Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, two future Hall of Famers and hockey all-time greats, were drafted in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
However, due to a lockout wiping out The Great Eight’s rookie season, both began their careers in the 2005-06 season.
Sidney Crosby, the new face of the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise, reached the three-digit mark in points, recording more than a hundred in his first year.
He still didn’t win the Calder Trophy, which was awarded to Ovechkin. The Russian won the first battle between them, and since then, the Penguins-Capitals rivalry has been amazing, and both players have carried their respective teams through successful eras.
For Alex Ovechkin, there’s no doubt about the impact he and Crosby have had on the NHL since they arrived in the league.
“We saved the league. Now they come in, and I guess we’re old news,” Ovechkin said to The Athletic’s Rob Rossi. “But we saved it. It’s up to those guys to come in and prove me wrong that we’re not the best. We saved the NHL.”
Alex Ovechkin is under contract through 2026; Crosby becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
Both guys have started the season well and don’t even look close to calling it a career.
“We’re a long way from finished, I hope,” Crosby said.
When their rivalry eventually ends and both players are retired, they plan for a little meet-up.
Maybe in Moscow or at Crosby’s lake house in Halifax, just to talk about what they’ve done and appreciate their greatness.
Where the meeting will be has yet to be decided, but it sounds like a plan.
“Haven’t really thought that far ahead,” Crosby says. “I do drink beer. I know he does. So …”
But not yet; they’re not done just yet.
“I think we probably both want to stick around a little longer,” Crosby says. “So it’s not time for those beers, or whatever we’ll drink, yet.”
