Alex Ovechkin: Are the "Great 8's" Best Days Behind Him?

What the heck is up with Alex Ovechkin? What has happend to the dominant Russian superstar who could change the feel of a game in mere minutes? Well, Alex Ovechkin hasn't seemed like himself lately. He hasn't been the dominant forward the league has grown to know and love.

In the past, Ovechkin was a headline maker for NHL.com, Sportscenter, TSN and other sports outlets. He was topping the charts and performing above the elite level.

This year however, something feels different. It is almost as if he has taken a backseat to other rising stars in the league. Ovechkin is no longer a spring chicken, yet people expect him to have a chance at a hat trick every single night.

He isn't scoring as many highlight reel goals, he isn't throwing poignant body checks and he isn't playing like Alex Ovechkin. At first, some thought he was being underutilized by then head coach Bruce Boudreau.

Ex-Capital Dale Hunter has since taken the reins, but the Capitals have still not gotten out of their funk. A win tonight does not change the fact that something appears to be different about Ovechkin.

The Washington Capitals power forward has only 20 points in 27 games played. He also appears to be a bit sluggish and off his game. A recent article even claimed that the decline in Ovechkin's game was related to P.E.D.s.

Here is a sample of the article that alluded to the fact Ovechkin had maybe taken steroids in the past.

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Interestingly enough, the same doctor who had Ovechkin as a patient also treated Tiger Woods.

Former Penguins enforcer Georges Laraque wrote in his autobiography that steroid use was common in the NHL. He said one good indicator was a guy whose performance dropped off after the Winter Olympics. Laraque says the Olympics testing procedure is much tougher than the NHL's, and players picked for the Olympics have to quit the P.E.D.s.

Ovechkin hasn't been the same since the Russians' early exit in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

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While I don't know or think Ovechkin used P.E.D.s, Ovechkin's numbers have certainly declined over the past few seasons. I personally don't put much stock into point projectors, but Ovechkin is currently on pace to score 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points. Obviously, this is just based on a logical algorithm, but we all know that hockey can't really be calculated.

If you take a look at Ovechkin's career numbers there are major consistencies. First off, Ovechkin was a very consistent goal scorer in his first six seasons. 

In Ovechkin's first six seasons, he scored 45 goals or more and amassed at least 90 points. Five times during that stretch he hit the 100-point plateau and had 50 goals or more including a 65-goal campaign in the '07-'08 season. These numbers helped earn him the nickname "Alexander the Great".

Last season Ovechkin scored 32 goals and had 85 points. These numbers were uncharacteristically low for a player who scored 50 goals and 109 points the year before. What is also interesting is Ovechkin only took one less shot last season than he did the year before, so he had the same amount of chances to replicate his previous performance.

Ovechkin is a player who uses his size, speed and finesse to blow past opposing players. However, more and more defenders can predict Ovechkin's moves. In the past, Ovechkin used an in-and-out juke move to shield the puck while evading defenders.

Now, Ovechkin will attempt the move and defenders either body check him or poke check the puck away. Another facet of Ovechkin's game is his shot. He has a blistering shot, but he is hesitating more when he has an opening this season. For some reason he isn't shooting the puck as often.

With players like Phil Kessel, Claude Giroux and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off to hot starts this season, is it fair to pose the question that maybe Ovechkin's best days are behind him?

Don't misunderstand the reason why I am posing the question. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player who can post 30 goals and 85 points or more in a season, but here is a right to question when a player has a drop off of 24 points and 18 goals.

Ovechkin's drop off in power-play time could also explain why he isn't scoring as much as he used to. The man advantage is a great chance to rack up points in the NHL and for fantasy owners, which applies to me. Humor aside, Ovechkin's drop from 13 PPG and 27 assists in '09-'10 to seven PPG and 17 assists in '10-'11 is a valid explanation.

As for the question I posed earlier, I can't sufficiently answer whether or not his best days are behind him. Scoring is down in the league as a whole as there were fewer 100-point players last year than the year before. Ovechkin is going to continue to be an elite player, but whether or not he continues to dazzle with 100-point campaigns is a mystery when you consider that his best season in the league saw him amass 65 goals and 112 points. 

He still has an astounding 1.264 PPG average, which is second amongst active players, so I wouldn't be too concerned with his slip in production. 

If Ovechkin can take more shots, is given more powerplay time and can learn a new go-to move, chances are he can reinvent himself and prove why he is one of the deadliest scorers in the league today. I'm hoping he finds this out sooner rather than later because I feel like a fool not trading Ovechkin for Kessel and Nugent-Hopkins when I had the chance.

Tom Urtz, Jr. is an NHL featured columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players: