Auston Matthews leads the NHL in goals, Connor McDavid has the most points and Igor Shesterkin has been the best goaltender in the league.
It鈥檚 entirely possible none of them wins the Hart Trophy as MVP.
Matthews, McDavid and Shesterkin are among the front-runners, but the pool of candidates goes at least seven deep with Johnny Gaudreau, Leon Draisaitl, Jonathan Huberdeau and Roman Josi also in the mix.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an argument or a case for each guy where you say, 鈥榊ep, for sure,'鈥 former NHL player and coach Rick Tocchet said. 鈥淚 think this is probably the hardest Hart in years. It鈥檚 not clear cut for me because I can make an argument for everybody.鈥
There will be plenty of arguments made before ballots are due Monday evening. Another problem? Only five players can be listed.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 the case? He鈥檚 the best scorer,鈥 Toronto Maple Leafs teammate David Kampf said. 鈥淗e has the most goals. That is the reason.鈥
Matthews鈥 60 goals are the most a player has had in a season since Steven Stamkos scored 60 in 2011-12. Matthews is one of only three players to score that many since the salary cap era began in 2004-05.
An injury slowed Matthews鈥 push for 60 goals but doesn鈥檛 diminish how he has been leading Toronto all season and now into the playoffs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a number,鈥 Leafs defenceman Justin Holl said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if he cares about it that much.鈥
An added touch: 43 of his goals have come at even strength, also most in the league.
The Calgary Flames were not supposed to be this good, and they are in large part because of Gaudreau, who led them with 111 points going into Tuesday and has been much improved away from the puck.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not outlandish to have him winning the Hart just because of his production and the way he鈥檚 played defence, too,鈥 said Tocchet, now a Turner Sports analyst. 鈥淗is defensive game has really been at another level. You watch him and he鈥檚 down low, he鈥檚 winning battles, he鈥檚 helping his D out for possessions.鈥
Edmonton鈥檚 captain is the best hockey player in the world and is on pace to win the scoring race for the fourth time in the past six seasons. He鈥檚 the most dynamic playmaker in the sport and the reason the Oilers are always a threat to make a deep playoff run.
McDavid has also won almost 54% of his faceoffs and honed his all-around game like other stars before him.
鈥淗e had the perfect role model in Sidney Crosby to evaluate his game the way Crosby has grown into a 200-foot hockey player, has grown into a tremendous leader,鈥 said Matt Hendricks, who played with McDavid for two seasons in Edmonton. 鈥淐onnor has done everything to follow those footsteps but also create his own, as well.鈥
The New York Rangers look way ahead of schedule in their rebuild, and there are plenty of reasons why, from coach Gerard Gallant to 50-goal scorer Chris Kreider. But the biggest factor has been Shesterkin, who has the lowest goals-against average at 2.03 and the highest save percentage at .936.
"He鈥檚 been that good for that team,鈥 Tocchet said. 鈥淗e dipped a little bit, which is understandable (under) a lot of pressure all year. But he鈥檚 still been really good -- excellent. His stats are phenomenal.鈥
McDavid鈥檚 running mate isn鈥檛 far behind Matthews in the goal-scoring race and is another piston in the Oilers engine to get them back in the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
Draisaitl won the Hart in 2020 after the season was cut short by the pandemic. He is in the discussion again because he does so much more for Edmonton than just creating offence and plays more than any other forward in the league.
鈥淒raisaitl penalty-kills, he takes a lot of draws in his own end on important faceoffs,鈥 Tocchet said. 鈥淭hat means a lot to me for the Hart.鈥
The most productive player on the best team in the league can鈥檛 be counted out. The Florida Panthers score more than anyone else, and Huberdeau is the biggest part of that.
Huberdeau trails only McDavid in scoring, and he hasn鈥檛 just done it while playing alongside elite centre Aleksander Barkov. He leads the NHL with a career-high 85 assists and reached 30 goals for the second time in a breakout season.
While Colorado鈥檚 Cale Makar is the favourite to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL鈥檚 top defenceman, Josi has essentially carried Nashville into the playoffs. His 91 points had him tied for 13th in the league with Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen, who could be the eighth player in the MVP race.
Nashville has gotten great production from forwards Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg and relied on Juuse Saros in goal, but Josi as the captain and best player controls and wins games.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just everything for that team,鈥 retired defenceman Karl Alzner said. 鈥淓ven if he doesn鈥檛 get on the score sheet more than once in a game, he is completely driving play for that team every time he鈥檚 out there. He鈥檚 always in the mix.鈥
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