All 3 are great choices. Hard to choose.

Argument for Gaudreau. He leads the league in Even Strength points. His plus minus level hasn't been seen since the early nineties. And not only has he been consistently dominant from game one onward, every time he's on the ice you immediately see it tilt in the flames favor. No matter his pairing.

Matthews has been dominant the later half of the season, and is the main reason his team is where they are. Outstanding year. Though he struggled early, and if the season was flipped with how he started he wouldn't get the same support. Without the highlights in the last few weeks would he even be in contention? Though if his pace continues this strong over the remaining 10 games it may be hard not to vote for him.

Shesterkin, it's hard to argue against his season. It tends to be harder for a Goalie to get the same appreciation when in comes to the Hart. Why? That said, with his name so heavily in the mix it tells you something about his dominance, and it should probably be him.

I'd say it's between Shesterkin and Gaudreau.
- TycoRC

I mean if you don't count Hart trophy winners Jeff Schultz in 2008, William Karlsson in 2017 or Ryan Graves in 2019..sure.

Name a TB player and the trophy gonna be in good hands.

AM34 has 21% of Toronto's 275 goals
Leon has 20% of Edmonton's 251 goals
Kaprizov has 16.28% of Minnesota's 258 goals
Kreider has 22% of NY's 221 goals

The Matthews case sinks a little.

An awful lot of people seem to be forgetting that MVP does not mean "best player".

Lot's of players to choose from but Matthews hands down is the MVP.
It will be reflected so when he wins it.

Without Matthews, Leafs would be struggling to make the playoffs and certainly not be considered a contender.
- Cooshie

Excellent point.

I mean, without him this year, the Leafs are only (***googles***) 4-1.

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

Says the guy who most likely chose his team because of the goalie who was in the Hart conversation every season he played...

LMAO! So Matthews is dependent on Marner? Give your head a shake, man! This guy scores so many goals on his own with that shot! Would he score as many if he played exclusively with Kerfoot and Engvall...of course not! But would Gaudreau rack up this many assists playing with Coleman and Lewis? Not a chance. Each benefit from playing with players of talent whom they have built excellent chemistry with.
- bullethead7

LOL, who????

the league has seen an offensive explosion this year

I don't necessarily say that that means Shesterkin should get the Hart

but I am saying that Shesterkin's 2021-22 season is more impressive than Carey Price's 2014-15 Hart Trophy winning season though

Gaudreau - Best even strength season in a long time. Helps his teammates more than they help him. Fantastic defensively and drives offense. Team would still be in the playoffs without him though.

- ElbowingPenalty

There's almost no chance the Flames would be in the playoffs without Gaudreau. They have almost no secondary scoring and the majority of the success of their top line is due to Gaudreau.

LOL, who????
- Tonybere

does he mean these guys?

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.
- Fan the Flame

Now this is laughable.

not only did Price win the Hart Trophy for 2014-2015, but Devan Dubnyk was absurdly 4th in voting and Pekka Rinne was 8th in voting.

In one of the most defensive seasons overall in recent memory.

Lets only award the Hart to a goalie when nobody in the league can score goals. LOL

I think Huberdeau should be in this conversation before Sh1tstirken

I think Huberdeau should be in this conversation before Sh1tstirken
- BringNYIhome

Huberdeau isn’t even the MVP of his team.

I think Huberdeau should be in this conversation before Sh1tstirken
- BringNYIhome

That's only because you never see Shesterkin. Whenever we play, you get Georgiev because you can't even beat him.

*unless Halak got the start for you. God damn Ranger-killer!

There's almost no chance the Flames would be in the playoffs without Gaudreau. They have almost no secondary scoring and the majority of the success of their top line is due to Gaudreau.
- Squeaky

Who cares? He's not winning the MVP so shut the (frank) up.

Who cares? He's not winning the MVP so shut the (frank) up.
- GPHawksfan

Flagged.
Don't be an bumhole.
You have no horse in this race ('cause your team blows), so why not take the opportunity to see other players for who they are, outside of a competitive atmosphere?

