McDavid for MVP
The young Oilers captain is staking a claim for more silverware
The MVP round table has fallen to me, and I have the difficult task of arguing that the generational talent that is Connor McDavid, deserves the NHL’s MVP award — the Hart Trophy.
LOL JK. It’s really easy.
Connor’s nickname across the hockey universe is “McJesus”. Need I say more?
Well, for the sake of argument, I shall.
Let’s begin with the basics. McDavid’s stats speak for themselves; he led the league in points by a healthy 11 point margin. He is the league leader in assists (good guys get assists), and has scored over 25 goals himself. He also chipped in six game winning goals, and has singlehandedly dragged the Oilers from the basement of the league/laughing stock of fans to a playoff-bound team in a tough western conference.
M.V.P.
Now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s dig a little deeper to see why McDavid should be the league’s MVP.
Teams have not been able to defend McDavid. Over a third of his games have been multi-point games (28 — a league high). He leads the league in primary assists per 60 minutes (the pass that directly results in the goal) and in points per 60 minutes for all players who have played at minimum 1000 minutes.
NHL plays of the night are often littered with McDavid highlights. Nearly half of his shifts result in dangerous scoring opportunities for himself or his linemates. He is a phenom. He does it all, and it is fun to watch him play.
M.V.P.
What else has McDavid done? Well, his most impressive feat this season could arguably be that he has made Patrick Maroon relevant. Forget for a second that he has led the Oilers and their inept management to the playoffs. Let’s focus on how great players make those around them better. Heading into this season, Maroon had a career high of 12 goals. Riding shotgun with McDavid propelled Maroon to 27 goals and 42 points, easily career bests. This alone should make the case for his MVP status. McDavid has clearly been a step above the rest of the league this season.
M.V.P.
The only question remaining is this; does having a great season mean you should be the most valuable player? Often, it does. But there is more to it than just that. The way I look at it, the most valuable player should be one that, if you removed them from their team’s roster, that team would struggle drastically. They are the most valuable because they contribute to the greatest level for their respective team. That is of course true with McDavid, as it is with many of the MVP candidates.
No player in the NHL has been involved in more of their team’s offense than McDavid, contributing to a staggering 40 per cent of the Oilers goals (funny enough, #5 on that list is a defenceman. Read about him here). Now if you remove that 40 per cent where are the Oilers? Likely at the bottom of the standings thinking about Nolan Patrick rather than thinking about home-ice in round one. M.V.P.
For these reasons, Connor McDavid is the league MVP, and he should be leaving the NHL awards ceremony in a few months with the Hart Memorial Trophy. Now to those who get to vote for it, in the immortal words of Don Cherry (yes, I just said that) don’t be a “dumb dumb @ 5:45” and not vote for Connor McDavid to be the league MVP.
Jacob is a hockey contributor for The Ocho. He is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan to a career debilitating level and likes talking sports and all else on Twitter. Follow along at @JacobMessih.
