create space, he's done because he can't create it himself.
Much like their power play works. 4 guys go the one side of the ice and he waits on the other side for the puck while the defense is pulled over. That's what he does. It's why you find him just standing there on the ice a lot not moving his feet. Just waiting in one area maybe drifting slightly but never really working on the play.
He has a great shot so it works for them. But when you are using a forward almost in the role of a defenseman you begin to see the fact that he doesn't have any real foot speed. And if it's bad now how bad is it gonna be in 3 years.
You never see him working like most top forwards do. Be it McDavid, Crosby, McKinnon, Matthews you name it. They are all over the ice, below the goal line, in the scrum looking for the puck, grinding. Honestly when was the last time you really saw OV working the puck below the goal line. Like never. They would never let him down there because he can't get back and everyone knows it. He's too slow to play a real 200 foot game.
That's what happens when you are 235-240 lbs trying to keep up with track stars.
If he weighted 200lbs maybe he'd be a bit faster and skate better. Especially in his 35+ years. But he's yet to show he's willing to do that. So much like every other player in the whole league at 240lbs he's left in the smoke. Even Wilson who is 6'5 only weighs like 220lbs. Because he knows his game relies on speed. And he's one of the tallest guys in the league at 6'5. He's got 2 inches on OV and is years younger.
If you want OV to actually have foot speed it starts with a 30lb weight loss.
Because it doen't matter how "productive" you are, when the other team is able to skate right past you at will all the time and the line he's on is coughing up more goals than it's scoring. You can't leave the other 4 guys basically 5 v 4. And the slower he gets the more it's evident.
It's like looking at Chara now. When the game was slower 3 years ago he looked fine. But the game speed up and he became a pylon out there. Old slow and not a guy you wanted in a position where he had to go back into his own end from the Ozone. He became a PK guy defensive start guy. He's at the highest rate of defensive starts in his whole career now because they know he can't move. Even playing a 160foot game doesn't work for him anymore. The games too fast.
So yeah, it's great he's productive in a system that revolves around him. But I hate to break it to you, he's not far away from them not being able to hide the fact that's he's one of the slowest guys on the ice at this point in the game. The whole league is moving into defensemen with speed and who can move. A lot of them could beat OV in a foot race at this point.
So unless he's dropping 30lbs don't expect much of a change. He won't be worth 10 million in a couple of years. To pay him that till he's 40 is a complete and total waste of money. He shouldn't be signed to more than a 2 year deal. Much like players like Joe Thornton signed year to year or Chara on his two year deals. You just don't sign guys who can't move to 5 year deals.