Marty’s Better

Ok gang, I’m back!  Unfortunately I’ve been playing Mario Kart swamped at work and have completely neglected the site.  That being said, what better way to get back in than to break down this year’s candidates for the Hart Trophy.  Check it out, after the jump…

This year’s nominees are Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, and Martin Brodeur Jarome Iginla.  All kidding aside, let me just get the rant out of the way.  The Hart Trophy, by definition, goes to the player determined to be the most valuable to his team.  It’s one of the things that makes the NHL’s MVP so unique.  It’s not the best player in the league.  It’s not the player with the most points, we have a trophy for that.  It’s the player who contributed so much to his team that his team would’ve been considerably worse without him.   By that definition, was anyone in the league more valuable than Marty this year?  After a terrible start on the road, Marty put the Devils on his back and had them in the race to win the East for most of the year.  In my Vezina breakdown, I mentioned that had Marty’s save percentage been .910 like Nabokov’s, instead of the .920 that it was, the Devils would’ve missed the playoffs.  That’s how little margin for error he had.  Honestly, if Kevin Weekes was the starting goalie in New Jersey this year, the Devils would’ve had a great shot at Stamkos this summer.  Instead, they finished with 99 points and for awhile looked like they could win the whole conference.  This is why hockey needs a VORP rating.  Take a player, replace him with the league average at his position, and figure out what happens to that team.  In the Devil’s case, if you replaced Marty with Rick Dipietro the every day average NHL goaltender, the Devils would’ve been horrible.  Ok, I’m off my soapbox.  Rant over.

Here are the stats for this years finalists:

Alex Ovechkin: 82 GP, 65 G, 47 A, 112 Pts, +28, 40 PIM, 22 PPG, 15 PPA, 11 GWG

Evgeni Malkin: 82 GP, 47 G, 59 A, 106 Pts, +16, 78 PIM, 17 PPG, 23 PPA, 5 GWG

Jarome Iginla: 82 GP, 50 G, 48 A, 98 Pts, +27, 83 PIM, 15 PPG, 18 PPA, 9 GWG

Ok, time to play my game where we eliminate one player.  In this case, it’s Iginla, and here’s why.  When looking at Hart finalists, I immediately look to see which players were on teams that barely made the playoffs.  This year, that’s Iginla and Ovechkin.  Ovechkin had more goals and points, a plus/minus that’s just about equal, and two more game winners.  The difference to me, is the stretch run, where it took the last game of the season to get Washington in.  For about two months, there was no margin for error.  In that case, head to head with Iginla, Ovechkin just rose above.  Ovechkin had 26 points in March, his most of the year.  Iginla had 18.  Both played 14 games in March.  So Jarome, nice season, but you’re out.  That brings us to Ovechkin and Malkin.

Most of the league figures that Ovechkin is a lock, but I actually believe this is a lot closer than you’d think.  Sure, Malkin was on the Penguins, who were right at the top of the East when it was all said and done.  But people forget that Sidney Crosby got hurt.  Sid played 14 games between January 1st and March 31st.  Malkin had 63 points in that stretch.  That’s 63 points in 42 games.  In February, when Crosby didn’t play at all, Malkin had his best month, 26 points in 14 games.  That’s almost two points per game during a span when he was the guy everyone was focusing on.  That’s amazing considering the Pens didn’t acquire Marian Hossa until February 26th.  Keep in mind that on February 1st, the East standings were a logjam.  The Penguins had 60 points.  The team at number twelve, the Thrashers, had 52.  The eighth seed, the Rangers, had 54.  It was close, and the Penguins had just lost their best player.  If you watched any sports show after Crosby got hurt, everyone kept talking about how the Pens just needed to “keep their heads above water” until Crosby came back.  Well, the team did just fine, because Malkin put them on his back.

Malkin’s performance during Crosby’s injury makes it difficult to discount him in this race.  I’m telling you now, Ovechkin’s going to win the Hart Trophy because of what he did when his team was on the brink of not making the playoffs.  But my question is, why does it matter when exactly a team is on the brink of missing the postseason?  Washington’s moment of desperation came in April.  While Pittsburgh finished near the top of the conference, they had a moment as well, and it was in February.  If I was voting today, I’d vote for Malkin.  It would take a lot of thought, but in the end, I think that “Geno” was more valuable to his team by the slightest of margins.  

Here’s your interesting stat that I found while doing this piece.  Malkin and Ovechkin were a combined 1 for 11 in the shootout this year.  Ovechkin scored once in six attempts while Malkin was scoreless in five.  That’s astonishing to me.  If I’m them, next year, I just grip it and rip it.  They both shoot lasers.  Forget the fancy stuff and “fire the freaking laser.”  Oh, for those wondering, Iginla was three out of five in the shootout this season. 

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