Crosby or Datsyuk?

Datsyuk or Crosby?
As I sit and watch the Philadelphia Flyers playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins, I have to listen to all this dribble about how great Sidney Crosby is. I am not going to say that he is a bad player, he is good, but I think Pavel Datsyuk is better.

First off, Datsyuk’s offense may be a little bit below Crosby’s, but not by much. Let’s say I was scoring them out of 100, Crosby would be at 95, Datsyuk would be a 93. But the defense doesn’t even compare. The most notable thing you can say here is that Datsyuk was finally recognized as being the top defense forward in the league last year and given the Selke Trophy.

Second off, he plays on every penalty kill. He’s rarely in the box himself yet he led the league in take-aways, in a hook-calling-happy league too. If there were a 5 on 3, Datsyuk would be called upon, either in a defensive or offensive capacity. If you want your best player on the ice at all times, shouldn’t that be for defense too? Datsyuk +1.
With a franchise center/player, you also want leadership. Crosby talks a lot and is quite vocal on the ice. Honestly, I think he does a bad job of it because you should lead with your play, not your voice. Watching the greatest hockey leader ever for his entire career, Steve Yzerman that is, I got to witness what it takes to be a leader. During Yzerman’s career, he was a 95 on offense too. Guess who has the highest point total in a single season behind Gretzky and Lemieux, that’s right Yzerman! He was told by Scotty Bowman, great coach in history, that is he wanted to be truly great, he needed to become a more complete player and play better defense. Well he did, and let the Wings to 3 Stanley Cups. His leadership was through what he did on the ice, when he did have to say something, it was needed and it was definitely heard. That’s the way Datsyuk leads, quiet and confidently on both sides of the ice. Datsyuk +1.

Some people may think that Crosby is better along the boards too, he’s more physical some may say. Watch a Red Wings game closely and witness how physical Datsyuk is. I used to think he would never be any good in the playoffs because he didn’t posses the physical prowess that’s required during the playoffs. He has proved me wrong. He can give hits, but rarely receives a big one because he knows where he is, his teammates and opponents too. He’s like a Barry Sanders if he does get hit, he seems to just slide off of them. When he goes to the boards to get the puck, 90% of the time he will come out with it or just make a play from right there, making the other team look stupid in the process. Crosby is physical, but he seems to be stupid about it. Trying with brute force rather than outthinking the opponent. Datsyuk +1.

One thing that Crosby does have an advantage in is his age. Crosby is 10 years younger, which may account for some of his youthfulness I’ve described. Crosby +1.
In the end, as of right now, I would take Datsyuk for a first center to build my team around rather than Crosby. With 2 championship rings and a 3 to 1 scoring, Datsyuk wins!

(As a side note, this was a topic in a Detroit Free Press article today, here’s a snippet of the article: “His relentlessness with and without the puck has helped pull the Wings ahead, 2-0, in the first-round, best-of-seven series against the Blue Jackets, which shifts to Columbus for Tuesday's Game 3. Datsyuk's eight hits rank second on the team to nine from Darren Helm, the young fourth-line center.
Datsyuk has picked up where he left off in last year's playoffs, when he had 56 hits in the 22-game Stanley Cup run, second among Wings to defenseman Brad Stuart's 59. After 76 hits over 81 regular-season games, Datsyuk is averaging four a game.”