The Case for Alexander Ovechkin as MVP

Today, the NHL announced that Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin, and Pavel Datsyuk as the finalists for the winner of the Hart Trophy, given to the league's MVP. The first two are no surprise, the third is somewhat of a surprise. It should be noted that, for the first time in NHL history, all 3 finalists are Russian-born. I'm going to make my case for Alexander Ovechkin as MVP.

First, Ovechkin can absolutely take over a game, both physically and scoring-wise. He almost single-handedly beat the New York Rangers in December, when the team came back from down 4-0 to win 5-4. He is the most physical of the three finalists and is one of the most feared hitters in the game. That's a strange thing to be labeled when you're a scoring, Russian, left-wing. Malkin and Datsyuk can do this - especially Malkin - but neither can at the level that Ovechkin can. Teams gameplan around him and he still beats them. He's scored 3 goals that should be top 10 "goals of the year." He makes defensemen look ridiculous without even trying (or so it seems). His emotion, passion, and drive are unmatched.

Second, not only did he lead the league in goals with 56, he ended up 10 goals higher than the cloesest. He's the best scorer in the NHL and finished with 56 goals, despite missing a couple games due to his grandfather's illness and an early-season slump when his grandfather was near death. Malkin lead the NHL in assists, with 78, eight more than second-place. Assists are easier to get than goals (two assists are given out for every goal), and there's a reason there's a goal-leader award and not an assist-leader award. That's not to say assists are less important than goals, but you can have a goal without an assist. Malkin finished with more points than Ovechkin - 113 to 110 - but the difference is so insignificant than that doesn't really factor in. Ovechkin actually played in less games so had he played, he might have tied or passed him.

Third, Malkin's team underachieved all season long. The reigning Eastern Conference Champions finished 4th in the conference, and needed deadline-pickups Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz (and the firing of a coach) to even get in. Some will compare this year's Penguins to last year's Caps, who got a lot of production out of deadline pickups and fired their coach as well. The difference is this: the Capitals fired Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving. The Penguins fired Therrien on February 15th. Ovechkin was on fire from Thanksgiving until April, at the forefront of a four-month climb from last place to the playoffs. Ovechkin's production was consistent and the Caps overachieved like crazy that season. The deadline additions obviously helped push the Caps over the top, but it is concievable that the Caps may have made it wouth their additions. They certainly had the momentum to do it. Still, Ovechkin led the Caps from last to first. Did Malkin lead the Penguins to the playoffs, or did a new coach, Guerin, and Kunitz do it? It's certainly debatable. This year, the Caps overachieved and finished 2nd in the conference. The had problems on defense and in goal all season long but thanks to an Ovechkin-led offense, the team still won. And let's not forget Ovechkin's 10 game-winning goals to Malkin's 4 or Datsyuk's 3. He's clutch.

I think Malkin and Ovechkin's defense is comprable, considering they play different positions and have different roles. Both get penalty kill time. Datsyuk is obviously the best defender of the three. He will win the Selke, as he should.

But, in my opinion, Datsyuk doesn't dominate like Ovechkin or Malkin does. He's clearly the best two-way player in the game. And when it comes to Ovechkin vs. Malkin, I take Ovechkin to win his second consecutive MVP.