Many deserve an early look as MVP
Familiar names like Price and Crosby get competition from hot young NHL rookie
It was only six-and-a-half-minutes — not 37 games like last season — but the effect was pretty much the same.
When a concussion spotter pulled Connor McDavid from the game after drawing a tripping penalty against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, the Edmonton Oilers were not the same team. With the NHL’s leading scorer sitting in the quiet room, Edmonton failed to convert on a glorious man-advantage opportunity — they didn’t even get a shot on net for the rest of the second period — and eventually lost 2-1 in overtime.
It was the ninth time this season that McDavid did not record a point and the sixth time that the Oilers lost in that scenario. It’s another way of saying that McDavid is the difference between winning and losing. Whether that makes him the early favourite for the Hart Trophy is another question.
By its definition, the trophy is awarded to the “player judged most valuable to his team.” But each team’s needs are different every year.
With the season nearly two months old, here is a look at the early favourites:
Connor McDavid, Edmonton
GP 27 G 11 A 23 PTS 34 McDavid received the Oilers captaincy before his 20th birthday. But if anyone was wondering if he was old enough to lead, his production has answered those questions and more. McDavid, who has five more points than the next-highest scorer, leads the league in assists and six times this season he has scored three points in a game. He is a big reason why the Oilers have climbed out of the basement and are tied for the most points in the Pacific Division.
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
GP 20 G 17 A 10 PTS 27 Crosby missed the first six games of the season because of a suspected concussion, but with 1.35 points per game, he’s made up for lost time. He already has nine multi-point games. But the number that really sticks out is his 17 goals. Crosby has managed more than 40 goals only once in his career when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy with 51 goals in 2009-10.
Carey Price, Montreal
14-3-1 GAA 1.82 SV% .942 Price won the MVP two years ago, but you could argue that he really deserved the Hart Trophy last season, when Montreal dropped out of the playoff picture after losing their No. 1 goalie to injury. With Price healthy again, the Canadiens top the overall standings entering Monday’s games.
And yet, they are only the best because of Price. Only one other playoff team allows more shots per game than the Canadiens (31.7), who have the fourth-best goalsagainst average (2.20). That number would be even lower if Price, who has two shutouts and seven other games where he gave up just one goal, never had to take a day off.
Patrik Laine, Winnipeg
GP 28 G 16 A 7 PTS 23 In each of the three seasons that Alex Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy, he also led the league in goals. But he never did it as a rookie. That is why what Laine is doing has been so special. With two hat tricks, three game-winners and a one-timer that is already causing goalies to flinch, the Jets have been relying on Laine to score 46 per cent of their power play goals and have won only four out of the 15 games where he has not recorded a point.
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay
GP 26 G 13 A 16 PTS 29 Prior to his injury, Steven Stamkos (20 points in 17 games) would have been on this list. He might even have been the early Hart Trophy favourite. But when the Lightning captain went down with a torn meniscus, a familiar face once again stepped up. Kucherov, who only had one goal in October, scored 10 goals and 18 points in 15 games in November. He is second in league scoring, tied for third in goals and his plus-10 rating is better than anyone else’s in the top-10 in scoring.
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa
GP 26 G 6 A 18 PTS 24 plus-3 It might seem a bit of a reach to include Karlsson’s name here, since he is not having the same kind of offensive season he did a year ago when he finished top five with 82 points. He wasn’t even the top-scoring defenceman before Monday’s four-point outburst. But like last year’s Norris Trophy snub, the points only tell half the story.
Unlike last year, the Senators are currently holding down a playoff spot. And Karlsson, who leads the league in blocked shots, is a big reason why the team is averaging fewer shots against.