Who's got your Hart?

There are 5 names being tossed around as potential Hart Trophy winners these days. Alex Ovechkin, Henrik Sedin and Sidney Crosby are the three skaters in the mix, while Ryan Miller of the Sabres and Ilya Bryzgalov of the Coyotes make their cases from the crease. Ovechkin could be taking home both the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies despite injury and suspension. He’s 3 points off the points lead and sitting in a 3 way tie for the lead in goals, putting up a league high 1.53 PPG and has helped the Capitals to a sizable cushion atop the East.

Henrik’s likely led the Vancouver Canucks to another division title, setting career and franchise records for assists with 7 games to go. He excelled even when his brother went down with a foot injury, not missing a beat and helping the Canucks to keep winning.

Crosby has shown a sniper side we hadn’t seen in the NHL for a full season, tied with Ovechkin and Stamkos for the league lead in goals. As always he’s putting up assists, and as always he’s a big reason why the Pittsburgh Penguins are competitive, even sans Evgeni Malkin.

1-2-3 in league scoring, and the 3 skaters who are in contention for the Hart trophy. Here are a few stats to try and get a handle on exactly what each of these superstars means to their team.


Sidney Crosby

Stats:74 GP, 45 G, 47 A, 92 Pts
Points Per Game: 1.24
Average TOI per Game: 21:48
Points per 60 Minutes: 3.4
ES TOI per Game: 16:01
ES Points per 60 Minutes: 3.0
PP TOI per Game: 4:52
PP Points per 60 Minutes: 4.8
SH TOI per Game: 0:54
PIT Record When Crosby gets points: 34-10-6
PIT Record When Crosby doesn’t get points: 9-15-1


Alex Ovechkin

Stats: 65 GP, 46 G, 54 A, 100 pts
Points Per Game: 1.53
Average TOI: 21:42
Points per 60 Minutes: 4.3
ES TOI per Game: 16:32
ES Points per 60 Minutes: 3.6
PP TOI per Game: 5:05
PP Points per 60 Minutes: 6.3
SH TOI per Game: 0:03
WSH Record When Ovechkin gets points: 36-8-7
WSH Record When Ovechkin doesn’t get points: 6-5-3


Henrik Sedin

Stats: 75 GP, 28 G, 73 A, 101 pts
Points Per Game: 1.3
Average TOI: 19:28
Points per 60 Minutes: 4.1
ES TOI per Game: 15:26
ES Points per 60 Minutes: 3.9
PP TOI per Game: 3:23
PP Points per 60 Minutes: 5.9
SH TOI per Game: 0:39
VAN Record When Sedin gets points: 38-13-4
VAN Record When Sedin doesn’t get points: 7-13-0


Ovenchicken is, as expected, well ahead in his PPG pace, but when you look at points per 60 minutes, Henrik draws much closer to Ovechkin's pace. Crosby, meanwhile, falls well behind in that category. None of the 3 get much time shorthanded, with Hank and Sid averaging about a shift per game, and Ovechkin next to nothing. Sedin and the Canucks overcame a 14 game road trip and emerged on top of the Northwest (Henrik maintaining a PPG pace over the trip). Crosby's numbers just don't hold up against those of Henrik and Ovechkin's, and I just can't see the young captain having done enough to merit taking the hardware home.

Between Ovechkin and Henrik, the edge has to go to Henrik for one simple reason: Even without Ovechkin, the Capitals are an elite team. Take away his 46 goals and Washington still has the most goals in the league. With Ovechkin out of the lineup the Caps are 7-2-1, and the Capitals are the only of the three teams to maintain a record above .500 without their star. The Canucks, on the other hand, have a .350 winning percentage when Henrik's kept off the scoresheet and would arguably not be in playoff contention were it not for the Swede.

Ovechkin may be putting up bigger numbers, but if the Hart truly goes to the play most valuable to his team, the edge has to go to Sedin.