Who gets the hart?
If it were all about points then Evgeni Malkin would be the obvious winner, but his team isn’t even top 8 in the Eastern conference, so it’s hard to say he’s deserving. Okay, maybe give it to one of the elite defenders. So who’s the best defender in the league again? I’m not sure. No stand out goalie either? This might be an interesting battle for league MVP.
With 37 goals Alex Ovechkin looks like he’ll win the Hart trophy again, but i’m not so sure. The Caps are 14 points out of 1st in their conference, yes i’ll repeat that, 14 points out of 1st place! The Caps were supposed to be among the best teams in the league anyways.
Here’s the contenders for the award:
Steve Mason – If the Blue Jackets make the playoffs – which could very well actually happen, Steve Mason should win the award. He’s clearly been the best player on this team, and if it weren’t for his 7 shutouts (league best), and .923 SV% (among the league’s best) the Blue Jackets would be sitting at 14th place, and not 2 points out of 6th. It’s absolutely incredible that a 20 year old goalie could be considered for this award, but Steve Mason has truly been the best goalei in the NHL, and even behind a very average defense, he has still managed to be spectacular.
Marc Savard – The Bruins have transformed from a borderline playoff team to the best team in the NHL. The Bruins are 6 points ahead of every single team in the league and Marc Savard’s leadership and two way game has been a major factor in their successful run. The Bruins are quite a young team, and had some question marks heading into the season, but Savard has 61 points, and has turned into an exceptional two way player. His teammates really like him, and after a tough start to his career he can now be viewed as one of the best players in the world.
Alex Ovechkin – The guy plays a hard physical two way game, and still has more goals then anybody else in the league. He won the Hart trophy last year and seems like the favourite to win it again this year, but he has a very good supporting cast including arguably the best defensemen in the NHL, Mike Green, and stars like Alex Semin, and Nicklas Backstrom.
Evgeni Malkin/Sidney Crosby – Their on pace for a combined 231 points, so I can’t not include them as contenders for the award, but the Pens have been bad this year and might even miss the playoffs. If they do miss the playoffs then they won’t win the award, because all of their points don’t even matter if they can’t make the playoffs. In fairness though, they are really the only reason the Pens have any chance. They’ve played excellent, no doubt.
Zdeno Chara/Tim Thomas/Dennis Wideman – It’s a stretch to consider Dennis Wideman a hart trophy contender, but he could legitmately be in the running for the Norris. He’s on pace for about 60 points, and has evolved into guy with funny youtube video of him falling to top 10 defender in the league. He’s really benefited from playing with Zdeno Chara though. Zdeno Chara is the best shutdown defensemen in the NHL, and has the best slapshot in the league as well. He’s got it all, and nobody pushes the 6’9 giant around on the ice. Tim Thomas has gotten a lot of help from both of those elite defenders infront of him, but he has a .932 SV%, and has played very well this year.
Dan Boyle – Joe Thornton has been good, but the real reason for the Sharks success has been their ability to move the puck. Few can move the puck from the backend better then Dan Boyle, and is 38 points in 45 games in very impressive. His play has fell off a bit lately, like most of the Sharks team, but he’s still had a very good year.
Thanks for reading guys. Hope you enjoyed.