Just go look at their stats. That will change your mind

Stats aren't everything my friend. Datsyuk did everything right whereas Ovi was only elite offensively. That doesn't mean Ovi is bad by any means, he isn't he's a first ballot HOF but nah Ovi didn't do what Datsyuk did

And Datsyuk didnt do what Ovi did. IMO its pretty obvious that Ovi is the more Dominant player. Literally puts the Caps on his back for half of his career.

Ovi definitely ranks higher on the 'best players of all time' list

Exactly, they'll show Datsyuk was better (still one of the highest all time WAR and GAR totals, consistently elite RAPM and other possession metrics...)

It's a great argument and I know enough from being on this site that "changing" someone's' mind isn't possible.
I think if you polled (and you could) fans I think over 70% would say OV.
Datsyk was a little before his time IMO. Smaller C with elite defensive awareness and amazing vision; whereas you could make the argument that OV would've thrived in the more physical 90's (for the record he could play anywhere, anytime)

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28325227/the-top-100-nhl-players-decade

Now obvisouly this article doesnt mean im right, but you have to think, even ESPN had other players over Datsyuk (Kane, Stamkos Bergereon Malkin Ovi McDavid Crosby are the forwards ahead of him - not including the defenseman that are ahead.)

Definitely better at defense, no question.

And? Look Ovi will be ranked higher than Datsyuk but that's because in those list the forwards' defensive play isn't taken heavily into account. Zertterberg said that Datsyuk could've scored a lot more if he didn't focus on defense as he did in reality.

I guess we'd have to decide what the "prime" years are as well as what we're using for grading. I will say though, Dats was a monster. Roughly a 90pt center that was around 55% in the dot and could come close to netting 30g in a given year. Guy was a wizard with the puck and could beat you in all 3-zones. As a Bruins fan, he's easily my favorite non-Bruin of all time.

Currently my favorite player is Crosby (even if I'm a NYR fan), I suppose that's because I'm Canadian but Datsyuk is a very close second.

Lmao, anyone can score a lot more if they dont play defense

Yes and? You still have to do it DET had loads of great defensive forwards apart from Datsyuk (Zetterberg, Franzen, Fillpula...) and Pavel still took the time to practice his defensive game

Really tough to compare. The longevity / scoring ability of Ovechkin is impossible to match but I think Datsyuk was the better player. So, if you're taking one in their prime, it's Datsyuk for me. If you're taking one for a whole career, it's easily Ovi.

Yup Ovi is aging like fine wine

Another reason I say Ovi is because, his entire Career has been his 'Prime'. Yes Dats has ALWAYS been a good player, but his prime was closer to the beginning of his career and lasted A LOT shorter(his prime) than Ovi.

Yup indeed. If you want to talk about goal scoring, OVI has the upper hand.
Talk about longevity? Ovi
Defense? Pavel
Passing? Pavel
Overall skills: Pavel

Ovi vs. Datsyuk is a interesting debate, but you have to say Ovi is the greater player. The main reason being is how long he has been great. Datsyuk may very well be the more complete player, but Ovechkin has been at a extremely high level for so long, you really can't argue against that.

I think this issue is moot because they don't play the same position. It's hard to compare wingers to centers, because the responsibilities are different. Centers have more defensive responsibility and faceoffs, and while Wingers have some responsibility, Ovi was never going to be the 3rd man high of wingers.

Datsyuk played a little at Winger, so if you want to compare his wing time to Ovi, it's Ovi hands down. But to compare 2 players just straight up is throwing out positional requirements. Might as well compare Ovi to Lidstrom or Ray Bourque.

Now, start comparing Datsyuk to Towes, or Kane and Ovi, or Datsyuk to Malkin, Crosby, and Eric Staal. Or even Ovi to Fedorov (one of the best Russian players of all time, who played W, D, and C through his career).

Or how about Ovi to Kucherov (who is on a very similar pace as Ovi was at the same points in their careers)?

Ovi is only better goal scorer

lol obviously. It's not even that close. Ovi is a great goal scorer. Pav was a great all around player (and probably one of the best of all-time). Ovi is dependent on his centers and the PP to produce. Datsyuk was the greatest player on the planet for about 5-8 years in his prime. He wasnt going to dominate the stat sheet but he was going to dominate you on the ice every night.

I love Datsyuk, but Ovi could possibly score the most goals in NHL history. Think about that.

Goal scoring, no... Ovechkin is obviously better. I'll also give Ovechkin hitting power.

Basically every other aspect of the game, Datsyuk ranges from just better to miles above Ovechkin.

Going with in the prime and all that... I think that you have a better chance of winning a game with Datsyuk but sell more tickets with Ovechkin.

Datsyuk's best year EVER was 2008 where he got 3rd in the Hart vote. You know who won it in 2008...Ovi...

No he’s not. Ovi > Malkin > datsyuk. This is not up for debate