The rivalry between Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Washington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin went up another notch on Friday, with Ovechkin's teammate Alexander Semin offering some harsh words on Sid The Kid.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports on Friday, the Russian winger said he didn't know what all the fuss was around No. 87.
"What's so special about (Crosby)?" Semin told Yahoo! Sports through a translator. "I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago.(Kane) is a much more interesting player. The way he moves, his deking abilities, his thinking on the ice and his anticipation of the play is so superb."
Semin also criticized the way stars like Crosby are promoted, saying there's too much focus on stats and not enough emphasis on skill.
"I think that if you take any player, even if he is "dead wood," and start promoting him, you'll get a star," he told Yahoo! Sports. "Especially if he scores 100 points. No one is going to care about anyone else. No one is going to care whether he possesses great skill. Let's say you put someone in front of the net and let him deflect pucks in, and he scored 50 goals; everyone will say "Wow!" and then hand him a $10 million per year contract. That's what they like here."
With eight goals and 16 points through nine games, Semin leads the Capitals in scoring and is tied with Malkin for the league lead.
Crosby has three goals and 13 points in 11 games, but was forced to leave the third period of the Penguins' 4-1 loss to Phoenix on Thursday with what is believed to be a sore hip. Ovechkin, who is in Russia visiting his ailing grandfather, has two goals and five points in eight games.