POINT SHOTS

My list [for MVP, see centerpiece]: 1. Sid. 2. Rust. 3. Karlsson. 4. Letang. 5. Pettersson. 6. Ned. 7. Geno.

I also considered Lars Eller (sneaky good season for him), goalie coach Andy Chiodo (he helped Ned get his groove back), president of business operations Kevin Acklin (he made the Jagr reunion happen) and Steve, the press box attendant at PPG Paints Arena (adding the nacho bar was an MVP move).

I found it interesting that the point totals for the consensus ranking were so flat behind Crosby, who had a perfect 50 out of 50. The next five guys all hit double digits and Letang and Dubas both had nine. It hadn’t been like that before.

As I referenced earlier, a couple of voters almost exclusively focused on the last few weeks, which is totally fine by me. When I first started this annual exercise, I wanted it to be subjective and fun. I think the flatter distribution was also a result of Sid hogging all the first-place votes and no other

player being exceptional.

Some of my favorite stories over the years were when I sat down with Sid and quizzed him about his career. Last season, I grilled him about all the teammates he’s set up over the years, since he had just gotten his 900th NHL assist. Well, just 15 months later, he has already reached 1,000. At age 36.

What a freak.

So, will I have Crosby on my Hart Trophy ballot? I just received mine from the Pro Hockey Writers Association on Friday. Crosby will be on my short list of six or seven guys if the Penguins get in, but I can’t picture putting him higher than fifth. The stats for four other players are in a completely different stratosphere.