The NHL’s Hart Trophy finalists were released today and include Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.
The names surprise no one as all three were expected finalists. Crosby and McDavid were one and two in NHL scoring, and Bobrovsky led the league in GAA and SV% amongst starting NHL goaltenders.
Bobrovsky, as noted by the Blue Jackets’ Public Relations team, is the first MVP finalist in Blue Jackers history. He posted a .931 SV% and a 2.06 GAA in 63 games. He was considered Columbus’s best player in a surprising season for the Metropolitan Division team. He’s also a finalist for the NHL’s Vezina Trophy awarded to the league’s best goaltender.
Sidney Crosby finished tied for 2nd in league scoring with 44G and 45A in 75 games. He tied Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane in points with 89, but did it in seven fewer games. Crosby has already locked up the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy for most goals this season. Crosby has been a Hart Trophy finalist six times, and won the award in 2007 and 2014
Connor McDavid led the NHL in scoring with 30G and 70A in 82 games. He led a Edmonton Oilers squad to its first playoff birth since 2006 in only his second pro season. This season he won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the NHL.
Notable absences—thought to have finished fourth and lower—include Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, and Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand.
Karlsson is easily the biggest snub. It should’ve been between him and mcdavid and no one else is really close
How should it have only been between McDavid and Karlsson? I won’t argue that Karlsson isn’t a snub, but it’s also not a “two-horse race” between just him and McDavid. Karlsson’s argument is that he’s been the best (or at worst one of the best) defensemen in the league this year and helped turn a borderline playoff team into a team fighting for the 1 seed in their division. Bobrovsky has the same argument just for a different team/division. He’s been one of the best goaltenders in the league (his numbers are comparable, although a touch worse) than Carey Price’s MVP season two years ago and, similar to Ottawa, helped turn Columbus into a surprise playoff team. Playoff performance doesn’t, and shouldn’t factor into that conversation either when comparing Karlsson and Bobrovsky. And as much as I dislike Crosby, he’s just as deserving of the nomination considering he led the league in goals and finished second in scoring despite missing 7 games. He loses points in my book for still having a stud team around him, but not enough to take him out of the consideration. At the end of the day though, McDavid should win this award considering his performance and how important he’s obviously been to the Oilers.
Karlsson? How about Burns…
I’ll agree. I don’t think Burns is getting enough credit either. I know that one of the main arguments for Karlsson over Burns is their blocked shots totals (Karlsson is 2nd in the league while Burns has about 60 less). Personally, I think McDavid and Bobrovsky are the right picks for two of the finalists. When it comes to Karlsson, Burns, Crosby, Kucherov, Marchand, and Matthews you can make good arguments about each on why they should be a finalist. Honestly, Crosby probably got the nod over the others (aside from being Crosby) for being 2nd in the league in points.
There is no way Bobrovsky can be the only goalie nominated for the Hart without winning the Vezina. Congrats Bob.
If Marchand wasn’t such a punk rat who keeps slew footing people or whacking them with his stick when their back is turned and subsequently getting suspended, he’d be worthy of this discussion too.