Sidney Crosby's Return: The NHL Needs More Than Crosby, It Needs Ovechkin, Too

The NHL has been buzzing surrounding the return of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. While Crosby is one of the best players in the league, his return alone is not what the NHL needs.

The NHL needs Crosby to return to the ice, but it also needs the return of the original Alex Ovechkin.

Rivalries are one of the most important aspects of sports; they add a passion and intensity to the game. The NHL was lucky when the two players with the potential to elevate the game to a new level started their careers at the same time.

Crosby and Ovechkin are polar opposites when it comes to their approach to the game.

Crosby is a clean-cut, well-spoken, and straight-laced man. He plays the game with silky hands and smooth movement, which allows him to be a creative playmaker. His style of play shows off the true art of hockey and displays how beautiful the game can be.

In the true spirit of a rivalry, Ovechkin is absolutely everything that Crosby is not.

Ovechkin is a brash Russian wrecking ball.

While Crosby is clean-cut and well-spoken, Ovechkin is rough around the edges, and speaks in a Russian-English hybrid, which is almost impossible to understand.

Ovechkin plays the game fast, hard, and with reckless abandon. His style is like trying to run through a brick wall, and if that doesn’t work, he gets up and runs at it harder.

While the NHL and the media that cover it are filled with news and excitement for the return of Sidney Crosby, Crosby’s return can only do so much.

Crosby has been viewed as one of the best during his entire career, but, so far Ovechkin has been there to challenge him.

“God needs the Devil, the Beatles needed the Rolling Stones, and even Diane Sawyer needed Katie Couric.”

—Jean Girard, Talladega Nights

With the talent with which both Crosby and Ovechkin entered the league, it is the perfect coincidence that they would become complete opposites.

For every Crosby fan who views him as the clean-cut good guy in the story who wears his white hat and does and says all the right things, there are plenty of Ovechkin supporters who love him for being the bad guy who wears the black hat, does things his way, and makes no excuses for who he is.

Crosby has been out for more than an entire year and, with the severity of his injuries, it is impossible to predict how he will return to the game. When he does return, it is equally impossible to predict how long it will be before he is back to his previous level of play.

Along with the injury of Crosby, Ovechkin has been down for the past year.

While Ovechkin has been playing during that time, his offensive production has gone down, and he has struggled to be his usual dominant force.

While the NHL is happy to have Crosby back, it is really only getting one piece back. For the NHL to truly get the most exposure, excitement, and competition out of having its superstar back, it needs Ovechkin to come back, too.