Penton: McDavid the best — and most valuable
By Bruce Penton
The debate rages on among hockey fans about the merits of the Hart Trophy winner as the National Hockey League’s most valuable player.
Is it the best player in the league? Or should it go to the player ‘most valuable’ to his team; in other words, how would that team fare without that specific player?
If the award goes to the best player, no voting is required; just give the Hart to Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. Like Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky in bygone eras, McDavid is head and shoulders above anyone else in the league.
But should he be named the most valuable player? According to NHL literature, the MVP award is presented to the player deemed most valuable “to his team.”
An AI overview says “criteria (for the Hart) focus on a player's total impact, often combining high-level scoring, critical team contributions, and performance on potential playoff-bound teams.”
Take McDavid away from the Oilers and what’s left? Not a bad roster, featuring Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse. Remove another top contender, Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado, and the Avalanche are still loaded with the likes of Martin Necas, Cale Makar, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri and others. Nikita Kucherov, of Tampa Bay, who finished third in league scoring, was in on 44 per cent of his team’s goals, but McDavid either scored or assisted on 48 per cent of the Oilers’ tallies. Besides, Kucherov has a talented group behind him — Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel, among others.
Most valuable? San Jose Sharks’ fans would suggest their team’s young superstar, Macklin Celebrini, should be considered for the award, considering his 115 points were almost double that of the No. 2 player on the team, Will Smith, who had 59. The exploits of Celebrini, who won't turn 20 until mid-June, however, weren’t enough to pull his team into the playoffs, but his time will come.
And how about Matthew Schaefer — the stud defenceman of the New York Islanders, who will be a landslide winner of the top rookie award and will also gain voter support in the best defenceman category? Again, his terrific play had ‘superstar’ written all over it, but the Islanders still came up short in the playoff run.
Most valuable? It will a close race this year and McDavid will probably emerge the winner, because some of the voters will interpret the award as “best player” as opposed to “most valuable.” The Oilers star will get many of those ‘best player’ votes and deserves to receive a good chunk of the ‘most valuable’ votes, too.
Without McDavid, the Oilers — who lost as many games as they won this season — would not be taking part in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Tampa Bay and Colorado, where the other two top contenders ply their trade, would still be among the post-season contenders.
So there’s the decisive fact: It’s McDavid — McD is the MVP.
fark.com headline: “Howie Rose to retire as Mets announcer after this season. Mets to mark the occasion by blowing a six-game lead with nine games left in the the season.”
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: “Department of Ripoff: The normal return train from Penn Station to the Meadowlands in Jersey will rise from $12.90 to $150 during the World Cup.”
Jack Finarelli of sportscurmudgeon.com, after news that Rams’ receiver Puka Nakua had been accused of biting a woman on New Year’s Eve: “Put Nacua in contact with any three random kindergarten teachers who have experience in convincing children not to bite the kid sitting next to them. He’ll become a better person for it.”
Headline at theonion.com: “Shaq Warns Young Players Not To Do Movie About Genie”
@LenHoc on X: “BREAKING: LIV Golf changing format from 72 holes to none.”
Yahoosports.com, just before the NFL draft was held in Pittsburgh, a co-headquarter of the Kraft-Heinz company: “Heinz is offering the No. 57 overall pick a lifetime supply of ketchup.”
Comedy guy Torben Rolfsen of Vancouver: “The Kings beat the Canucks to vault into a playoff spot. Our gift to L.A.: Hollywood North, Hockeywood South.”
Another one from Rolfsen: “Calgary Flames were the first team in a decade without a 50-point scorer. Flames, Canucks, Blackhawks … they all score less than Borat at Lilith Fair.”
From Super 70s Sports: Retired Hall of Famer Larry Bird to Charles Barkley during an NBA game in the 1980s: “Chuck, I need to talk to you. Y’all got a white guy trying to guard me, that’s disrespectful. There’s not a white guy on the planet that can guard me.”
From theonion.com: “Carlos Alcaraz Credits Success To Tennis Being Easiest Game In The World. ‘All You Do Is Smack A Ball And There’s No Basket Or Tackling Or Anything,’”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca