Todd Cordell
Patrick Kane, Alexander Ovechkin and co. have all been spectacular but for me the MVP thus far is Cory Schneider.
Schneider has a Devils team everyone expected to finish in the basement of the NHL within one point of a playoff spot at the all-star break.
He is tied for 1st in the NHL in starts and has a ridiculous .929 save percentage to go with a 2.03 goals against average. He's also 3rd in the NHL in quality start percentage behind only Corey Crawford and Petr Mrazek, both of whom have better teams to work with.
Without Kane the Chicago Blackhawks would still be very good. Without Ovechkin the Capitals would still be very good.
If the Devils didn't have Schneider I think they'd be in the basement of the NHL like everyone expected them to be. I doubt he's on most people's radar but if the Devils squeak into the playoffs I think he'd be more deserving than anyone else.
Jason Lewis It is exceptionally hard to go against Patrick Kane right now just because of what a ridiculous season he is having. Couple that with how well the Blackhawks have done in general the past few weeks and you have a winning formula. He is on pace for something ridiculous like 110 points which is utterly ridiculous in the modern era of hockey.
I would generally lean towards someone like a Holtby, or Crawford, or heck maybe even a secondary scorer like Evgeny Kuznetsov. But Kane's year is just too large to ignore. He is having a monstrous year.
Peter Tessier It's Ovie and deservedly so. Guy is en fuego and leading his team like they have never been led before. While Patrick Kane is having a stellar season could the Blackhawks survive without him? Yes but the Caps would be sunk like the Bismark without Ovie.
Kane is having his best season but is he the most valuable to his team? That is the debate and I go with Ovie.
John Jaeckel Patrick Kane.
Kind of a no-brainer. He leads the scoring race by 15 points, but is also +22 (granted, no not the most telling stat but it reflects some defensive responsibility—which is magnified by the fact that Kane's line often serves to "shelter" the Hawks' third defense pair).
Add to that the reliance Chicago has on Kane's line, which contributes roughly 40% of the team's scoring. This, for the team that has rocketed up to the top of the Western Conference after a rough start tot he season.
Kane is at the top of his game, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the huge assist he's gotten (literally and figuratively) from Russian import Artemi Panarin. These two complement each other perfectly, and Panarin looks for Kane first, before taking good shots himself, almost to a fault.
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