IMO, McDavid should win this hands down, however you rarely see repeat winners. We know damn well the Oilers would be bottom feeders without him. Draisaitl is great, but couldn't carry the Oilers team on his own. The Leaf's without Matthews is still at the very least 6-10th in the east (without him they might actually have cap space to shore up the defensive shortcomings). Because of this, I'm sure they will give it to Matthew this year. He has had an amazing year.

Only the Toronto Media calls the Leafs a contender. They aren't. They will be very lucky to win a series. Until this management group recognizes the folly of 50% of their payroll spent on 4 forwards, they will never have the depth throughout the rest of the lineup to compete in the playoffs, never mind thorough 4 rounds of it.
- Nelson19777

😂

No question.. 51 in 50.. End of debate.
- JKSoule

Go away Tanner

Norris and Vezina too or no?
- jimbro83

No, just the Conn Smythe.

Also Marner has lead the league in points by a fair margin since January.

IMO, McDavid should win this hands down, however you rarely see repeat winners. We know damn well the Oilers would be bottom feeders without him. Draisaitl is great, but couldn't carry the Oilers team on his own. The Leaf's without Matthews is still at the very least 6-10th in the east (without him they might actually have cap space to shore up the defensive shortcomings). Because of this, I'm sure they will give it to Matthew this year. He has had an amazing year.

Only the Toronto Media calls the Leafs a contender. They aren't. They will be very lucky to win a series. Until this management group recognizes the folly of 50% of their payroll spent on 4 forwards, they will never have the depth throughout the rest of the lineup to compete in the playoffs, never mind thorough 4 rounds of it.
- Nelson19777

McDavid gets paid more than Matthews.. But you are right. The Oilers management is so terrible that even with 13M, they wouldn't be able to fix anything. They'd just be sniffing the Leafs jock complaining about how Toronto is so much better than them. LOL

Sebastian Aho. Gifted Canes forward and promising Islander D man. Imagine another player performing at such a high level on two teams in different time zones and at different positions.

Sebastian Aho. Gifted Canes forward and promising Islander D man. Imagine another player performing at such a high level on two teams in different time zones and at different positions.
- Minnyhock

No question.. 51 in 50.. End of debate.
- JKSoule

Rollover stats, good for not much.

Rollover stats, good for not much.
- lacaprup

Sure, so let's just say 58 in 67.

Rollover stats, good for not much.
- lacaprup

Remember when Leafs made a huge mistake by taking Matthews over Laine?!
Oh, those crazy Leafs.

Shesterkin is having a record breaking goaltending season.

Matthews is having a record setting goal scoring season.

Gaudreau is having a dime a (superstar) dozen season. How is he above Mcdavid, Huberdeau, Draistl, or standing out differently? Josi is putting all time great season together, and should be above Gaudreau.

My vote is still Mcdavid, but if forces to choose from those three, I’m going Shesterkin just because of how good the underlying stats are. Mathews is wonderful, but has some pretty great running mates helping him out.
- Dahlmanyotes

Let me see:
Gaudreau leads every NHL player at +54
Leads the league with 78 even strength points
Plays an average of 18 minutes per game
McD is +22 and 68 even strength points
Plays an average of 22 minutes per game

Goalies should never be included in the conversation for the Hart!

Sure, so let's just say 58 in 67.
- Cooshie

Which is darn good, but not equal to Josi's season.

Goalies should never be included in the conversation for the Hart!
- Crushers68

Why?

Let me see:
Gaudreau leads every NHL player at +54
Leads the league with 78 even strength points
Plays an average of 18 minutes per game
McD is +22 and 68 even strength points
Plays an average of 22 minutes per game
- Traveldude

This is the best year for Hart debate I can remember. A case can be made for ever player I listed.

me

Why?
- lacaprup

They have their own award. The contribution of having the best goalie in the league is also not that great. It's really only important in the playoffs. The Rangers would be in a similar position with a good goalie. Like if they had Demko instead, they'd probably be fairly close to where they are now standings-wise.

I picked Demko since he's 15th in the league in GAA. Swap Matthews for the 15th best forward or Gaudreau for the 15th best winger and they're nowhere.

Shesterkin's also probably only going to play 55 games.

They have their own award. The contribution of having the best goalie in the league is also not that great. It's really only important in the playoffs. The Rangers would be in a similar position with a good goalie. Like if they had Demko instead, they'd probably be fairly close to where they are now standings-wise.

I picked Demko since he's 15th in the league in GAA. Swap Matthews for the 15th best forward or Gaudreau for the 15th best winger and they're nowhere.
- Squeaky

Disagree. The Leafs would be a 95 point team with the 15th best forward in the league instead of Matthews. You act like he's carrying trash.
Especially in a year where scoring is way up, a goalie has as much value as anybody, more in fact.

Goalscorers and defenmen have their own awards too.

Disagree. The Leafs would be a 95 point team with the 15th best forward in the league instead of Matthews. You act like he's carrying trash.
Especially in a year where scoring is way up, a goalie has as much value as anybody, more in fact.

Goalscorers and defenmen have their own awards too.
- lacaprup

95 point teams don't make the playoffs in a normal year in the East.

Matthews is a sniper Johnny is a playmaker. Play makers elevate their line mates while snipers are dependent on their line mates, thus making a great play maker more valuable than a great sniper.

Throw in that Johnny has the best +/- in the entire league and it's a no brainer.

I take nothing away from Shesterkin but goalies should not be up for the Hart, that's what the Vezina is for.

95 point teams don't make the playoffs in a normal year in the East.
- Squeaky

And neither would the Rangers without Igor.

.

I take nothing away from Shesterkin but goalies should not be up for the Hart, that's what the Vezina is for.
- Fan the Flame

I take nothing away from forwards, but they shouldn't be up for the Hart. That's what the Richard and Selke are for.

Here is the actual list:

Shesterkin
McDavid
Matthews
Josi
Huberdeau
Gaudreau
Sid
Makar
Kaprizov


Am I missing anyone else who is a contender?
- lacaprup

Vinny boon Botz

I take nothing away from forwards, but they shouldn't be up for the Hart. That's what the Richard and Selke are for.
- lacaprup

Valid point.... but my Hart still belongs to Johnny.

Just want to point out the Leafs have a very good record without Matthews in the lineup. I still think he should win the Hart because he is the best player in the world this season, but they actually have a worse record while Marner is out than with Matthews out. Just FYI.

Is this the year the Oilers go deep in the playoffs. Huge ask for them to get past Calgary and Colorado.

But think of the irony if McDavid leads his team deep into the playoffs. And, of course, Leafs fold in the first round. Imagine the ridicule if Matthews is named MVP. Award voting will be seen as no better than the bush league officiating.