Breaking Down the NHL's 2015 Hart Trophy Candidates

The Hart Trophy is given out each season to the league's most valuable player, although some look at the award as one given to the league's best player. After reading this you may think the two are one and the same, but oftentimes they are very different.

The best player in a given year is awarded the Ted Lindsey Trophy, and there is a reason why that trophy exists. Value can sometimes be hard to measure, and it is especially hard when players are on elite teams. Being on an elite team helps players achieve great things, and it also gives the necessary attention often required to be nominated for an award like the Hart. 

This year there are three players who each played extraordinary for their particular team, and the nominees are Carey Price from the Montreal Canadiens, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and John Tavares from the New York Islanders. Each has a valuable case, and here's a breakdown of each candidate.

Snapshot of Each Candidate

Carey Price

Tom E. Puskar/Associated Press

Price had a legendary season that included 44 wins, a .933 save percentage and a 1.96 goals-against average. In doing so he became the first netminder to finish with 40 or more wins, a save percentage above .930 and a goals-against average of 2.00 or lower since Roman Turek did it with the St. Louis Blues in 1999-00.

Alex Ovechkin

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Great Eight finished the season as the NHL's top goalscorer with 53, and it is the third year in a row that Ovechkin has captured the Rocket Richard Trophy. He also finished fourth with 81 points and was a point-per-game player in a season in which scoring was down league-wide.

John Tavares

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The New York Islanders' captain had the best season of his career to date as he finished with 36 goals and 86 points in 82 games. It was truly an impressive achievement, especially when you consider the Islanders lineup included a number of rookie forwards, and Kyle Okposo was injured for 22 games.

Who Will Win: Carey Price

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The last goaltender to win the Hart Trophy was Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens, and his stats included a record of 30-24-10, with a 2.11 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. That same year Jarome Iginla scored 52 goals and tallied 96 points, and according to Hockey-Reference.com, the vote came down to a tie, with Theodore capturing more first place votes.

Player	Point Share
Price	16.2
Ovechkin	12.6
Tavares	11.2

A similar situation could go down this year, but Price should capture the vote without issue because he was the most valuable player to his team this season. Point shares are tracked by Hockey-Reference.com to illustrate how a particular player contributes to their team, and here's how the candidates stack up.

Price played a major role, and that was because he was forced to carry a big weight on his shoulders. There is a reason why Dustin Tokarski only started 16 games this season, and that was because he was terrible in a backup role.

Here is a look at the comparison between the two netminders, and the impact they had for the Canadiens.

Goalie	Record	GAA	Save Percentage
Price	44-16-6	1.96	.933
Tokarski	6-6-4	2.75	2.75

As you can see Price was amazing, whereas Tokarski was a train wreck. He went 6-6-4 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average. According to Hockey-Reference.com, only eight of his starts were categorized as a quality start.

Price's numbers were certainly unprecedented, and they blow Theodore's out of the water in the context of the award. There may be some who say that Ovechkin's impact for Washington makes him a better fit for the award, but that simply isn't the case.

Ovechkin had an amazing season offensively, but having Nicklas Backstrom and his 78 points on the team was helpful. There was also the tremendous play of John Carlson on defense, and Braden Holtby in net, so it is fair to say Ovechkin wasn't the be all end all for Washington.

To take things even further, Ovechkin's numbers were grossly inflated by the power play, and here is a breakdown of his scoring by situation.

Situation	Goals	Assists	Points	T.O.I
Even Strength	28	19	47	1.335:43
Power Play	25	9	34	309:16

If you strip away Ovechkin's power-play numbers his season isn't as impressive, and it changes the perception of his value to the team. If a player is at his best in a situation in which he has a distinct advantage, how valuable is he actually for his team?

This is not a knock on Ovechkin as one of the best offensive players in the NHL, but it matters in a situation when giving an award to the player who is most valuable to his team.

Tavares had an amazing season as well, but the team had a number of contributors who helped take the burden off him.

Player	G	A	PTS
John Tavares	38	48	86
Kyle Okposo	18	33	51
Ryan Strome	17	33	50
Frans Nielsen	14	29	43
Brock Nelson	20	22	42
Anders Lee	25	16	41
Josh Bailey	15	26	41

The Islanders had seven players who scored at least 15 goals and tallied 40 points, and for the first time in years, goaltending wasn't an issue in the regular season.

Jaroslav Halak set an Islander record for wins by a goaltender, and it was a big reason why the Islanders were able to take a playoff spot early on. The Islanders congratulated Halak via Twitter:

While his individual accolades were very impressive, it is hard to say that they were more important to the Islanders' than Price's were to the Canadiens. 

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While the vote could be very close, this award is Price's to lose. His performance this season was simply amazing, and he did too many things well this year to not win. It is time for a goaltender to be recognized for being the most valuable player to their team, and Price was exactly that for Montreal this season. 

Stats via Hockey-Reference.com and NHL.com unless otherwise noted.