Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.
Very rarely do goaltenders win the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP, but that looks like the likely scenario this season.
Still, there are plenty of other good candidates that deserve consideration.
Let’s take a look at my top-5:
Sidney Crosby
Despite Sidney Crosby’s most frequent line mate at even-strength (Chris Kunitz) registering only 40 points, and scoring just twice since the beginning of February, Crosby still finished 3rd in league scoring with 84 points, and led the league in points per game.
This is the first time in Crosby’s career that he’s recorded less than 100 points while playing a full season, and despite his drop off in production – in large part because his team was decimated by injuries – he likely would have won a scoring title had he not missed a handful of games.
Alexander Ovechkin
In a year where only three players scored more than 38 goals, Alexander Ovechkin managed to score 53, and is perhaps the biggest reason the Capitals are hosting a playoff series even though many expected Washington to miss the playoffs.
Ovechkin also led the league in shots by almost 100, and he managed 81 points in 81 games while leading the league in game-winning-goals with 11.
Offense was down quite a bit this season, but Ovechkin still managed to score 10 more goals than the NHL’s 2nd leading goal scorer (Steven Stamkos) which shows just how good of a season he had.
Carey Price
Montreal won a very good Atlantic Division despite scoring the fewest goals of all 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs.
Why? Carey Price.
Despite Montreal being outshot on a regular basis ,and the Canadiens not providing him with a ton of goal support, Price managed to record a league-high 44 wins in 66 games played.
Price posted an absurd .933 save percentage – including a .943SV% during 5 vs 5 play – and recorded nine shutouts in the process.
He was the best goalie – and perhaps player – in the NHL this season, which has put him in a good position to buck the trend and win the Hart Trophy as a goaltender.
Pekka Rinne
The Nashville Predators were one of the best teams in the NHL this season, and Pekka Rinne is probably the biggest reason why.
He stumbled a little bit in his final few appearances – he allowed three goals or more in his final five starts – yet he still managed to win 41 times in 64 games while recording a 2.18 goals against average and .923 save percentage.
Rinne doesn’t have much of a shot – particularly because he wasn’t even the best player at his position this season – but he still deserves full marks for what he’s been able to accomplish this season.
John Tavares
Last but not least we have John Tavares, arguably the NHL’s most underrated star player.
All he does is score goals, put up points in bunches, and play a sound 200-foot game, yet he’s rarely mentioned as one of the league’s top players.
Tavares was 4th in the NHL with 38 goals, and he finished 2nd in the scoring race with 86 points while dressing in all 82 games for the Islanders.
He probably won’t win the Hart, but he led a 47-win team in scoring and probably deserves more consideration than most think.
My Ballot
Carey Price – Montreal
Alexander Ovechkin – Washington
John Tavares – New York
Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh
Pekka Rinne – Nashville
Sidney Crosby
Alexander Ovechkin
Carey Price
Pekka Rinne
John Tavares