HART OF THE MATTER

Panarin deservedly named finalist for MVP

DID YOU know that the Presidents’ Trophy-winning 199394 Rangers did not have a player in the top five of the Hart Trophy balloting? Adam Graves, eighth, and Mike Richter, 10th, were the only two Blueshirts to receive a vote for the MVP award captured by Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov.

Or that, in the 12 seasons from 2007-08 through 2018-19, the Rangers had only three players receive so much as a single vote in the balloting? They were Henrik Lundqvist, who placed third in 2011-12, 14th in 2010-11, 17th in 2015-16, and 23rd in both 2009-10 and 2012-13; Marian Gaborik, who was 16th in 2011-12 and 17th in 2009-10; and Rick Nash, seventh in 2014-15.

But this is 2019-20 — yes, still — and the Blueshirts not only have an MVP vote-getter, they have a finalist. His name, of course, is Artemi Panarin, who was the accelerant in his team’s development and escalation into a legit playoff contender a year or two ahead of the ETA.

“I’m really surprised, to be honest with you,” Panarin said through interpreter Nick Bobrov of his status revealed Tuesday as a finalist alongside Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon. “Even after the season was paused, I never even thought I would be nominated for anything.

“It’s very important for me and very surprising for me, but it’s much more important for my relatives and my loved ones.”

The ballots are in, cast by selected PHWA members by June 15. There are all sorts of numbers, traditional, peripheral and even esoteric, that can be cited as good-faith evidence to support a vote for any of the three players, who are also finalists for the NHLPA Ted Lindsay Award for the league’s most outstanding player as voted by his peers.

For instance, Panarin: 32 goals, 63 assists and 95 points in 69 games, good for fourth in the Art Ross scoring race. Plus-36, second-best in the NHL. An NHL-best 66.37 percent goal share at five-on-five and league-leading 70.72 percent goal share overall for players with at least 1,000 minutes.

The Russian Rockette led the league in evenstrength points and assists. He was on for 128 of the 233 goals scored by the Rangers, or 54.9 percent. Those are the numbers, or some of them. But Panarin, of course, was more than numbers.

The 28-year-old brought an easy sense of excellence to the room along with a captivating personality. He elevated his teammates, even if by osmosis. Elite players thrive around their peers. Mika Zibanejad’s ascent did not occur merely by happenstance.

Draisaitl led the league in scoring with 110 points (43-67), 13 better than runner-up Connor McDavid, with whom Draisaitl played 53 percent of the time at five-on-five. MacKinnon finished fifth in the Art Ross race with 93 points (38-55).

But MacKinnon’s Avalanche finished second in the West, two points behind St. Louis, and Draisaitl’s Oilers were well in hand of a playoff spot, fifth in the West when the season broke, while Panarin’s Rangers were sniffing for a spot but on the outside looking in and were 18th-overall by winning percentage.

You can argue that a team’s record should have no bearing on the award, that the Hart should go to the “best player,” as if there is an accepted, objective, metric measure of that. But a team’s success has always mattered in Hart balloting.

Only four players in NHL history have won the award from nonplayoff teams, Mario Lemieux was the last in 1987-88, joined by the Rangers’ Andy Bathgate in 1958-59, Chicago goaltender Al Rollins in 1953-54 (12-47-7 with a 3.21 GAA for a team that finished in last place, 37 points out of fifth place and 43 points out of the playoffs) and Brooklyn Americans defenseman Tom Anderson in 1941-42.

So, did Panarin get demerits for the Rangers’ failure to place in the traditional top 16, or did he earn support because of his significance in his team’s improvement from lottery fodder to contention? The Blueshirts weren’t in the playoffs at the time of the voting but might have even won the Cup by the time the winner is announced.

A Ranger has won the Hart four times, the fewest number of any Original Six club. Mark Messier won it in 1991-92, Bathgate in 1958-59, goaltender Chuck Rayner in 1949-50 and center Buddy O’Connor in 1947-48.

Panarin, who has a chance to make it five, spent part of Monday’s off-day with former Ranger Alex Kovalev. No. 27, a pilot, took Panarin for a spin in his plane.

“[Alex] is definitely a great pilot, but I brought a parachute just in case,” Panarin said. “Thank God I didn’t need it.”