The Hart Memorial Trophy is the NHL award handed out annually to the player judged to be most valuable to his team. The winner is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association in all NHL cities at the end of the regular season. Each voter is required to rank their top five picks in order and the votes are weighed based in order with first place votes getting priority over second place votes, second place votes getting priority over third place votes and so on. We decided to weigh in on this year’s Hart trophy contenders with our best bets for the award. Here is a look at the cases for the top NHL Hart trophy contenders this season.
C: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
McDavid flashed his immense potential in his first NHL season when he registered 48 points in 45 games. However, he missed time due to injury and that limited his ability to help push Edmonton in to playoff contention. This year has been a different story. McDavid has 26 goals and 88 points in 75 games. The Oilers are third in the Pacific division and on track to return to the postseason for the first time since 2006.
McDavid only turned 20 in January but his impact has been incredible. He is already one of the most dominant players in the NHL. The fact that McDavid has led Edmonton’s turnaround should put him at the top of this list.
G: Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
A year ago the Blue Jackets finished with the worst record in the Metropolitan division with just 34 wins and 76 points. Fast forward to this season and through 74 games they already have 48 wins and 103 points. Columbus is fighting for the Presidents trophy. The biggest reason for their turnaround has been the play of Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky, who missed time with injuries last season, is 40-13-5 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Those numbers are fairly similar the numbers put up by Carey Price when he won the Hart in 2014-15. Players have been awarded the Hart trophy far more often than goalies over the years. However, given his numbers and the Blue jackets turnaround, it’s clear Bobrovsky deserves recognition.
C: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Most writers will have Crosby higher on this list. However, there is a reason why we have him third behind McDavid and Bobrovsky. Unlike the two players listed ahead of him, Crosby isn’t the only superstar on his team. In fact, Crosby’s NHL-best 1.19 points per game is just barely above his teammate Evgeni Malkin’s 1.16 points per game. Five different Penguins have averaged 0.83 points per game or more.
That said, there is no doubt that Crosby will be considered and he might even be the favorite at this point. With 42 goals and 82 points in just 69 games, Crosby is on pace to lead the NHL in goals and points despite missing a handful of games due to injury. Crosby is the consensus pick for the best player in the game right now. Based on his numbers and Pittsburgh’s overall success, Crosby is the most likely MVP even if he is third on our list.
W: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Kane has picked up his production down the stretch to push his way in to the Art Ross trophy conversation. Kane has 34 goals and 82 points in 76 games. His points per game mark is fifth in the NHL behind only Crosby, McDavid, Kucherov and Malkin. Chicago is on track to finish with the best record in the Western Conference. There is no player on the Blackhawks roster that has been more important than Kane. That is especially true this year when Chicago has had to lean even more on Kane and Artemi Panarin for goal production.
Kane could boost his Hart stock by finishing ahead of McDavid in the Art Ross trophy race. However, right now it appears as though he is on the outside of the big three when it comes to the Hart trophy consideration.
W: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
If there is a dark horse in the Hart trophy race it is likely Marchand. The pesky winger has proved all of his doubters wrong with an absolutely monster campaign for Boston. Marchand ranks third in the NHL with 37 goals and fifth in points with 80 this season. He has excelled at even strength, on the powerplay and in shorthanded situations with five shorthanded points. Marchand has transformed in to one of the most complete and competitive wingers in the NHL. He likely won’t win the Hart, but he does deserve to be mentioned here.
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