If you want to push the buttons of an American sports fan, make the argument that basketball players are not as tough as hockey players.
If you really want to get under their skin, go one step further and suggest that LeBron James might be soft.
That’s what PK Subban did on Monday, when he went on ESPN's First Take and took a conversation that began with what record was more impressive — Alex Ovechkin's career goals or LeBron James' career points — and shifted it to who is more durable.
In the process, Subban also moved hockey into the casual sports fan's living room … at least for one day.
“Alex Ovechkin has been more durable than LeBron James over his career. Look at the numbers," Subban told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe. "Based on the simple fact of the sport he’s playing, we can’t compare these two. I don’t see the comparison. We’re playing football on ice, guys.”
"You never do, P.K.," said Sharpe.
I don’t know if Subban is correct in his assessment. But I do know that the debate he had with Smith and Sharpe was a much-needed one.
We make a big deal over the importance of Ovechkin's record north of the border. But like it or not, hockey still remains a bit of a niche sport in the U.S., where it's popularity is behind not only basketball, football and baseball, but also college sports.
There is the odd time where hockey sneaks into the spotlight, like when Matthew and Brady Tkachuk started a brawl in a game between Canada and the U.S. But for the most part, hockey doesn't quite register in the minds of most casual sports fans.
So having Subban on to talk about the sport in a way that U.S. fans can understand and appreciate — and get angry about — was the best thing to happen to hockey.
Back to Ovechkin: his durability is a big reason why he has scored so many goals. He has so far played in 1,487 of a possible 1,562 games in his career, meaning that he’s only missed 75 regular-season games over a 20-year career. So far, 16 of those missed games came this season, when he fractured his fibula.
At the age of 38, that’s the kind of injury that could have derailed his season, as well as his attempt at breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.
And yet, Ovechkin still managed to score 42 goals and 69 points in 61 games this year for a Washington Capitals team that is the best in the East. And he did it while also not shying away from contact.
As Subban (rightfully) said, “Alex Ovechkin is taking hits, dishing out hits. LeBron is not taking those hits. He’s not taking the same abuse.”
“You’re making it seem like Ovie is an anomaly,” said Shannon Sharpe.
Um, that's because Ovechkin kind of is.
No one plays the game like him. Sure, there are snipers and there are checkers. But there are no players who score and hit — and sometimes fight — like Ovechkin does. The fact that he has done that without missing too much time is a testament to his durability.
The conversation between Subban, Smith and Sharpe then steered to whether James is better than Kobe Bryant and rightfully went off the rails. But Subban had already made his point. And the point is that for one day, Ovechkin and James were mentioned in the same sentence.
When can you say that ever happens on ESPN?