Alex Ovechkin says he and Sidney Crosby 'saved the NHL'

When Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby entered the NHL together during the 2005-06 season they had enormous expectations placed upon them. Fans had high hopes for them as individuals, for what they could do for their teams (the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins respectively) and for their potential to elevate the league as a whole.

The NHL was in a delicate spot at this time, mainly due to the 2004-05 season being completely canceled due to a lockout. This further drove down the popularity of the sport at a time when it was already at an all-time low. The national TV deal coming out of that stoppage saw their games being played on something called "Outdoor Life Network."

It was bad. 

Ovechkin and Crosby not only matched their pre-draft hype over the 19 years that have followed but have both exceeded it to become living legends of the game.

In Ovechkin's words, the duo helped save the NHL. Suffice it to say, he is not ready to give up his crown to the next wave of young players coming into the league.

Ovechkin made the comment in an article at the Athletic written by long-time Penguins writer Rob Rossi, detailing the individual rivalry between the two superstars that has defined the past two decades of the league.

Said Ovechkin: 

“We saved the league. Now they come in, and I guess we’re old news,” Ovechkin says. “But we saved it. It’s up to those guys to come in and prove me wrong that we’re not the best.”

He's not wrong. When the NHL made the unprecedented decision to cancel an entire season due to a work stoppage it could have been a disastrous long-term decision. But the league got extremely lucky that it had two rare talents entering the league coming out of the lockout in Ovechkin and Crosby, around whom they could build an individual rivalry.

Not only did they have the Canadian (Crosby) and Russian (Ovechkin) angle, but both players were tasked with helping to rebuild long-time rivals in Pittsburgh and Washington. They did all of that and more.

The Penguins and Capitals became two of the elite teams in the NHL over the two decades that followed, combining to win four Stanley Cups and be constant contenders. 

Individually, they established themselves as all-time greats. Ovechkin is on track to break what was thought to be an unbreakable record in the league's all-time goals mark, while Crosby has put together a career-long resume that could put him on the league's Mt. Rushmore of legends. 

They made the league watchable, exciting and interesting again at a time when the league was risking total irrelevance. Now the league has a massive TV deal with ESPN and TNT, goal-scoring has increased and the league has two legends to continue to celebrate.