Hart debate features several candidates
No clear favourite, but plenty of deserving players could be named league’s MVP
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was asked if he was paying attention to the Boston Bruins trying to chase down the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Yes, he replied, before giving a rundown of his Sunday night channel surfing, which included the Boston-Minnesota game. Several plays involved Brad Marchand, who has crept into the Hart Memorial Trophy debate. The award is given to the player judged the most valuable to his team.
Despite playing only 60 of the Bruins’ 74 games this season, entering Tuesday’s games, Marchand is tied for 14th in scoring with 33 goals and 80 points.
Marchand is competing against 10 other legitimate Hart Trophy candidates — and that’s leaving out two or three deserving names, such as Aleksander Barkov and Eric Staal.
Here’s the lowdown on each of those player’s chances (all statistics are before Tuesday night’s games).
NATHAN MacKINNON, COLORADO
Why he deserves to win: After finishing last in 2016-17, Colorado was supposed to be even worse after trading away Matt Duchene. But thanks to MacKinnon, who is tied for third in scoring with 92 points and has a leaguebest 1.35 points per game, the Avs are in a wild-card spot.
Why he won’t: If the Avalanche fall out of the playoff mix, so could MacKinnon.
EVGENI MALKIN, PITTSBURGH
Why he deserves to win: Malkin is third in the Rocket Richard Trophy race with 42 goals and is tied for third in scoring with 92 points. Since the all-star break, only Connor McDavid has scored more than Malkin, who has 40 points in his past 25 games.
Why he won’t: Unlike McDavid or MacKinnon, Malkin has the luxury of being on a team where Phil Kessel (85 points) and Sidney Crosby (83) are also in the top 10 in scoring.
CONNOR McDAVID, EDMONTON
Why he deserves to win: The reigning Hart Trophy winner has been even better this year. McDavid leads all players with 99 points and has a plus-24 rating on a bad team. Since the all-star break he has 24 goals and 45 points in 27 games.
Why he won’t: It’s hard to make the argument he is valuable to the Oilers when the club has been this bad.
NIKITA KUCHEROV, TAMPA BAY
Why he deserves to win: Noone was better in the first half than Kucherov, who scored 64 points in 49 games heading into the allstar break. He’s cooled slightly since, but the Lightning forward is still ranked second in scoring with 96 points.
Why he won’t: Getting passed by McDavid hurts. So does the fact that he plays on a star-studded team.
WILLIAM KARLSSON, VEGAS
Why he deserves to win: Karlsson had six goals last season. On Monday, he scored his 40th. And he did it while playing on an expansion team with linemates who were essentially unwanted by their previous teams.
Why he won’t: Though he leads the Golden Knights in goals, you could argue Jonathan Marchessault (72 points) has been the better forward and goalie MarcAndre Fleury has been the team’s MVP.
TAYLOR HALL, NEW JERSEY
Why he deserves to win: Hall has 82 points in 70 games, and without him the Devils would not be battling for a wild-card spot. He has 33 more points than the next-highest scorer on his team. Why he won’t: Unless he can get on another scoring streak, his point total won’t be enough to win the Hart Trophy.
ALEX OVECHKIN, WASHINGTON
Why he deserves to win: The Rocket Richard Trophy leader is five goals away from reaching the 50-goal mark, plus he’s been among the top 10 in league scoring at times this season. Unlike previous years, he doesn’t have a teammate with him there.
Why he won’t: Based on the stats, Ovechkin hasn’t played well with others. His 38 assists are lower than anyone else ranked among the top 20 in scoring.
BLAKE WHEELER, WINNIPEG
Why he deserves to win: The Jets’ captain has really done it all. He’s played centre and wing, picked up the slack whenever Mark Scheifele got hurt, and helped with Kyle Connor’s breakout year.
Why he won’t: For whatever reason, Wheeler hasn’t received much attention. Maybe it’s because teammate Patrik Laine has 43 goals.
CLAUDE GIROUX, PHILADELPHIA
Why he deserves to win: Giroux is among the top five in scoring — a position he has maintained for most of the season — while propelling the Flyers to a playoff berth.
Why he won’t: Most top players have someone riding shotgun with them, but Giroux has the even greater luxury of playing on a line with Jakub Voracek (80 points) and Sean Couturier (71 points).
ANZE KOPITAR, LOS ANGELES
Why he deserves to win: The Selke Trophy favourite has shown a different side to his game this season with 34 goals and 88 points to rank sixth in scoring. Why he won’t: Only Sergei Fedorov has won the Selke and Hart in the same year — and he did it by finishing second in points and third in goals.