- Dmitry Orlov says the end of the Ovechkin-Crosby era is going to hurt
- The Sharks defenseman had no advance notice that Ovechkin was coming back
- Read below for Orlov’s full comments and where the head-to-head rivalry stands
Dmitry Orlov is already thinking about what the NHL looks like without Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in it.
Orlov spent 12 seasons in Washington and won a Stanley Cup next to Ovechkin. Sport24’s Dmitry Erykalov asked the San Jose defenseman what it will feel like when the two faces of his generation are gone. The word he kept landing on was sad.
“I never thought that (John) Carlson would move to Anaheim and then sign with Tampa. And when Ovechkin leaves, an entire era will be over. It will be cool to sit back and remember playing with such a great hockey player, against the equally great (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin. When they leave, it will be sad that it’s over.”
That day got pushed back at least one more year. Ovechkin confirmed in July that he is coming back for a 22nd NHL season:
Few people outside the family are closer to Ovechkin. Orlov’s wife, Varvara, is godmother to Ovechkin’s son Sergei. He still found out about the comeback the same way everyone else did.
“I didn’t know beforehand; he made the decision within the family. But there was a sneaking feeling that he was more likely to stay than not. Sasha took a rest and saw that the team was getting stronger. The team owes him something after so many years of his career.”
Ovechkin and Crosby arrived together in 2005 and have combined for four Stanley Cups, five Hart Trophies and 11 Rocket Richards. They met for the 100th time last season, a night that included Dylan Strome getting waved out of the faceoff circle so the two of them could line up against each other one more time.
Crosby holds the head-to-head points edge at 127 to 104. Ovechkin has the goals, 53 to 48.
Their careers split the same way. Ovechkin owns more individual hardware, 19 trophies to 12, while Crosby has three Cups to Ovechkin’s one and a points lead of 1,761 to 1,686.
Take a look at everything Crosby has stacked up since Pittsburgh took him first overall in 2005:
Three Cups, two Harts, two Conn Smythes, two Art Rosses, three Ted Lindsay Awards and two Olympic golds. Ovechkin’s version of that list runs just as long.
There is a milestone waiting on Orlov, too. He starts his 15th NHL season 51 games short of 1,000, and he told Sport24 that hitting the number will not be the end of anything for him.
“It’s a nice number, and it’s just around the corner. But reaching it won’t be the end of hockey for me. I want to sign a new contract.”
