Ovechkin Responds to Criticism

Last week, as you may remember, Washington's Alexander Ovechkin came under fire from members of the hockey world -- the most well known voice being Don Cherry -- for his wild celebrations. The tipping point came when he scored his 50th goal of the year against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tonight, the Capitals are in Toronto to play the Maple Leafs and as you might expect, the Toronto media had a field day with Ovechkin sitting in their laps. Actually he was sitting in a visitng locker at the Air Canada Centre, but you know what I mean. For Ovechkin, it was a great chance for him to speak his mind to the media and give the man credit because he did just that. But what else would you expect from the most charismatic player in the game today?Speaking with media earlier in the day -- an event recapped well by ESPN's Pierre LeBrun -- Ovechkin said Cherry can 'say whatever he wants' when it comes to his celebrations. A fair point from a guy who does the same in shooting straight from the hip. He continued to do so, with one of the money quotes being the following:

"It's good for the league, it's good for our fans," Ovechkin said. "Some players are just like robots. They score goals and it's like, OK, no emotion, nothing. They basically go, 'OK.' You have to show emotion if you're an emotional guy. Show it. You don't have to think about it if somebody doesn't like it. I don't care about it if somebody [doesn't] like it. I play myself, I enjoy my life, I've enjoyed my whole career. If somebody [doesn't] like it, don't watch my game, don't watch what I'm doing on the ice."

In this writer's opinion, Ovechkin didn't need to explain himself. The hypocrisy of this whole argument is amazing. On one hand, there is a large camp in the hockey world (media and fans alike) that criticizes players for recycling their words and 'sleepwalking' through interviews. Many times, it's those same people criticizing Ovechkin's celebration or complaining about why the NHL does not have any household names such as Alex Rodriguez, LeBron James or Peyton Manning.

In most cases, you have to do something noteworthy to be somebody. In the world we live in that is filled with Sportscenter highlights YouTube clips, the highlight rules. It's not about the big records and multiple titles may be out of the question in this 'everybody wins' version NHL. Like it or not, Ovechkin's goal celebration made the rounds on ESPN and set the internet a blaze much like his All-Star Game shootout attempt did. Like it or not, this is how the NHL can attract eyes in this day and age.

But of course, those aren't the thoughts that are going through Ovechkin's mind.

"[50 goals is] a big number, I think for everybody. If I get it, why [can't I] celebrate? If you win the lottery -- a million dollars -- you go to the bar and drink a lot," the Washington Capitals star said. "I scored 50 goals and I just celebrated."