3 reasons that show why Alex Ovechkin should win the Hart Memorial Trophy
Alex Ovechkin has been instrumental in both the Washington Capitals hot start to the season and their recent turnaround where they’ve won three games in a row. It’s those reasons and much more why he should be named the Hart Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL’s MVP.
Ovechkin is on a four game point streak with five (two assists) and a three game goal streak including 13 goals in his last 17 games. It puts him at 45 total which is ranked fourth in the league. He’s doing this all despite turning age 36 in September.
Here are 3 reasons why Ovechkin should win his fourth Hart Trophy.
#3 His recent stretch
Caps Nation was in a panic after a dismal January and February but the team captain has had no problem putting the team on his back to climb up the Metropolitan Division standings. Ovechkin had a goal against the Bruins on Sunday which was his third straight game with a goal this season.
It was his 13th goal in his last 17 games and he passed Gordie Howe for the second most goals in a season by a player aged 36 or older. He now trails Teemu Selanne by three goals for the all time mark.
#2 His durability
Ovechkin’s only real injuries this season have come from maintenance days. Other than last season, there was rarely a time where Ovechkin missed games due to injury. This year he’s only missed time due to COVID protocols which who hasn’t been added to the list at this point?
Ovechkin also knows how to pad his stats. His goal against the Bruins came on an empty net buzzer beater. It was his ninth empty net goal of the season which tied Pavel Bure’s all time single season empty net goal mark that he set in the 1999-00 season.
Of the 81 forwards with at least 15 minutes of ice time against an empty net this season, Ovechkin’s 43.48 on ice shots for percentage ranks third and his 90.91 goals for percentage is tied for eighth.
In all Ovechkin is not just durable in terms of lack of games missed due to injury. He still isn’t afraid to lay out the big hits despite being a 17 year league veteran by now. In fact this season he has 138 hits thus far which is a lot higher than the 98 he had last season.
While it isn’t as high as 184 he set in the previous season, Ovechkin has shown his durability thanks to his physical play and electrifying goals.
#1 Ovi continues to defy age
Alex Ovechkin is 36 yet he continues to score goals at a torrid pace like he’s still in his prime. We’ve all grown up watching Ovechkin over the years. