On Wednesday the NHL announced the three finalists for the Hart Trophy, which is given to the player who is most value to his team, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin and Pavel Datsyuk. I don’t want to offend every Detroit Red Wing fan out there (or maybe I do), but this is a two horse race and Datsyuk, as great as a year as he had, is not on the track.
The voting for the Hart Trophy is done by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) and all voting is completed and had to be submitted before the first game of the playoffs.
Here are the biggest 7.1 reasons why Evgeni Malkin deserves the MVP not Alexander Ovechkin.
Reason #7 – Evgeni Malkin scored more points this year than Alexander Ovechkin has ever scored in an NHL season.
Reason #6 – Evgeni Malkin led the league in assists, the true sign of a team player. Alexander Ovechkin who is quite possibly the most selfish player in the league finished tied for 10th in assists even though he was number one in the league in time played per game as a forward. The typical Alexander Ovechkin assist is a shot on goal by Ovechkin then another player gets the rebound and puts it in. Here is an Ovechkin assist he had on a game winning goal: “click here: Typical Ovechkin rebound assist”
Reason #5 – Evgeni Malkin’s shooting percentage was higher than Ovechkin’s. Malkin if he wanted to be selfish, easily could have had as many shots as the league leader in shots Ovechkin did. If Malkin was stingy and shot as many shots as Ovechkin did, with Malkin’s shooting percentage, he would have had 64 goals.
Reason #4 – On top of Ovechkin’s selfish league leading shots (528) is Alexander Ovechkin’s league leading missed shots 220 + throw in 32 shots blocked and Ovechkin’s attempted shot total is 780. I only caught a few Capital games this year, but did Ovechkin ever pass the puck or were all his assists on rebounds?
Reason #3 – Evgeni Malkin’s +/- was over twice as good as Ovechkin’s, plus Malkin had twice as many short handed goals. Malkin was a way better defensive player this season than Ovechkin.
Reason #2 – You can clearly see that Ovechkin had 6 more game winning goals than Malkin. Here’s a stat you won’t find anywhere else: Being the team player that Malkin is, Malkin had 8 more game winning assists than Ovechkin which puts Malkin up by 2.
Reason #1 – Evgeni Malkin led the league in takeaways. This is a scoring leader who also led the league in takeaways. Any guesses on who had more giveaways than any other player in the league. If you guessed Alexander Ovechkin, give yourself a gold star.
Reason #.1 – In Pittsburgh we know a Hart trophy winner when we see one play. We have had 1/4 of the Hart Trophy winners in the last 20 years.
I’ve heard the “with Sidney Crosby on the team, how can Malkin be MVP talk.” Keep in mind that this year, before he was injured, Alexander Semin was leading the league in scoring and finished 6th in the league in points per game, Crosby was fifth with only one tenth of a point separating them.
When you look at the pictures all over the internet of Ovechkin half plastered in clubs dancing and singing karaoke and you see Malkin with his family coming to the games all the way from Russia. When you look at the AO on ice antics which are very similar to TO’s (Terrell Owens) antics, and when you look at Malkin’s Michael Jordan personality compared to Ovechkin’s Denis Rodman personality you have to wonder if the Ovechkin basket is the basket that the NHL wants to put all of their eggs in.
Evgeni Malkin had more spectacular plays this year than Ovechkin and probably only got half the airtime because he didn’t become a circus clown after each one. Look at all of the hype for Saturdays match up between the Penguins and Capitals, it is all Crosby vs. Ovechkin. Malkin was the top scorer regular season and is now the top scorer in the playoffs and is barely mentioned.
Barry Melrose said on ESPN that Ovechkin should win the MVP because he is the face of the NHL. Proving that the Hart Trophy is truly a popularity contest. Is it possible to give the award for most valuable to his team to the player who will not pass to the other players on his team, the most selfish player in hockey, Alexander Ovechkin?
If the Hart Trophy truly went to the player most valuable to his team, it would go to Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but when given the choice of these two, the obvious selection is Evgeni Malkin.
