So, once again, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, the finest player and goal scorer in the league, are competing for the Hart Trophy.
They are Canada’s and America’s top hockey players. They are the two most recognizable, marketable names in the National Hockey League.
McDavid received the Most Valuable Player award last year. Matthews was the MVP the year before. This season did not start off as if either would be a factor in the Hart vote; only after 50 or so games are they right there.
Right there in a crowded field with the exceptional Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado, the league-leading scorer Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay, the incomparable David Pastrnak of Boston, the unstoppable pairing of Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart in Florida, and the too-often overlooked pairing of Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson of Vancouver.
With 30 games remaining in the season with Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh and Artemi Panarin of the Rangers not definitely included, this might be the most competitive Hart Trophy race in years.
This begins with McDavid, since everything in hockey starts at the top. He already holds three Hart Trophies. This year would be the fourth. McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers have won 17 of their last 20 games, the best record in the NHL over that time period, and he has scored 37 points in those games.
Only one NHL player, the unexpected Tkachuk, has scored more in the past 20 games, with 38 points, while the Panthers have won 15 of their last 20.
Matthews has been on a tear, scoring 19 goals in his last 20 games for the Leafs. Those are outrageous figures, but they are fantastic numbers for any era, including the present one. The Leafs have not excelled as a team in the same manner that Edmonton or Florida have, even during this great run without Morgan Rielly on defense, but if Matthews continues to score at a record rate, how can you ignore him in Hart voting?
That is the challenge this year. How could you ignore Kucherov, the league’s leading scorer all season? How can you ignore MacKinnon as Colorado cruises into the playoffs? How can you disregard Pastrnak, who lost his center, Patrice Bergeron, to retirement but hasn’t missed a scoring opportunity? He has more points than Matthews this season and over the last 20 games.
The National Hockey League’s top players may be as talented and diverse as they have ever been.
But there’s nothing quite like this unofficial competition between towns, teams, and top players, as amicable as both sides may be, in the McDavid-Matthews, Toronto-Edmonton discussion. The NHL adores this. It’s one of the reasons why Team Canada and Team USA will focus on the Olympics in 2026, as well as the needless Four Nations event next winter. By McDavid and Matthews.
The game’s most explosive skater and shooter. The contrast is dramatic, yet breathtaking.
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