A Fascinating Debate

So if I were to make a case for Sidney Crosby to win the Hart Trophy this season, it would go something along these lines.

Obviously he's having a tremendous season, including his best goal-scoring campaign ever with 49 goals as of today. If you believe goals matter more than points, and certainly second assists are given out like candy in the NHL, than Crosby's numbers heading into the final weekend are unassailable.

He's also pretty much doing it alone.

In Washington, Alexander Ovechkin is the best player on the best team and the argument may begin and end there. Ovechkin, it should be noted, has Nicklas Backstrom to play with every night, and somehow Backstrom is still flying below the radar in terms of elite NHLers. This guy is fabulous, and controls the puck as well as anybody outside of Pavel Datsyuk. The Caps have seven 20-goal scorers and will have eight if Mike Green can find the net one more time.

In Vancouver, Henrik Sedin plays every shift with his twin brother, Daniel. In fact, the two are clearly locked in some sort of Star Trek-like, Vulcan mind thing. Quite extraordinary. The focus is on whether Henrik should be a Hart candidate, or even the winner, but less attention has been paid to the fact that Daniel's season, on a points per game basis, is nearly as good as his brother's, but in fewer games. The story out of Vancouver should be less about Henrik and more about the twins finally becoming the dynamic one-two punch that Brian Burke believed they would become when he pulled off all those moves on draft day 11 years ago to land them.

Crosby, by comparison, is the Lone Ranger. His linemates are usually Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, hardy NHL workers, but neither a top-end NHL sniper. Of Crosby's teammates, only Evgeny Malkin has more than 50 points, and only Malkin, Jordan Staal and Guerin have cracked the 20-goal barrier.

More than last year, this has been the Crosby Show pretty much every night. Whether that's enough to get him the Hart is up to the voters.

Comments

[bob]

hi from ottawa. i completely wonder where the nhl people get the calculators they use. in my mind ovie isnt even second for the award let alone first. mr crosby is the only choice. where did ovie go after the olympics?whats up with that? luongo? whats happening?argh.

[Andy Frank]

My vote would go to Ilya Bryzgalov, who has quietly had a remarkable season and without whom the Coyotes would be roadkill. 8 shutouts is second behind Brodeur and all his of his other numbers stack up with the best. Nobody picked Phoenix to finish anywhere near where they did, and credit goes to coaching and goaltending.

Henrik and Daniel are great talents, spooky as their physical peaks happen at exactly the same time, but this really is a duo at work. The Caps did just fine w/o OV when he was hurt, and he is still a reckless player whose overall skill doesn't equal his flash. The Penguins are a disappointment, they should have walked with the conference, and while Sid was good, the team he leads was so so.

[KellyinDC]

How do you account, then, for the fact that Crosby struggles so mightily when Malkin / Gonchar are out of the line-up? The "MVP" shouldn't depend on other players to earn points - this would be a different situation if he scored most of his goals with Malkin and Gonchar out. Additionally, Crosby is 34-38-72, +22 in 40 home games and 15-17-32, -10 in 39 road games - he's only half as productive and loses his defensive effectiveness. Meanwhile, Ovechkin is 24-38-62, +31 in 35 home games and 24-20-44, +12 in 35 away games - metronome-like in goal scoring and still defensively responsible (if you put stock in +/- figures). Not to mention - Ovechkin's stats are over 10 fewer games; at 82 games, he projects to 124 points and this discussion is over (Crosby's stats project to 108 points over 82 games).

One note about the oft-quoted 7-2-1 Caps record without Ovechkin: of those 10 games, 4 wins came against the Florida Panthers, who may not even break 80 points this year. Both regulation losses came against the New Jersey Devils, one of the top teams in the Eastern conference. In the two games Ovechkin played against the Devils, he went 1-4-5 and the team went 1-0-1. It seems unfair to penalize a player for playing on a great team, and arguing against Ovechkin for MVP because the Caps can win without him is doing exactly that.

I completely agree that Crosby has upped his game by increasing his goal-scoring, and should be recognized for doing so. But to conclude that he deserves to be called the Most Valuable Player in the league when his statistics are outshone by those of other players is simply ludicrous.

[Sanj]

My vote would go to Ryan Miller. Does Buffalo even make the playoffs without Miller?? NOT!!

[rick]

"Caps record without Ovechkin: of those 10 games, 4 wins came against the Florida Panthers, who may not even break 80 points this year. Both regulation losses came against the New Jersey Devils, one of the top teams in the Eastern conference."

HAHAHA, you actually just hurt your argument here. Don't you see, OV plays 6 times each against Florida, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Carolina... all bottom feeders... year after freaking year. That is 24 games against these teams total, and before the changes this summer it was actually 32 games against these teams each year.

