Alex Ovechkin was named to the NHL’s All-Decade First Team on Friday along with Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Ovechkin scored the most goals in the decade (437) and had the third-most points (780) behind only Kane (802) and Crosby (788).
“Ovi, Crosby, it would be a fun line to play on,” Kane said.
According to the NHL, the All-Decade Team was chosen by a panel of NHL general managers, NHL hockey operations staff, NHL.com writers, and on-air talent from NBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports.
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Led by Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup (2018) and were the winningest team of the 2010s.
Ryan Callahan lost to the Capitals in the 2018 Eastern Conference Final, but admitted the honor was deserved.
“It was hard for me to see them win just because we lost to them, but stepping away from it, back from it … I just think he deserved it so much,” Callahan said to NHL.com. “You could see how much he cared and how much he wanted it.”
Despite having the most assists in the decade, Nicklas Backstrom did not make the All-Decade Second team. The players who did were Evgeni Malkin (Penguins), Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning), Erik Karlsson (San Jose Sharks), Zdeno Chara (Bruins), and Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers).
Earlier in the month, the NHL also named Braden Holtby’s “The Save” as the best save of the decade.
Headline photo: NBC Sports Washington
