Hockey Trade Rumors

With the Canes’ loss and the Panthers and Thrashers’ wins, the Southeast division is in a melee for the Division leader.
The jumble of activity has the Canes still in 3rd place in the East as the division leaders, but technically this team would be in 9th place, ironically leaving not a single SE team in the playoffs. Buffalo, with 4 games in hand on both the Canes and Thrashers would take that 8th playoff spot.
Anyways, the brouhaha of the SE now looks like this:

Team GP Record Points

Carolina 58 27-27-4 58
Atlanta 58 27-27-4 58
Washington 56 26-25-5 57
Florida 57 26-26-5 57

ONE of these teams will, by default, if not merit, make the playoffs. Who do you think it will be? And if the Caps make it, is Ovechkin the Hart Trophy winner?

Note: I say this is more exciting than, for example, the NW race, because most likely only ONE of these 4 teams will make the playoffs, and that is the division winner!

I want and feel like the Caps can make it somehow. They’ve been playing excellent hockey of late. Ovechkin is showing why he should be considered for the Hart Trophy, and Backstrom (whom I predicted was going to surpass Kane) is showing why he should be considered for the Calder Trophy. In effect, the Caps are trying to do what the Penguins did last year with Crosby and Malkin, and for their sake I hope they make it.

Florida will once again come 2-3 points shy like always, and be a frustrated club. As for the Canes or Thrashers, the trade deadline will be mega important for those teams. The Canes should, theoretically, be the division champions. We’ll see what happens in this most exciting playoff race in the least exciting NHL division.

On a side note, Alfredsson and Malkin are making arguments for the Hart. With Alf (and Heatley) in the lineup, the Sens look like a real Cup contender. Without him (them), they don’t. Their 6-1 whipping of the Habs was eye-opening indeed.
As for Malkin… he has 18 points in the 9 games since Crosby has gone down with injury. He has 19 goals in his last 22 games, and 15 tallies in 2008, the 2nd most in 2008 (Ovechkin has 16 this year and 22 goals in 22 games!). Malkin also has 28 points in his last 16 games! Ovechkin has 23 points in his last 16 games (but 30 points in his last 18 games!). Without Malkin (and Sidney), the Penguins are arguably out of the playoffs. Malkin has really come into his own and proven himself as one of the top elite players in the NHL. Every night he is the most visible player on the ice, not only scoring goals, but making breathtaking passes and even laying the body down. He was sitting in 3rd in scoring in the NHL until the Sens top line of 3 superstars went on their tear later this day. Malkin (since Sid’s injury), like Ovechkin, doesn’t have 2 elite 100+ point superstars to play with, making their performances all the more impressive. The Penguins are looking great, leading the division, with Malkin making a realistic run at the scoring title. And once Sid comes back, who knows what could happen. Crosby’s injury seems like a blessing in disguise as it has forced the Pens to prove they are a good team without him, and has shoved Malkin into the spotlight, where he has shined.

So my other question becomes the same as when Thornton and Jagr were battling it out for the Art Ross and Hart, with Thornton (and I still disagree) taking the Hart, despite Jagr’s 50+ goal season and dominance throughout most of the year until Joe’s last month of insanity.
If Malkin wins it, it will be because he took his team on his back when Sid went down, and led them to a divisional title (the first time since 1994 when the Rangers won it that a non-Flyers/Devils team has won the Atlantic), as well as winning or coming close to winning the scoring race.
If Ovechkin wins it, it will be because he leads the League in goals and points, and virtually single-handedly led his team back into the playoffs.

If Malkin edges out Ovechkin for the scoring race by a few points, but Ovechkin has 60+ goals to Malkin’s 40+ goals, who wins the Hart? Though I still disagree, the Joe Thornton case shows that goals scored isn’t weighed more heavily than assists (as Joe didn’t even register 30 goals).
How important a factor/an argument is it that without Malkin, the Pens would have been lost when Crosby went down? Similarly, how important a factor/an argument is it that without Ovechkin, the Caps (if they make it) would never have made the playoffs?

Let the games begin!