In contrast, Mr. Crosby has to play against New Jersey, Philly, Rangers, and Islanders 24 times a year. Of the group only the Islanders are considered a weak team, and that will not be for long.

Mr. Crosby for MVP

[N.]

You might also want to check out these stats. Crosby gets the points when it matters.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/32674-Campbellnomics-April-6.html

[Geoff Read]

Lots of deserving candidates. Can you imagine where the Habs would be without Jaroslav Halak?

[Hank]

Hard to argue these points.
I've been asking for the past 2-3 seasons what kind of numbers Crosby would be putting up if he had a 40 and 30 goal scorers on his line much like Ovechkin does.

However, if I can make an argument in Sedin's favor is that he plays in the West where defense reigns supreme.
The East has the stars but the West has the teams. And in that respect, I believe Henrik would have 20 more points if he played somewhere on the East coast.

But in the end, it's hard to not look at what Crosby's done all year and not believe he's the most valuable player. Outside of the Redwings, nobody's played more games than his club in the past 3 years, Malkin's been hurt all year, he plays with 2nd and 3rd line wingers and yet he's still able to put up gaudy numbers.

Crosby earns my vote as well.

[lae]

lol at the caps homer. here. ov definately needs to be considered but as is the tale in pens town as opposed to with the caps, washignton has better players who play better team hockey than the pens. the pens have one top line and that's it, and their top line isn't even top because like the vanucks when geno and sid aren't playing together as a top elite line everything gets disseminated. what i'm mad about is that some of the secondary and third line guys in pittsburgh havent been producing and haven't had their game in gear. jordan staal has had to pick up a lot of slack that some of the wingers haven't done their fair share, but then again it's not the same team since they lost some players. i'm not sure if crosby should win the mvp (he's getting hot later in the season too. ugh!). he should definately be in the talks. i think a goalie should win this year because there have been some really outstanding goaltending this year. also daniel sedin always gets shafted because henrik just seems like the more natural pure scorer/sniper instincts of the two (the vulcan mind lock thing was hilarious) but daniel sedin has also been improving as games have gone on, with and without his brother. putting them back on the same line is what should have been done in the first place. it's going to be hard to pick an mvp this year considering the amount of points that have been accumulated but my pick is for a goalie.

[Jordan]

I think this counts for something:

Shoot out record:

Crosby 8/10 (leads league)

Ovie 2/9

... what's worth more? a couple assists or 6 shoot out goals?

[Mark]

Hey Damian

Please keep in mind it took Crosby 10 more games to reach the totals Ovechkin has put up. Ovechkin is hands down the best player in the league and deserves the award.

[Ron]

The MVP goes to the "most VALUABLE player, not the player with the best stats (see: Richard, Art Ross). Which team suffers most when the star player is out of the line up? The Caps clearly don't suffer without Ovechkin, Vancouver would suffer without Sedin, the Pens would have done nothing without Crosby this season (Malkin has struggled this year). My vote goes to Crosby or Sedin. I don't even think Ovechkin is the most valuable player on his team. Best at scoring, yes. But I think the Caps would struggle more without Backstrom. I don't include goaltenders in the mix because any team with an elite goaltender would be in trouble without them.

[EWA]

MVP awards seem to be given to the best player in the league (Ovechkin). If it were truly an MVP award - Most Valuable Player - you have to look at players other than OV, as others have noted here - Miller, Bryz, Henrik, and yes, Crosby.

There's no denying that Ovechkin is the best player in the NHL and will probably win the Hart as MVP. If it was up to me - clearly it is NOT! - AO wins Player of the Year, and Sid wins Hart.

[James]

@Andy Frank - the answer is simpler than you think. The Caps record and players have been better during the regular season than the Pens and Canucks. Even when their own goaltending faltered, the offense most times just outscored the other team. The Caps, as a team, excelled. The Pens, as a team, did not. So in the comparison, who falters more without their star - the Pens or the Caps? I think the point in this article is that it's the Pens who falter more without Crosby.

Just a note on Crosby too - he has increased his faceoff win percentage and goalscoring, in addition to his already otherwise excellent assets. He has less PPG and empty-net goals than Ovechkin and more primary assists, less secondary assists, and more goals than Sedin.

Vancouver without Henrik performing at this high rate is the Vancouver of last year, where Luongo and Daniel and guys like Kesler and Burrows pick up the slack. In Washington, after Ovechkin you still have Backstrom, Semin, Green, Knuble, and Laich who are doing quite well offensively.

Sedin this year is like Malkin last year - led the league in points but did not get the MVP. Also, one knock on Malkin last year was the presence of Crosby in the top 5 point scorers. Last time I checked, Backstrom and Ovechkin were top 5... I agree with the article, I think Crosby's improvements have helped his team more than the other 2.