Matthews - record for most goals ever in a season by a Toronto Maple Leaf (not relevant to anyone but people in Toronto--it's a league award not a Toronto award)
Matthews - most coals ever by an American player (still not really all that relevant)
Matthews - Most consecutive games with a shot on goal (103) (whoopy do)
Matthews - 75 goals in his last 85 games (not a record, but damn impressive!) There's a bunch of other impressive stats here.


McDavid doesn't even make my top five. Sorry. Best player in the world--sure. Stuck on a crap team doing everything at once. Look at his points and his plus/minus yuck.

it's a 2 horse race between Gaudreau and Josi and some goalie is in 3rd. Matthews is having a great individual year.

my vote goes to Josi...not that my vote matters...because it doesn't. This whole thread doesn't. The media dudes that vote will fellate Toronto fans. Enjoy your MVP.

Matthews - record for most goals ever in a season by a Toronto Maple Leaf (not relevant to anyone but people in Toronto--it's a league award not a Toronto award)
Matthews - most coals ever by an American player (still not really all that relevant)
Matthews - Most consecutive games with a shot on goal (103) (whoopy do)
Matthews - 75 goals in his last 85 games (not a record, but damn impressive!) There's a bunch of other impressive stats here.


McDavid doesn't even make my top five. Sorry. Best player in the world--sure. Stuck on a crap team doing everything at once. Look at his points and his plus/minus yuck.

it's a 2 horse race between Gaudreau and Josi and some goalie is in 3rd. Matthews is having a great individual year.

my vote goes to Josi...not that my vote matters...because it doesn't. This whole thread doesn't. The media dudes that vote will fellate Toronto fans. Enjoy your MVP.
- Octavarium

Matthews - record for most goals ever in a season by a Toronto Maple Leaf (not relevant to anyone but people in Toronto--it's a league award not a Toronto award)
Matthews - most coals ever by an American player (still not really all that relevant)
Matthews - Most consecutive games with a shot on goal (103) (whoopy do)
Matthews - 75 goals in his last 85 games (not a record, but damn impressive!) There's a bunch of other impressive stats here.


McDavid doesn't even make my top five. Sorry. Best player in the world--sure. Stuck on a crap team doing everything at once. Look at his points and his plus/minus yuck.

it's a 2 horse race between Gaudreau and Josi and some goalie is in 3rd. Matthews is having a great individual year.

my vote goes to Josi...not that my vote matters...because it doesn't. This whole thread doesn't. The media dudes that vote will fellate Toronto fans. Enjoy your MVP.
- Octavarium

I'd be curious to see what Mathews can do during the playoffs, if his scoring gets his team to the second round , he's a clear cut MVP winner to me ....

Isn't Sorokin better than Shesterkin?

Isn't Sorokin better than Shesterkin?
- Cooleus

the only time Shesterkin is ever good is when people try to diminish the season the Rangers have had.

That's when people say "well, that's all Shesterkin"

other than that, Shesterkin sucks

I'm not sure what your hangup is here on even strength performance, yes it's great, but it's also indicative of strong team play (particularly a strong goalie), not necessarily strong individual play. Out of those stats, +/- is purely team stat and should not be considered at all for MVP.

He's tied for 4th in points, 14th in goals, 5th in assists, 1st in even strength points, 8th in even strength goals, 49th in power play points, 81st in TOI/game (18min a game is not a reason to vote MVP) and he's a winger, which is easier to replace than a centre.

He's having an outstanding year, as is the rest of the Flames team, but that does not make him all of a sudden worthy of MVP.
- j_eng

What is the reason for strong PP stats? Loading up a line with your best players. It's why McD had 9 goals and Drai has 20 on the PP and AM has 15. If the goal scoring argument is true, why didn't Ovi win it every year when he won the Rocket? If you need 22 minutes to reach 100 points, how is that MVP worthy? The points per 60 stand out a little more. Anyway, the debate is just with fans, since most of the voting members rarely stay up past their bedtimes to actually watch a game in the West.

the only time Shesterkin is ever good is when people try to diminish the season the Rangers have had.

That's when people say "well, that's all Shesterkin"

other than that, Shesterkin sucks
- jimbro83

They don't call him Shesturdkin for no reason

And by "they", of course, I mean me

They don't call him Shesturdkin for no reason

And by "they", of course, I mean me
- eichiefs9

What's his points per 20 when on the ice with 3 other players?