Here are the nominees for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player judged to be the most valuable player to his team:
Jarome Iginla, F, Calgary Flames
Iginla went through the season fairly quietly, not making any fireworks like Malkin or Ovechkin. This is not a bad thing, though, as Iginla had an unbelievable season offensively, scoring 50 goals for the second year of his career amassing 98 points. He set a career high in points, and tied his career high in plus/minus with a rating of plus 27.
Iginla had two hat tricks this year, along with twelve multi-goal games and 25 multi-point games. This clearly shows consistency throughout the entire year.
Iginla was named the mid-season MVP by The Hockey News magazine. As Trevor Linden told NHL.com, “Jarome is one of the most classy players in the League and he’s probably the best player in the League.”
Evgeni Malkin, F, Pittsburgh Penguins
Malkin was quiet in the first part of the season, but not in the way Iginla was. He did not rack up the number of points expected of him in his sophomore year.
Then Sidney Crosby got injured.
Malkin exploded the second Crosby went out of the lineup, and continued like that until the end of the season. He was in a foot race with Alex Ovechkin to win the points race, but he ultimately finished second, with 47 goals, 59 assists, for 106 points. With Crosby in the lineup, however, Malkin did have 60 points in 53 games, so his season was extremely impressive no matter how you look at it.
Alexander Ovechkin, F, Washington Capitals
Many were wondering if Ovechkin would beat out Malkin for this trophy if his team failed to qualify for the playoffs. However, now that we saw him almost single-handedly lead his team to the Southeast Division title, there is almost no argument.
Ovie had 65 goals and 47 assists for 112 points this year, the first person to score 60 goals since Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux did it in 1996. Ovechkin also had 220 hits, 22 power-play goals, 11 game winning goals, 446 shots on goal, and was a plus 28.
Ovechkin signed a 10 year extension with the Capitals worth $100 million earlier in the season. He was also The Hockey News' MVP for the season.
“Generations come and go and you don’t have the total package, but he’s the total package,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He’s the power forward with the desire to be the best every time he steps on the ice. It doesn’t take long to become a fan of his.”
Once again, all three of these players are amazing. However, I do not think there is any argument that Ovechkin deserves this more than anyone else. Yes, Malkin did great when Crosby went out, and perhaps saved his team, but the description of this trophy is the most valuable player to his team.
Without Malkin, the Pens would still have been in the playoffs, but maybe just a lower seed. Without Ovechkin, the Caps would probably be at the bottom of the NHL standings. Therefore, I award the 2008 Hart Memorial Trophy for the league MVP to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.
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