The NHL released the finalists for the Hart Trophy the other day. Lots of collective harumphing from Pens Nation over two things, 1) No Crosby (the finalists are Malkin, Ovechkin, and Datsyuk) and 2) it should go to Malkin. As for #1, Crosby did have a phenomenal year, but when you haven't even been the best player on your own team, how can you get an award for being the best in the league.
Geno (not Crosby or Ovechkin) is, in my humble opinion, the best all around player in the game. He's bigger and faster than Crosby, passes almost as well and finishes the puck better. Additionally, he's truly a two-way player, often disrupting opponents flow both in his own end and on the forecheck. Crosby is a better passer, and probably a better skater. He has the best vision and is the most creative player in the game, but right now, Malkin does more for the Pens. Obviously, I'm splitting hairs here, but after watching countless hours of Penguin hockey this season, I believe this to be true. Ovechkin is probably the biggest, fastest, meanest scorer the league has ever seen, but there are huge holes in his game. Defense, to Ovie, basically constitutes running guys and trying to record highlight reel checks, but he often takes bad angles and sometimes takes chances that hurt his team (think any number of 'me first' defenders in the NBA that foolishly jump passing lanes hoping for a breakaway dunk, leaving their team exposed the 6 or 7 times out of ten that they guess wrong). He takes too many dumb shots when he should be looking for his wide open teammates.
All that being said, the Hart Trophy is "given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team", with the implicit understanding that this does not include to goaltenders, who are clearly the single most valuable players on the ice, and get their own trophy. There is simply no question that Ovechkin meets this requirement better than the other two finalists. Datsyuk plays on an all-star team. It's really saying something that he's able to stand out on a team so loaded with talent, but if you were to take him off that team, I think it's safe to say that they wouldn't be debilitated. Similarly, as good as we all know Malkin is, if we lose him to an injury tomorrow, we still have Crosby (as well as a more than capable back up center in Staal).
Your 2009 NHL MVP! (image from si.com)Now take a second for me and try this on for size. How would the Capitals season have gone without Ovechkin. Niklas Backstrom and Alexander "Don't Call me Splooge" Semin were their next highest scorers, and how many of their points came because of plays made by Ovechkin? The man is their emotional leader. He makes the team go and keeps them fired up when things aren't going well (which makes you wonder what the hell Brashear was doing last week). With the award being termed as the most valuable to his team, there's no question the recipient should be Ovechkin.
Pens
Holy shit, what a first round! Couldn't have asked for it to end any better than that. On the home ice of the hated Fliers, down 3-0 halfway through, largely due to a bone headed mistake by Talbot, and they come back. Just incredible. Talbot was largely credited with turning things around by throwing down the gloves with Daniel Carcillo. I have two thoughts on this.
1) Carcillo has no business jumping in that fight. His team is up 3-0 and Talbot, who's a lot smaller than Carcillo, is clearly just trying to start something. If he just skates away and the fight doesn't happen, maybe the Pens don't get back into it. That being said, this is a classic case of reaping what you sow, Philly fans. When you value thuggery and tough guy hockey, it comes back to bite you in the ass. You all love Carcillo for having this attitude, but hockey just isn't like this anymore, especially not in the playoffs.
2) Why is it that someone fighting can fire up his team? Maybe it's because I never played hockey, but I sure as hell don't understand this. I mean, this doesn't work in any other walk of life. If things weren't going well at work, would you send over the craziest guy you work with to get his ass kicked by someone at your competitor's office? If Andy Bernard gets his ass kicked by Ryan over at the Michael Scott Paper Company, does Dunder Mifflin regain it's edge? No way.
Anyway, I know I'm not the first person to weigh in on this by any means. But I'm pretty sure the league has wanted this matchup (Caps-Pens) to happen since Ovie and Crosby were drafted a few years back. It's a good thing they set it up so that nothing could possibly go wrong with the telecast of Game 1.
West Coast Bias
It's been a lot of fun, as a hockey fan, living so close to the Canadian border. I get CBC, which means Hockey Night in Canada and a full on dose of Don Cherry every Saturday night. Also, I get to see a lot of less hyped Western Conference teams. When I used to live back in PA, I always dismissed the notion of the East Coast bias, but it's definitely there for almost everything (there's even a huge billboard sporting the new Snickers ad campaign that says 'Choclantic Ocean' on route-99 coming into downtown Seattle). I have to say, it's been a real treat to watch some of these Western Conference games this year. They play a little bit faster and cleaner brand of hockey than most of the east coast squads, and I actually think that overall, it's a stronger conference. Really looking forward to the Stanley Cup finals this year.
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