NHL Desperately Needs Another Canadian Superstar to Carry League

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

No, Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin has not obtained dual citizenship. And no, he doesn't even play in a traditional, or even Canadian market for that matter. But as one of the few faces of the post-lockout NHL, he is perhaps the biggest and brightest star on which to build the next great dynasty.

When "The Great One," Wayne Gretzky, began his career in the NHL in 1979, the storyline was set up perfectly. The Brantford, Ontario native was obviously not only Canadian, which made perfect marketing sense, but played for one of the NHL's newest markets in Edmonton.

Not coincidentally, he literally helped place it firmly on the map for almost the rest of the next decade with four Stanley Cups. He helped anchor the NHL's newest powerhouse in what became a solid, traditional market where 18,000 fans were standard on most nights in a league where this was far from the norm.

As I outlined in a previous article, The Great L.A. Kings Heist of '88: Re-Evaluating the Gretzky Trade , the impact of native Canadians helping push and promote this league is missing since the days of its peak in the 1980s. Sure, they still make up a great percentage of the league, where the fans are the most informed and passionate on the matter, but it isn't the same as it once was and that is a problem.

Missing Impact Canadians as Leaders on Traditional Teams

The best thing the NHL has going in this regard is Nova Scotian Sidney Crosby and his teammate and Thunder Bay, Ontario native, Jordan Staal, on the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The only problem is, that market is not in Canada. The two are still ridiculously young at 22 and 21 years of age, respectively. With already two Stanley Cup Finals appearances, one resulting in a Cup, to say the future looks bright in the Steel City would be an insult to their intelligence and I'm far from a Penguins or Crosby fan.

Considering the core they have and their experience and success already—similar to the Edmonton Oilers of the eighties—these Penguins are the closest thing the NHL has to the next dynasty, even if that dynasty will extend over two decades by default.

Like those Oilers who won four Cups together mostly at their peak (they won another in 1990 with some new members acquired from the Gretzky deal and were already minus future Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey in 1987), these Penguins have a chance to win a similar number of Cups, if not more, sacrilege as that may seem.

Equation: Canadian born+superstar+traditional Canadian market=NHL face of the league+

Another Missing Component

So why the picture of Ovechkin, you ask? The former was to build up my first point of the lack of an impact player who fits both the mold of being a superstar Canadian that Crosby is, but also one that plays in a traditional Canadian market that the fans and league can build around.

Now I'm not suggesting that either Crosby, Staal, or Ovechkin will ever come close to being the next Great One. Like any sport desperate for its latest torch bearer, I come from the school of thought: Why does someone have to be the next anyone? Why can't we accept what we had was special, good enough, and we were just fortunate enough to experience it? The NBA is notorious for this in trying to find the next Jordan, which simply will never and should never happen.

The NHL is no exception. Gretzky scored 137 points (51 goals, 86 assists) in his first official (rookie) season in the league. Crosby? He was lucky to score 100 points (102 actually: 39 goals, 63 assists) and didn't even win the Calder, thanks only to Ovechkin.

While this appears to knock Crosby, consider his Calder Trophy peers the last decade and a half since Gretzky's prime.

1995: Peter Forsberg, Quebec Nordiques, 15 goals, 35 assists, 50 points (Swedish)

1996: Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators, 26 goals, 35 assists, (Swedish)

1997: Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins, 22 goals, 25 assists, 47 points (Russian)

1998: Chris Drury, Colorado Avalanche, 20 goals, 24 assists, 44 points (American)

1999: Scott Gomez, NJ Devils, 19 goals, 51 assists, 70 points (American)

2000: Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Sharks, goalie (Russian)

2001: Dany Heatley, Atlanta Thrashers, 26 goals, 41 assists, 67 points, (W. German)

2002: Barrett Jackman, St. Louis Blues, defense, hell of a plus/minus (plus-23), but little else (Canadian)

2003: Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins, goalie (Canadian)

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