[Miles]

doesnt matter if OV or crosby wins MVP in regular season. I dont see either of these teams going for the long haul this playoff season.

[Olli]

The official definition of Hart trophy:
"player adjudged most valuable to his team".
But for some reason the award is usually given to the best player of the season, which is weird since there is an award for that, the Lester B. Pearson Award.
So I think that Hart canditates should be:
Crosby, Miller and Gaborik (if the Rangers make the playoffs).
And the Lester B. Pearson should go to Ovechkin (or Crosby).

[Dan]

@ Sanj - Your argument that Pittsburgh played in a tougher Division is not backed up by team records. Washington went 14-3-3 against teams from the Atlantic. Conversely Pittsburgh was 9-6-4 against teams from the Southeast. Even the Florida Panthers, who you used as an example, were 10-5-5 against the Atlantic. In fact, only Tampa Bay had a losing record against teams from the Atlantic.

OV is the best player in the league. As much as it pains Canadians to admit that hes Russian, the fact is he has scored 50 goals in 4 out of his first 5 seasons, something only Gretzky and Bossy have accomplished. Think about that, he has accomplished something that has only ever been done by the two greatest goal scorers in NHL history. The NHL's best player should not be penalized for being on the best team. What sense would that make?

In response to the author - Washington is a great team. I agree that Backstrom is one of the best scoring centers in the league which of course helps, but its not as though OV is scoring a bunch of uncontested tap-ins, he creates a high percentage of his chances. Most of his goals are from between the circles. How many times has he scored carrying the puck over the blueline, shooting it around or through the d-man? Also, Crosby's teammates were good enough to win the Stanley Cup last year. I don't think you can say Crosby is being held back by his teammates.

[Kyle]

I do not understand how this is even a debate. Alexander Ovechkin is hands down this years MVP and the best player in the league. You can talk about face off percentages and which player played against which team (and whoever made that shootout comment proved nothing at all) but the fact remains that he is the most feared player in the NHL for a reason.

Most goals year after year, hits hard, best player on the best team, end of discussion. Sorry but Crosby is not on Ovie's level in terms of talent and skill.

[John]

This is pretty much the same Penguins team from last year, minor differences. Crosby and his gang are winless against teams with better records than theirs 0-12-4.

Historically the award isn't given to who is most important to his team. It's generally given to the highest goal scoring player as long as he is top 2 in the points race. It has never gone to number 3 in the race in many years. The top player in the league. The leagues best player, and that player is Alex Ovechkin.

[J. D. POWELL]

WHY IS IT NO ONE IS CHAMPIONING STEVEN STAMKOS? HE IS BY FAR THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER ON AND TO HIS TEAM. HE IS TIED WITH OVECHKIN FOR THE MOST GOALS (50) AND BY A DEFENSEMAN NO LESS! ALL AT THE AGE OF JUST 20. STAMKOS! STAMKOS! STAMKOS!

P.S. THIS IS ALTRUISTIC AS I AM NOT EVEN A LIGHTNING FAN; I AM A SENS FAN! GO SENS GO!

[other mark]

I love how the stats geeks just jump all over this one and profess their love for Ovie. If any of you nerds actually played the game, you would, without hesitation, say Crosby is the league MVP. Now, put down your slide rule and watch a few games. You might see what I mean.

[V.O. Reason]

Long time Leafs fan here. Henrik Sedin was the most valuable to his team. Without his contributions when his brother was gone for 1/4 of the season, without his 1.5 plus PointsPerGame pace since Christmas and without his brilliant all-round game (both ends of the rink), then this would be a contest.

Sid and others had great years....but Henrik Sedin was head and shoulders the most valuable to his team in the NHL this year.

[Mapleloaf]

Ovechkin, Sedin, and Crosby are all deserving candidates. This is a close race indeed and there is simply no slam dunk here. I suspect Ovechkin will win, but I do believe that Crosby is the more deserving candidate. Cup winner or not, he plays on a less talented team, across the board, than the other two. The Pens do not make the playoffs without him this year.

[Badge]

Bang on Other Mark...

this isn't the "Best Goal Scorer" award...though they have that, and Crosby won it this year too.

It's best Player. Period. Not best at 1 facet of the game, or even 2 (debatable). Crosby is the best PLAYER in the game, period. It isn't even close. When's the last time Ovie killed a penalty that mattered? On the ice the last minute with a 1 goal lead? not likely. Crosby is, every time.

[Badge]

easy on the CAPS Powell...and Cox pretty well covered that. Scoring 51 goals is nice and all, but what good did it do his team?

Stamkos may indeed have a Hart trophy in his future, but it won't be in a season when his team finishes 25th overall, 41 points out of 1st place. If anything Stamkos HURT the Bolts by playing so well, they aren't getting another lottery pick!! LOL