Jesselvis, it’s a legitimate question… Do you have a legitimate answer?
As for your Malkin 3 game scenario, I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re trying to say… Malkin played 3 more games than A.O., and won the point race by three points… Do you think Ovechkin could of scored 3 or more points in those games? I do…
Did you enjoy the game today? Did you boo Gonchar? Did you boo the Pens power play? 😉
Stealth – Don’t forget to boo your own team again today!
Stealth – your how many of Malkins assists were second assists is a true Capitals fan, non team oriented statement.
If they went and took away assists that were not from passes, lets just say they took away blocked shot assists (watch the video that Krundle posted)like most of Ovechkins assists, Ovechkin wouldn’t even be in the top ten scorers.
The whole Malkin played three more games than Ovechkin, let’s just give the MVP to the guy who had three points but only played two games this year, he would have had way more points than Malkin.
I not even going to waste time with the rest of what you wrote it is so out of touch. Can’t wait for the game today, this get’s me more fired up! GO PENS!
RBuckle, you’re a blind, homeristic fool… Ovechkin had nearly 60 assists this season, yet he’s selfish and NEVER passes the puck… Are you that much of a blind tool?
Semin over Ovechkin? Well, that’s why you’re not an NHL GM… You would probably take Crosby over Malkin as well, right? LOL!!!!! Keep your day job, Slick…
A.O. does one “too hot to handle” stick routine and he’s labeled for life… BTW, many players, including Crosby, have emulated his leap into the glass, this season… And if I’m not mistaken, A.O.’s goal celebrations have been a lot more muted of late, and to be honest, I don’t really like it that much… There was never anything wrong with the glass leap or fist pump… Only the hot stick, which will never be repeated… Get over your jealousy before it eats you up…
My apologies, PENZRGR8, I didn’t know you were carrying Malkin’s love child…
You are right about one thing… The Pens, overall, are a better team… Should the CAPS just forfeit the games now? LOL!!
Of course you don’t care about A.O.’s 50 goals… It wasn’t a Pens player doing it… If it was, you would be praising them non-stop here, and probably carrying their baby as well… 😉
I do agree that Malkin is the Pens MVP, and it wasn’t even close… As for whatever transpires in this series, it has nothing to do with the MVP… That ship has sailed… Were just waiting to hear what port it sails into… 😉
I’m tend to agree with Boombastic… not only is Gonchar the most valuable he’s also a Russian which is a prerequisite this year.
What does the ‘valuable’ in Most Valuable Player really mean? Last year someone sent me an e-mail stating that the writers keep the term “most valuable” vague and therefore create more participation by outraged readers who don’t know what “most valuable” means themselves. His e-mail gave this brief hypothetical: Say you’re on a four-stop flight to Rangoon. Somewhere over the Indian Ocean, the cabin catches fire. One of the passengers smothers the fire with his body, saving 150 people and an untold number of tiny bags of salted almonds. Turns out he only came aboard for the final leg of the flight. Who is the most valuable passenger?
I would like to nominate Sergei Gonchar as the MVP! Boom – Boom – Boom
Ovechin has always been important to one person, and that’s himself. He obviously thinks so little of his team that he won’t pass to them, he can’t pass or he is self centered.
If I was GM of a team and needed someone to build a team around and my options were Semin or Ovechkin, I would take the team player Semin in a heartbeat.
Ovechkin is just a Brett Hull that gets news because he celebrates like a circus clown after every goal, I will admit he’s a perfect fit for the band wagon fans!
My apologies Stealth, I didn’t realize you were having a love affair with Ovie.
I however, agree that Ovie is more valuable to his team, since the Penz are the overall better team.
However, Malkin (I am not sure how this got to be Crosby bashing) is not a show off, thus he does things quietly. (I could care less about Ovechkin’s 50th goal thing.)
Personally, I think Malkin cares more about the cup, as do the Pens fans. He is our MVP this year.
Watch Malkin closely against Ovie in the playoffs and you will see the true MVP…
GO PENZ!
