Maxime Talbot Rips Alexander Ovechkin in Radio Interview
Pittsburgh Penguins super-pest Maxime Talbot is already doing his job two months before the 2010-11 season begins. The forward had some choice words regarding superstar Alexander Ovechkin the other day on a Pittsburgh radio station. The comments come just as the National Hockey League (NHL) is promoting their annual Winter Classic, to be played at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, in January of next year.
2011 Winter Classic
The 2011 version of the Winter Classic will mark the fourth time the league has run such an event. The games are played outdoors, generally in football or baseball stadiums.
Next year’s match-up will be between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals. As two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the match-up is being pinned as the best Winter Classic thus far. Also, the Sidney Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry will be renewed in the widely televised contest.
Penguins-Capitals Rivalry
The Penguins-Capitals rivalry has become one of the best in the NHL over the last three seasons. The two franchises grew and emerged as Eastern Conference super-powers at the same time, mostly due to the games two superstars, Cosby and Ovechkin.
The rivalry came to a head in the 2009 NHL Playoffs when the two clubs met in the conference semi-finals. The Penguins went on to win the series in game seven, a meeting that was dominated by the superior play of Crosby. At that point, it was clear that there was no love between the games two biggest stars and their clubs.
The Winter Classic is set to magnify the conflict that already receives plenty of media attention with every contest. It seems as though every match-up between the two sides is meaningful, making the Winter Classic that much more important to the incredibly competitive Crosby and Ovechkin.
Talbot’s Comments
Talbot has never been one to disguise his thoughts. As one of the leagues most outspoken players, it was only a matter of time before the Lemoyne, Quebec native had something to say about Ovechkin. So it came as no surprise when Talbot gave a very candid interview on Pittsburgh radio station 105.9 The X, in which he talked about how much he disliked the Russian star.
Promoting the Winter Classic on air, Talbot stated: “The first time I met him, actually met him off the ice...You hear a lot of stories about a guy and sometimes they’re not true. You hear about guys, who are not good guys, and you like ‘yeah, ok I’ll give the guy a shot.’ The first time I met him, let’s just say he didn’t give the best impression to me, so better reason to hate him even more.”
The Penguins and Capitals have exchanged shots in the media several times before, with Washington forward Alex Semin stating that Crosby was not anything special, and that Patrick Kane was a far more exciting player. That comment was followed by the Capitals exit from the playoffs at the hands of a red hot Crosby. Needless to say, the Penguins had some choice words for the Russia born Semin after the victory.
Talbot is not one to mince words, and after being pushed by the X’s radio hosts, he elaborated further saying. “I was actually at the NHL awards last summer with Malkin, and we brought the Stanley Cup over there after the season. Malkin knew Ovechkin and introduced him to me, and the first impression wasn’t great. I’m not really going to say what happened, but I’m like ‘OK this guy is a real (expletive).”
Ovechkin has yet to return a comment, but the rivalry certainly has been renewed, and now we have to wait until January to see how it all plays out on the ice.
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