As we enter March, there isn’t anybody who’s currently running away with the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player.
On Tuesday’s edition of The Daily Faceoff Show, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna discussed which names should be considered authentic candidates for the Hart and they also discussed how goaltenders should factor into that conversation.
Seravalli: “How many authentic Hart Trophy candidates are there at this point, with about 30 games remaining in the season?”
McKenna: “I think realistically, we’re at about five. I look at Jonathan Huberdeau, the duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, pending on where they finish in the Pacific Division, I also think Johnny Gaudreau is in the mix for carrying the Flames, and Igor Shesterkin is knocking on the door as well.
To me, those are the five that I see right now. Do you have anybody else to add to that list?
Seravalli: “I think you have to include Auston Matthews, I think you have to include Alex Ovechkin if he gets hot again.
But I’m big on Igor Shesterkin. His impact, his quality of saves, his underlying numbers, everything has been good about Igor Shesterkin this year. He’s such a big part of everything the New York Rangers are doing.
I guess this comes back to a larger philosophical argument that I have about the Hart Trophy in general. The position is so important, theoretically, your Hart Trophy ballot should be five goalies. But people look at it and say, there’s the Vezina Trophy, and that’s not what this is about.
It’s a difficult argument. Where do you stand on this?”
McKenna: “Skaters have the Rocket Richard, defensemen have their Norris, and goalies have the Vezina.
I think the hard part for goaltenders and, really, for defensemen as well, is that their season has to be that much more of a standout compared to the rest of the pack of players within their position for them to qualify for the Hart. The default is to just go to the leading scorer, the most offensive player who drives a team.
I appreciate what you said because there’s a whole lot of us in the goalie union who feel unappreciated and always have.
But it does need to be an absolutely standout season and Shesterkin is doing that right now. He’s gone from not just being the Vezina frontrunner but to also being in this conversation.”
You can watch the full episode here…
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