Alexander Ovechkin's recent Hot Stick celebration, one of his several post-goal demonstrations this season

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Alexander Ovechkin's recent "Hot Stick" celebration, one of his several post-goal demonstrations this season, has become the new hot button issue in the NHL. After scoring his 50th goal of the season against Tampa, Ovechkin dropped his stick on the ice, pretended it was on fire, and warmed his hands over it. Because of this and other instances, Ovechkin has gotten a ton of heat, no pun intended, from some around the game. But the league should be embracing, and not condemning, his actions.

Cherry: Overchkin "Jumping Around Like An Idiot" Don Cherry has been one of the most vocal of Ovechkin's critics, saying that such antics are not "the Canadian way" to play the game. Cherry even went as far to say that Ovechkin jumps around "like an idiot" after he scores.

However, there are a large number of fans that actually enjoy his after-goal antics. Public sentiment amongst fans seems to largely be on the side of Ovechkin, and not the likes of Cherry. The game Cherry played in and the players Cherry coached are much different, not necessarily better or worse, but different, than the game Ovechkin plays in now. So in a way, this is as much of a generational argument as anything; the older guard of the game says that players like Ovechkin disrespect hockey, while the newer wave of players and fans view the likes of Cherry as stuffy and not open to change.

Hockey Players Are Generally Low-Key Hockey players in general, and there are exceptions, are a low-key bunch. It is ingrained in them since their youth that after a goal, you act as if you have done this before. The example of Bobby Orr is often cited by Cherry, his former coach. Cherry was quoted as saying Orr never celebrated after a goal because he felt bad showing up the opposition. So one could see how Ovechkin might rub some in the game the wrong way. Such behaviour is considered by some as one of hockey's strengths, but it is also one of its weaknesses.

This low-key approach sometimes relegates hockey to a forgotten, second-tier status in the American sports psyche. Ovechkin's 50th goal celebration made numerous sports highlights shows, and was a prime topic of conversation even amongst the game's casual fans. For all of the black eyes hockey amassed over the last few years, from Todd Bertuzzi to the cancelled season of 2004-05 to Sean Avery, having the sport receive something other than negative attention for once is a good thing. The game needs Ovechkin, drawing attention to himself, to in turn help draw positive attention to itself.

Many players would probably tell you that they do not take Ovechkin's celebrations personally. And Ovechkin, who is widely regarded as a good teammate and person, has publicly stated that he is not mocking or taunting his opponents. His celebrations are good-natured, innocuous, and all in fun. And if others can't accept that, then the fault lies with them, and not Ovechkin.

League to Punish Ovechkin? To be clear, the league has not weighed in yet upon Ovechkin's celebrations. But it does not seem unreasonable for them to follow the NFL's lead and perhaps penalize players for excessive post-goal celebrations. If Ovechkin's goal celebrations were to become personal, or obscene, then the league would have every right to step in and intervene. But his theatrics aren't even close to that level, and Capitals' coach Bruce Boudreau, as much of a no-nonsense guy as anyone behind any bench in the league, will certainly ensure that they won't ever get that far.

Ovechkin the NHL's Best Player Ovechkin is the top goal scorer in the league and a yearly MVP candidate. Arguably, he is the best hockey player in the world. His flamboyance on the ice is part of the total package; it is simply who he is. Ovechkin may not be everyone's favorite flavour, but he is rapidly becoming the emerging face of the sport, and clearly he's having fun while doing it.
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