NHL Award Projections Part 1 (Hart Trophy)

  With all teams have played between 50 and 55 games, things are starting to fall into place. However there is  the Olympic break which can be sort of a wild card concerning players health, confidence, and rest come down the stretch run of the NHL season. Here at this point are my NHL award projections.




  Hart Trophy (MVP)
(1) Sidney Crosby: [53GP, 27G, 47A, 74Pts]
  Sid is right where we all expected him to be at this point. He is leading the league in points and assists, fourth in league in goals and has a plus/minus of 13. The remarkable things about 87 is his two way play. He is nearly as good in his own end as he is on the offensive side of things. "He's a modern day Ron Francis with more flash".**  I fully expect him to keep up his current pace down the home stretch of the season and barring injury should be nearly a unanimous Hart Trophy winner 2014

(2) Alexander Ovechkin: [48GP, 36G, 15A, 51Pts]
  Now I already know people will have a problem with Alex Ovechkin being the number two over a guy like Ryan Getzlaf, or John Tavares. However, Ovechkin won the Hart last year by doing the exact thing he is doing this year....SCORE GOALS. He scores more often and consistently than any other player in the NHL. If OV can get hot and finish the season with 60 plus goals and continue to carry his team offensively, you know he will steal some votes.

(3) John Tavares: [54GP, 23G, 41A, 64Pts]
  It seems like John Tavares gets better and more fun to watch every season. He was recently named to Team Canada which has since said is a huge honor. He has been producing at an extremely high rate this season with 64 points in just 54 games played. Those 64 points have him sitting in second for the league points lead. If Tavares is able to continue his play at both ends of the ice and can lead the New York Islanders into the playoffs he becomes an extremely attractive Hart Trophy candidate

Honorable Mention: Ryan Getzlaf, Patrick Kane, Ben Bishop