2007-08 Rink Wrap: Alexander Ovechkin

From Backstrom to Steckel, we're taking a quick look at and grading the 2007-08 season for every player* who laced 'em up for the Caps during the campaign (and is still with the team) with an eye towards 2008-09. Next up, Alexander Ovechkin.

Contract Status: 2008-09 salary of $9,000,000 (salary cap hit of $9,538,461.54... give or take); UFA after 2020-21 season
Age (as of October 1, 2008): 23
NHL Seasons (including 2007-08): 3
2007-08 Regular Season Stats: 82 games played, 65 goals, 47 assists, +28, 40 PIMs
Key Stat: Lead the NHL in goals and points.
Surprising Fact: Is actually human.

The Good: Here we go... Ovechkin lead the League in goals, points, shots (with the second-highest total ever), game-winning goals, power-play goals, even-strength goals, home goals, road goals, intra- and inter-divisional goals, road points, even-strength points and goals created per game. He became the first 60-goal scorer in a dozen years, set a franchise record for goals and an NHL mark for single season goals by a left wing, had ten two-goal games, a three-goal game and two four-goal games, had 32 multi-point games (including a trio of five-point outings) and was only held off the score sheet 19 times all season (and only three times in consecutive games). Ovechkin was sixth among all forwards (ninth overall) in hits, fifth among forwards (seventh overall) in plus-minus and was the most clutch player in the League, thanks in part to 29 third period or OT goals (19 of which came in the final ten minutes of games) and a 26-point/plus-17 March in which he had nine multiple-point games. He turned his plus/minus around by 47 over 2006-07, was ninth in the NHL in takeaways, third among forwards in average ice time and nabbed himself a cutie along the way.

And for even more on "The Good," head over to Peerless's neck of the woods.

The Bad: Ovechkin lead the League in missed shots by a mile (imagine if a chunk of those had been on net), was third in giveaways, skated the longest shifts in the League and was only 1-for-6 in shootouts. He (like his teammates) also took a little while to get going in the playoff series with Philly, a problem he shouldn't have again.

The Vote: Rate Ovechkin on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Questions: On an individual level, what more can this guy do?

If you've missed any of the previous 2007-08 Rink Wraps, click here, get caught up, and vote - polls will stay open for a while.

* And by "every," we mean every one who played more than just a handful of games.