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Could Tavares Swipe Hart Trophy w/ Late Push? |
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Prior to suffering a broken jaw, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby was destined to skate off with the second Hart Trophy of his NHL career. Now there is at least a possibility that another candidate could make a last-moment push and grab the MVP trophy.
My alternative choice: John Tavares. The New York Islanders' center has really come into his own this year, and in my opinion has been the single
most valuable player to his team in the NHL.
Let's put it this way: Even without Crosby, the Penguins are still Stanley Cup contenders although not the by-leaps-and-bounds odds on favorite. Without Tavares, would the Islanders even be CLOSE to playoff position, let alone sitting in the seventh seed with eight games remaining on their schedule.
Last night against Philadelphia, Tavares was the best player on the ice for either team. He far outshined Philadelphia's Claude Giroux, who entered the season as one of the players expected to be in the Hart Trophy discussion but has underachieved a bit by his standards.
To be honest, in past seasons, I thought Tavares was a pretty one-dimensional player and maybe even a little bit soft. Not any more. He is a bonafide NHL superstar now, even if he's not in the top five in scoring. Even with Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals' incredible turnaround after a couple tough months, I'd place Tavares over Ovechkin in my MVP pecking order this season.
People will think I'm nuts to say this, but I would argue that the most valuable player to his team in the Western Conference this season has actually been San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi. No, he won't come anywhere near winning the Hart and he may not even be a finalist for the Vezina (but he very much deserves to be), but I have seen a lot of San Jose games this season and Niemi has absolutely been their MVP and a huge part of their late-season surge.
Make YOUR Hart Trophy vote below...
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