2008-09 NHL MVP

This regular season has been a pretty good one with many great individual players making their mark for MVP. This is where I ask my fellow hockey fans who they think should win MVP and I will give you some ideas to think about.

First, MVP is given to the player who is most valuable to their team. Not the best player in the league, not the leading scorer, but the player who is the most important the their team.

There’s more then a handful of candidates this season, but I feel some lose out because they have other great players on there team.

Example, Malkin has had an unbelievable season. He leads the league in points, assists and points per game. Crosby is 3rd in league scoring, has missed 5 games, is 2nd in assists and 2nd in points per game. Both players feed off each other and are so good in their own right, its hard to say Malkin is the most valuable in the league when Crosby is so close to him. When Crosby won his MVP, it was a bit of a different story. He lead the league in points with 120 and Malkin was far behind with 88. A much bigger difference then the 2 have this year. Not to mention Crosby had been playing with Pascal Dupuis and Tyler Kennedy for much of the year.

Then there’s the case for Alexander Ovechkin. And why not? He’s a goal machine, even though he takes 10 times more shots then anyone else. He’s got 50 goals and only Zach Parise has cracked the 40 goal mark, with 41. He’s second in the league in scoring and is the best player on Washington. But he is surronded by a lot of other talent. Niclas Backstrom is 11th in the league in scoring and a great playmaker for Ovechkin. Alex Semin is 17th in the league and is almost tied with AO in points per game and had he not be injured would most likely be in the top 5. Then there’s Mike Green. Leads the defence in goals, with a ridiculous 27 and points and has only played 59 games. He might make his own claim as team MVP. But, for all of these guys, they are playing in one of the worst divisions in all pro sports.

Then there’s the goalies. Very hard to judge because a lot has to do with the team in front of them, but some are having amazing seasons regadless. Steve Mason has been amazing for a 20 year old rookie. He leads the league in shutouts with 9. Is second in GAA and 9th in Save% and has only played 50 games. For a a rookie goalie to be having such a great season, on a decent team, he must be considered for MVP. Henrik Lundqvist has been a rock in nets again for the Rangers, who in my opinion have a weak defence and don’t even score a lot of goals. He is as dependable as any goalie this season and always gives the Rangers a chance to win. Luongo and Nabokov have had great seasons also. They have missed time from injuries, which will probably be why they won’t be considered, but are for sure the most valuable players on their respective teams.

If I were to give in a vote, it would have to be Pavel Datsyuk. He’s 4th in the league in scoring and and could easily win the Selke trophy for a second stright year. He dominates at both ends of the rink. He kills penalties, wins faceoffs, battles in the corners, almost never turns the puck over. The 2nd closest guy on the team in scoring is Hossa, who is 24 pts behind him. Yes, the Red Wings are a stacked team. But he’s the best player, on the best team on the defending Stanley Cup Champions. And, he is doing all of this in the much more competitive Western Conference. The race is very tight for the MVP, but I think Datsyuk is more deserving then anyone else.

Other candidates that haven’t been mentioned already include: Jerome Iginla, Zach Parise, Tim Thomas.

Who do you think should be MVP?