The NHL is nothing if not a collection of the greatest hockey players in the world. The Hart trophy honors perhaps the greatest of those players in that given year. Connor McDavid deserves that award this year. More than that, he might be the greatest player in the NHL right now.
Sidney Crosby is still a great player. Carey Price remains one of the best goaltenders in the league, with Sergei Bobrovsky and Braden Holtby. Brent Burns is the best offensive defenseman. But more than all of them, Connor McDavid is the most valuable player.
Connor McDavid's Hart Case
This year, the Edmonton Oilers are third in the Pacific. They remain one point ahead of the Calgary Flames, and two points behind the Anaheim Ducks. It is my belief that they would not be there without the play of Connor McDavid. It may be fact, as well.
Mar 10, 2017; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)
McDavid leads all players this year with 85 points in 73 games. 59 of those points are assists. He also leads all players in that category. McDavid is in the top 30 in goals scored, but that's not where the teenager (he just turned twenty, two months ago) excels. It's in setting up plays for his teammates.
We've seen the Edmonton Oilers without McDavid, and it wasn't great. Now, in McDavid's first healthy season, they're a playoff team.
Without McDavid, the Oilers would not be the same team, and they likely don't make the playoffs. Besides McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Cam Talbot, the Oilers don't have much. And even Draisaitl and Talbot feel the effect of McDavid.
With McDavid on the ice, Talbot's (and Edmonton's backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit) SV% is .917. That's a bit below his usual .921. But that's also because Connor McDavid's linemate Leon Draisaitl gives Talbot a .912.
McDavid has helped Draisaitl's game. Here's how: of his 25 goals this season, 12 have come off of McDavid assists. Draisaitl has also had a significant assists push, mainly because McDavid has 26 goals, of which Draisaitl has assisted on nine.
The Oilers second center is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Nugent-Hopkins has 34 points. He's not quite McDavid. McDavid's the MVP.
McDavid's Competition
Jan 29, 2017; Sidney Crosby (87) of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Brad Marchand (63) of the Boston Bruins (Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports)
McDavid's best competition is Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand, and Brent Burns for MVP. Except here's the thing, McDavid is more valuable than all these other guys.
Without Sidney Crosby, the Penguins still make the playoffs. Evgeni Malkin is doing really well this season, and they have Phil Kessel. They have good defensemen in Kris Letang and Olli Maatta. Matt Murray is a Calder candidate.
Without Brad Marchand, the Bruins aren't a playoff team. That's an impressive look on Marchand, except even with him they might not make it. The Bruins are aging and are missing defense. Taking away their leading goal scorer doesn't change that.
Without Brent Burns, the Sharks are missing their leading scorer. Besides that, they still have Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. They still have a great defense with Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Paul Martin. Martin Jones is still a solid goaltender.
Again, without McDavid, they're not nearly the team they are now. They lack a great defense, Talbot is better for having McDavid in front of him, and Draisaitl's point production is well assisted by McDavid's presence.
McDavid's the MVP.
Why McDavid Is the Greatest Player In the NHL
Connor McDavid is the greatest player in the NHL. It's part of the reason he's deserving of the Hart trophy this year. That claim can be made partly because of McDavid's ability to score points. Once again, he leads the league in points this year.
It's also because Connor McDavid is one of the fastest players in the (recorded) history of the NHL. Here's his attempt at breaking the record set by Dylan Larkin:
And here's Larkin's record:
Here's the thing about Larkin's lap: he set it while clearly moving. He had a boost because he didn't extend the extra energy to push off. McDavid, on the other hand, is at a dead standstill. If McDavid was allowed to move as Larkin was, there is no doubt in my mind that McDavid would have beaten Larkin.
It's also because McDavid is one of the most hockey smart players the league's ever seen. No one's hockey intelligence will ever match Wayne Gretzky's, but McDavid is clearly a smart player. When you watch McDavid set up a play, you're watching a guy paying attention to every detail. He knows where everybody is, where everybody's going. More than that, McDavid understands how to get the puck to exactly the right spot that will lead to a goal. And he gets the puck there.
He knows where everybody is, where everybody's going. More than that, McDavid understands how to get the puck to exactly the right spot that will lead to a goal. And he gets the puck there. He combines abilities and intelligence.
McDavid Vs. Crosby
Mar 12, 2017; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Phillip Danault (24) vs. Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)
Crosby and McDavid both have young linemates. McDavid has Draisaitl, who's just a year older than him. He has almost no experience playing with Patrick Maroon, who is 28. The three of them are younger than Crosby's line.
While McDavid doesn't have the resume of Crosby (yet.) he's proving himself of being more than capable in just his first full season. He has more points than a prime Sidney Crosby, and while Crosby has fewer games (and is superior in points-per-game), it's important to look at where Sidney Crosby was at McDavid's age and experience.
In his first full year, Crosby came in second for the Calder. Connor McDavid came in third, with much fewer games played. In a different era of goaltenders, Crosby scored 120 points in his second year. In an era of superior netminding, McDavid might score more than a 100.
Crosby got his team to the playoffs, where they lasted one round. On a worse team, McDavid might get his past the first round. Crosby won the Hart, Art Ross, and Ted Lindsay. McDavid might just do the same darn thing.
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