To PENZRGR: A.O.’s hot stick routine was stupid, but it had nothing to do with class… Everyone knows he was just trying to enjoy the moment of his 50th goal, and not embarrass the opposition…
And don’t lecture about class when your boy Crosby has punched a player in the balls, who was already fighting another player, and who also jumped an unsuspecting player in the faceoff circle… Classy moves there, eh?
To Bombastic: Ovechkin won the Hart, Pearson, Richard, and Ross awards last season… The first player in NHL history to win all four in a single season… Pretty much enough said there…
BTW, the Hart award is for the MVP to his team… The Pearson is for the most outstanding player, which is different… You said they were both MVP awards, and they’re not…
#7: Malkin scored a whopping 3 more points than Ovechkin… Here’s what you didn’t mention: He played in 3 more games… A.O. is your MVP…
#6: Malkin is a center – It’s his job to distribute the puck to his wingers for shots… Of course he’s going to get a lot of assists… And second assists… It’s a lot more difficult to rack up goals… There are no second goals… LOL!!
#5: No way in Hell Malkin ever comes close to the shot totals A.O. gets. Not from the center position anyway… He’s also not nearly as good a shot maker as Ovechkin is… Fact of life… Deal…
#4: When you take a lot of shots, you’re going to miss a lot of shots. A lot of the CAPS offense, especially on the power play, is designed to get A.O. into position to unleash his wickedly hard shot that is more powerful than accurate sometimes… When you are the focus of the offense, you’re going to get a lot of shots… A.O. still hasn’t broken Phil Esposito’s shot record… I don’t recall him being called a puck hog and selfish… Your hypocrisy on the subject is duly noted…
#3: Malkin was better defensively, no doubt… Way better? I don’t think so… The difference in their numbers could just as easily be explained by the Pens overall better defense…
#2: How many of those 8 were second assists? Again, much easier to go gain a game winning assist than it is to get a game winning goal…
#1: A.O. does give the puck up too much, and Malkin is obviously very good at taking the puck… However, this in itself is not going to get much consideration… What will get consideration is hits… A.O. is always among the NHL leaders in hits, which is unheard of in someone with his offensive skills… Malkin is nowhere to found on the list… Again, a great player, but soft as 100% Egyptian cotton…
Krundle, most of the seven reasons you listed came with only part of the story, or are not that significant… The main reason Ovechkin should win the MVP is because he is more important to the CAPS than Malkin is to the Pens… Maybe not by a lot, but still is more important… That’s the main criteria for the award…
Malkin may still get it, as A.O.’s hot stick nonsense may have alienated some voters, but he’s stil the most critical player for his team compared to anyone else…
I would “throw in” a lot more than 32 blocked shots for the year. Possibly closer to 232 than to 32!
There are two awards for the MVP. One is the HART voted-on by the media and then the Lester B. Pearson voted-on by the players. Which one do you think is the more valuable to win.
Great stuff – after reading it, it seems like the writers have truly lost sight of what the actual intent of the award is. Maybe they should describe more cleary to the writers what the award actually is, probably none of these 3 nominees would be in the running.
Yet as you say, Malkin is the best choice of the 3. TEAM is the key word.
Good research Krundle, especially on the GE assists and a great article that demonstrates what the MVP is all about. Malkin is no doubt the MVP and is proving what the Russians said during the draft… that Malkin had a good chance in a few years of being the better player between the two. Some people think you drink too much beer but we all know it’s only to kill off all those weak brain cells. Seriously, great article…it’s a 3 thumbs up – Malkin is the man.
I thought the number 1 reason Ovechkin should not be made MVP is that Melrose said he should. From one loser to another. Melrose is just jealous.
PAALEEASE! Ovechkin is #3 this year. Face a fact. Malkin has outshined him in every way, including C L A S S!! Something Ovary does not have.
GO PENZ!
MALKIN = MVP
OVECHKIN = MOST SHOTS ON GOAL. MSG