The NHL's Most Impressive Forward: Surprise, He Plays in the West!

The post-lockout years have been grim for the NHL. Having lost its place on ESPN, the league has broadcast mainly on the Outdoor Life Network (now Versus) and has lost a lot of recognition in the United States.

That being said, the 2005-06 season brought two bright spots that have been slowly bringing hockey back to the U.S.: Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

For the casual hockey fan, the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry is fun, fascinating, and a reason to tune in to the coolest game on Earth.

America perceives the two as an ultimate battle of good vs. evil in hockey, though the roles are different depending upon who you ask. Crosby and Ovechkin are each simultaneously the most loved and the most hated players in the sport.

But all the publicity for Crosby and Ovechkin has had one huge damaging result for the sport: It has given a lot of fans tunnel vision; they can only see these two players.

For the serious nut, the comparison has become a lot of hype and a ridiculous focus on two players in a league of hundreds.

I would like to make the case that, while I can admit stats are important, the most talented and exemplary player in hockey is neither one. When you push out of your mind Ovie's flashy goal-scoring and celebrations and forget Crosby's poster-boy image and "The Next One" hype, you're left with a stoic player who passes, scores, plays defense, and has just about the best hands of anyone in a decade.

I'm talking about Pavel Datsyuk.

Admittedly, Datsyuk's numbers have consistently been slightly lower than those of No.s 8 and 87 since the two came into the league, but this is something that comes with the territory. Ovechkin and Crosby are centerpieces for the Caps and Pens and have entire teams built around them. With the exception of Evgeni Malkin's ability (and perhaps you could argue for Nicklas Backstrom and/or Alexander Semin), the Caps and Pens rely on their respective stars to put up numbers moreso than most teams in the league rely on just one forward.

Pavel Datsyuk, on the other hand, plays on the best team of the past decade or more, a team that can see lines one through four put the puck in the net in some way. And Datsyuk does not hesitate to do his part; since the lockout, the Russian has put up at least 87 points per season, and in that same period, he has not racked up fewer than 59 assists in a campaign.

Crosby can certainly compete with Datsyuk's numbers. In his first two years in the league, Sid the Kid put up more than 100 points each season, something that Datsyuk has yet to do (his career high is 97).

Crosby will probably do the same before this season is over and likely would have done it last year had he not been limited to 53 games by injury. But allow me to provide a Datsyuk counter-argument.

Sure, Crosby is (slightly) better when it comes to putting up offensive numbers, but Datsyuk's talent comes from not just point production, but also in keeping the opponent off the board. Datsyuk excels when it comes to takeaways, and in the years since the lockout, Datsyuk has posted plus/minus numbers of +26, +36, +41, and +35 so far this season. 

Furthermore, while it would be unfair to say that Crosby's injuries make him a question mark, they do become a bit of a concern on a day-to-day basis.  Datsyuk has played all but four regular season games in the last three years, including all 82 last year and 73 of 74 this year (and counting).

Ovechkin is someone whose durability cannot be questioned. The only games he has missed in the past three seasons came not as a result of injury but for a visit to his ailing grandfather in Russia. And Ovechkin's overall point numbers are similar to Crosby's: two 100-plus-point seasons and a third undoubtedly on the way.

But is Ovechkin the superior Russian? Hardly.

While Datsyuk won't ever put up A.O.-like numbers, his specialty is in being a multi-faceted player. While Pavel is the league's best takeaway man, Ovechkin has made a habit out of giving the puck away. While Ovechkin produces on the powerplay, Datsyuk contributes by killing penalties and even adds a few shorthanded goals in the mix.

Ovechkin has picked up 68 penalty minutes this season, not a mind-blowing number, but he causes his team to be down a man much more frequently than Datsyuk, who has not picked up more than 20 PIM in the past three seasons.

Scoring, passing, defending, penalty-killing, discipline, leadership, and a sweet set of hands.

Some of these apply to Ovechkin, and some to Crosby.

But every single one of those terms describes Pavel Datsyuk, the quiet yet impactful Russian Red Wing who may not get the spotlight during the season, but will when he raises the Cup in June.