This article is part of our Frozen Fantasy series.
There was debate this season about Alexander the Gr8. Was he still a fantasy first rounder?
That's not a question anymore.
He was named player of the month for October on the back of a league-leading nine goals in only 10 games. At 36 years of age.
The bigger debate is perhaps more contentious – is Alex Ovechkin already the goal GOAT?
Yes, better than Wayne Gretzky himself.
Gretzky was incredible. And while he's the all-time leader in goals (and so many categories), Gretz only led the NHL in goals five times in an era of unbridled scoring and less-than-stellar goalies. He was 26 the last time he topped the league.
Ovie has finished first on nine occasions, through an era of ever-improving goaltending. He continues to score at will from 'his office' – goalies and teams know it's coming and they still can't do a thing to stop him.
Two more goals and Ovechkin moves into fourth on the all-time list. He could move into third by season's end.
But prolific doesn't always mean greatest. Friends, we are witnessing the goal GOAT. The most dominant. And he does it with pure joy.
You may not agree – this is a great debate. And I'll rile it up a bit more. There's loads of conversation about Sidney Crosby ascending toward the top-five of all time.
But using the concept of dominant over prolific, I could argue Ovie should be considered for that Mount Rushmore well ahead of Sid the Kid.
There was debate this season about Alexander the Gr8. Was he still a fantasy first rounder?
That's not a question anymore.
He was named player of the month for October on the back of a league-leading nine goals in only 10 games. At 36 years of age.
The bigger debate is perhaps more contentious – is Alex Ovechkin already the goal GOAT?
Yes, better than Wayne Gretzky himself.
Gretzky was incredible. And while he's the all-time leader in goals (and so many categories), Gretz only led the NHL in goals five times in an era of unbridled scoring and less-than-stellar goalies. He was 26 the last time he topped the league.
Ovie has finished first on nine occasions, through an era of ever-improving goaltending. He continues to score at will from 'his office' – goalies and teams know it's coming and they still can't do a thing to stop him.
Two more goals and Ovechkin moves into fourth on the all-time list. He could move into third by season's end.
But prolific doesn't always mean greatest. Friends, we are witnessing the goal GOAT. The most dominant. And he does it with pure joy.
You may not agree – this is a great debate. And I'll rile it up a bit more. There's loads of conversation about Sidney Crosby ascending toward the top-five of all time.
But using the concept of dominant over prolific, I could argue Ovie should be considered for that Mount Rushmore well ahead of Sid the Kid.
I know – blasphemy for a Canadian to utter those words. Let's debate!
Before we do, let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim (47 percent Yahoo!) – Getzlaf is playing like the Getzlaf of 10 years ago. He's on a five-game, seven-point streak and has 10 points - including nine assists - in his last nine and has won 112 face offs, laid 16 hits and blocked 10 shots over the same span. Wow. That made him a top-10 producer in standard Yahoo! formats the last week. Getzlaf won't keep this up, but hot is hot.
Erik Gustafsson, D, Chicago (1 percent Yahoo!) – Gustafsson is a liability in his own zone, but the dude sure can put up points. And he's back at the scene of his 60-point, 100-hit and 115-block season. Yes, the Hawks are a mess (don't get me started), but Gustafsson is their second-best scorer from the blue line with four assists in the first 10 contests. He may be valuable in deep formats as long as your league doesn't count plus-minus.
Nicolas Hague, D, Vegas (8 percent Yahoo!) – Hague was the untouchable in the Jack Eichel deal, and for good reason. The 22-year-old is already maturing into a minute-munching top pair defender with solid offensive chops. He won't get PP time on a team as deep as the Golden Knights, but he'll provide wide category coverage everywhere else. And with a touch of scoring, too. Hague has three points in his last three heading into Saturday. And with the arrival of Eichel, every Vegas defender will likely take a step up in value when the pivot hits the ice in a few months. Hague is worth watching and maybe even rostering now if you have the space.
Alex Iafallo, LW, Los Angeles (33 percent Yahoo!) – Iafallo is riding a five-game, seven-point streak heading into Friday. He scored four goals and produced three assists while firing 20 shots. That's hot. He's 27, so it's not like he's going to suddenly pull a Brad Marchand and peak later in his career. But Iafallo can help you right now and that's what winning is all about.
Jaden Schwartz, LW, Seattle (24 percent Yahoo!) – It took a line juggle, but it's just what Schwartz needed to fire up his game. Out are Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann, and in are Alexander Wennberg and Joonas Donskoi. And suddenly Schwartz is on a five-game, seven-point scoring streak heading into Saturday. He'll struggle to keep this up long term, but remember he's recorded five 55-plus point seasons and was a key leader on the 2019 Cup-winning Blues. The Kraken may struggle this year, but they're not the worst team in the league. And this first-line, second PP winger should be on a lot more rosters.
Anthony Stolarz, G, Anaheim (7 percent Yahoo!) – John Gibson remains sidelined with some type of illness, so the Quacks have turned to Stolarz to mind the twine tent. They're playing well and so is he. Sure, it's come against some anemic opponents, but this bears watching. The league is turning to a tandem approach and even though Gibson is considered a stud, Stolarz might get more time than we first thought.
P.K. Subban, D, New Jersey (11 percent Yahoo!) – P.K. has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons this week. He was fined for an illegal trip for the second time in eight days, but it's the third time in a month he's been criticized for an ugly trip. It's easy to forget Subban earned the nickname "Slew Foot" early in his career as he was carving out his early success. He isn't the player he once was, but if there's a silver lining to these nasty incidents it's that P.K. might just be dialed in for the first time in years. If so, he could be a 35-point defender with incredible category coverage in things like PIM, hits and even blocks. I'm watching him for sure.
Karel Vejmelka, G, Arizona (7 percent Yahoo!) – I see your raised eyebrows, but hear me out. Yes, the Yotes are bad and Vejmelka is 0-7-1 in nine appearances. But the guy has been seeing loads of rubber, and for the most part has been standing on his head. Vejmelka's save percentage so far is .920 – yes, you read that right. He's been better than better Andrei Vasilevskiy at times! Vejmelka doesn't have a history of this, but sometimes it just takes time for guys to grow into their game. If you need saves or save percentage, Vejmelka is a great pickup – just don't count on a lot of wins.
Back to the goal GOAT.
There are those who will argue Mario Lemieux was the best goal scorer ever and maybe he was. And even older fans will say Mike Bossy (look him up – his shooting rate was absurd, as was his goals-per-game rate). But injuries and illness derailed those guys.
Wayne Gretzky has a remarkable 894 goals over his career, almost 100 more than second on the list. He transformed every team he was on, even if he didn't bring them a Cup.
He may be the GOAT, but not the goal GOAT.
Bring on the debate.
Until next week.
