yave1964 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I was looking at the stats of Kane and Ty Seguin the other day and had an epiphany, If I were the GM of a pro hockey team and had a young player loaded with talent who liked the booze and the ladies a bit too much, it might be a good thing. I wrote a mid season article running through the awards halfway through the year, the Hart is wide open, the players having the best seasons are on bad teams and Crosby keeps losing linemates and his stats (for him) are down. In my mind, the player I missed who I should ahve thrown into the mix for the Hart has to be Patrick Kane. The Hawks have had there share of issues, Hossa is slowing down, Sharp is in and out of the lineup, Toews has slipped a tad, not having a great year, Saad is good but not really developed to where they had hoped, Crawford has been injured and inconsistent all year, Shaw, Kruger and Bickel havent taken the next step, Versteeg finally started playing well and is now out for a couple of months and free agent signee Brad Richards has been a mixed bag. On defense, other than Sebrook and Keith there is nothing to write home about. And rookies coming up from the AHL have played 66 games with only 2 goals and 4 assists. In short, it has been ugly in Chicago. Other than the record. The Hawks sit at 27-12-2- good for 56 points and only two points out of the best record in the West. Patrick Kane is easily the biggest reason for this, if you look at the team stats, Kane has 20 goals to lead the team, second place has 13 and only one other gut has double digits. He also leads the team in assists with 25, only one mate even has 20. he is a plus 10, he is second amongall forwards in hockey with 18 power play points. He averages over 20 minutes of ice time a night, tops among forwards on his team and 7th in the NHL. And he leads the league in game winning goals. In short, the Hawks are having a mediocre year, talent wise, save for Kane who is their most valuable player and IMHO the MVP of all of Hockey. Without him, this year, I dont know if they make the playoffs. With him, they are a Stanley Cup contender. To me, that makes Kane the Hart winner hands down. A few players such as Seguin and Voracek have similiar numbers, but Kane is carrying a cup contending team on his back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Oh one more little thing with Kane, 2 penalty minutes all year, probably the favorite for the Lady Bing award. Earlier in the year the Wings played the Hawks as if it were a playoff game, trying to figure out if they were a contender or not. Brendan smith absolutely leveled Kane with a hit, Kane shot back up and instead of taking a dumb penalty he grinned at Smith as if he were saying 'is that all you got?' Irritated Smith to no end, funny as hell..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDI-Flyer Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 @yave1964 If they actually did the awards based on the definition IE "judged to be the most valuable to his team" then sure, I would say he is right up there. However in reality they don't. In the same way that the Norris seems to go to the highest (or higher) scoring Dman (not the best Dman) the Hart seems to go to whoever the hockey writers perceive as the best overall player, not the most valuable to his team. To me this is a travesty as there are many, many players who are simply overlooked as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 @yave1964 If they actually did the awards based on the definition IE "judged to be the most valuable to his team" then sure, I would say he is right up there. However in reality they don't. In the same way that the Norris seems to go to the highest (or higher) scoring Dman (not the best Dman) the Hart seems to go to whoever the hockey writers perceive as the best overall player, not the most valuable to his team. To me this is a travesty as there are many, many players who are simply overlooked as a result.Agreed wholeheartedly. I remember when Rod Langway won a couple of Norris trophies in spite of being a 40 point a year blueliner during the high scoring era, it just never seems to happen anymore. Kane has the advantage of playing on one of the darling teams and being a popular player in the league. I always felt this team was Toews team, but this year the balance seems to have shifted towards Kane. If the Hawks win the West or even the Presidents trophy I can see him easily winning the Hart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Nowadays, The Hart is seen as " best player in the league" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDI-Flyer Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Nowadays, The Hart is seen as " best player in the league" Yeah, but the trouble is that there is already an award for that - The Ted Lindsay Award - Most Outstanding Player as Selected by NHLPA Members So either the Professional Hockey Writers Association should redefine the award as the "Best Player in the League" or actually look beyond the top 5 scorers for inspiration. The list below shows the winners from 1970 onwards and the thing I find interesting is when you look back and see goalies and Dmen winning the award. For example take Hasek out of that 1997 Sabres team and what do they have? Nothing. I doubt they even make the playoffs. That is recognising a guy who was hugely valuable to his team - the spirit of the award IMO. It's been 12 years since anyone other than a forward won it and that says it all for me really. YEARPLAYERTEAM2014SIDNEY CROSBYPITTSBURGH PENGUINS2013ALEX OVECHKINWASHINGTON CAPITALS2012EVGENI MALKINPITTSBURGH PENGUINS2011COREY PERRYANAHEIM DUCKS2010HENRIK SEDINVANCOUVER CANUCKS2009ALEX OVECHKINWASHINGTON CAPITALS2008ALEX OVECHKINWASHINGTON CAPITALS2007SIDNEY CROSBYPITTSBURGH PENGUINS2006JOE THORNTONSAN JOSE SHARKS2004MARTIN ST. LOUISTAMPA BAY LIGHTNING2003PETER FORSBERGCOLORADO AVALANCHE2002JOSE THEODOREMONTREAL CANADIENS2001JOE SAKICCOLORADO AVALANCHE2000CHRIS PRONGERST. LOUIS BLUES1999JAROMIR JAGRPITTSBURGH PENGUINS1998DOMINIK HASEKBUFFALO SABRES1997DOMINIK HASEKBUFFALO SABRES1996MARIO LEMIEUXPITTSBURGH PENGUINS1995ERIC LINDROSPHILADELPHIA FLYERS1994SERGEI FEDOROVDETROIT RED WINGS1993MARIO LEMIEUXPITTSBURGH PENGUINS1992MARK MESSIERNEW YORK RANGERS1991BRETT HULLST. LOUIS BLUES1990MARK MESSIEREDMONTON OILERS1989WAYNE GRETZKYLOS ANGELES KINGS1988MARIO LEMIEUXPITTSBURGH PENGUINS1987WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1986WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1985WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1984WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1983WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1982WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1981WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1980WAYNE GRETZKYEDMONTON OILERS1979BRYAN TROTTIERNEW YORK ISLANDERS1978GUY LAFLEURMONTREAL CANADIENS1977GUY LAFLEURMONTREAL CANADIENS1976BOBBY CLARKEPHILADELPHIA FLYERS1975BOBBY CLARKEPHILADELPHIA FLYERS1974PHIL ESPOSITOBOSTON BRUINS1973BOBBY CLARKEPHILADELPHIA FLYERS1972BOBBY ORRBOSTON BRUINS1971BOBBY ORRBOSTON BRUINS1970BOBBY ORRBOSTON BRUINS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 @EDI-Flyer Nice list! The big thing that stands out to me is with very few exceptions the player who wins is with an elite team, thus IMHO that eliminates worthy players such as Giroux and Seguin. I think that if he continues at this pace based off the last 12 winners being forwards that Kane has an excellent shot. His only competition, IMHO is Rinne but like you pointed out, it is mostly a forward award nowadays. If Rinne winds up with a sub-2.00 goals against and 50 wins he will warrant serious consideration. I don't really see anyone else at this point who would beat Kane out. I always thought of him as a party boy and Toews as the heart of the team but Kane has realy become the straw that stirs the drink in Chicago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDI-Flyer Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 the player who wins is with an elite team I have to say that I'm not entirely convinced by that... With all due respect to the Caps I wouldn't have described them as "Elite" and Ovi won three times. Likewise Perry with the Ducks. Good teams but not elite. I always thought of him as a party boy and Toews as the heart of the team I always thought of him as a classless punk (whilst still regretting being screwed out of getting him in the draft! ) but he has really developed his game the last two years in particular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JagerMeister Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Right now, it is entirely possible that Kane could even win the art ross. Although unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 In short, the Hawks are having a mediocre year, talent wise, save for Kane who is their most valuable player and IMHO the MVP of all of Hockey I don't know about all that but this is pretty damn impressive.......... and even the picking the puck up at the end and hitting the friggin camera.....WOW is all i can say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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