The handful of candidates in the mix for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP are all unique.
Connor Hellebuyck is the backbone and best player for the league-leading Winnipeg Jets. It has also been a decade since a goaltender was voted MVP (Carey Price in a sweep of several major awards in 2015) .
Leon Draisaitl did the hardest thing there is to do in hockey better than anyone else, netting 52 goals and making up for a subpar season — at least by his standards — from Edmonton Oilers teammate Connor McDavid.
Nathan MacKinnon did not let his standard slip after winning the Hart last year, putting up 116 points in 79 games as a stabilizing force during an eventful stretch for the Colorado Avalanche, who switched their goaltending tandem and traded Mikko Rantanen seemingly out of the blue.
After finishing second to MacKinnon despite having the most points of any player, Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov again earned the Art Ross Trophy for winning the scoring race with at least 121 points, going into the Lightning's final game.
Had Columbus finished off an improbable season with a playoff bid, top defensemen Zach Werenski might have gotten some consideration. Same for Alex Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretkzy's career goals record, if he didn't miss 16 games with a broken leg.
Here is who AP hockey writers John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno think will take home the hardware on these regular-season awards in June:
Hart (MVP)
Wawrow: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg. Tough call, but perhaps it’s time a goalie won with Hellebuyck’s 47 wins in 63 games. Washington’s Braden Holtby reached 47 wins in 63 games on his way to tying the NHL record of 48 in 2015-16. Hellebuyck has a lengthier and superior track record.
Whyno: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay. Kucherov is the runaway winner of the Art Ross, and he has 30 points more than his next-closest teammate.
Norris (top defenseman)
Wawrow: Cale Makar, Colorado. It might be time to rename it the Cale Makar Trophy.
Whyno: Makar should win it, but here's a case for Werenski: He skated 85 minutes more than Makar over the season and had less talent around him for the Blue Jackets, who were in the contention until the final days of the regular season.
Vezina (top goaltender)
Wawrow: Hands down, Hellebuyck.
Whyno: Hellebuyck. At one point, he was on pace to break Holtby and Martin Brodeur's single-season wins record before the Jets balanced out his workload in preparation for the playoffs, which is where his play will again be under the spotlight.
Calder (best rookie)
Wawrow: Macklin Celebrini, San Jose. With all due respect to Montreal’s Lane Hutson, Celebrini is doing more with a much younger team and in fewer games with the Sharks.
Whyno: Hutson. He recorded more points than the next six rookie defensemen combined and played meaningful games all season, unlike Celebrini and Philadelphia's Matvei Michkov. Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf should be a finalist for almost leading the Flames into the playoffs.
Selke (best defensive forward)
Wawrow: Sam Reinhart, Florida. Reinhart edges out Panthers teammate Aleksander Barkov.
Whyno: Jack Eichel, Vegas. He has been a point-a-game producer throughout his NHL career. He has rounded out his game with Selke-worthy defense.
Jack Adams (coach of the year)
Wawrow: Dean Evason, Columbus. Even falling just short of making the playoffs, Evason deserves credit for having the Blue Jackets in the race through the final two days of the season given what the team has endured.
Whyno: Spencer Carbery, Washington. Carbery integrated several new players, navigated Ovechkin's chase and coached the Capitals to first in the East after they were expected to be at best a bubble playoff team.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
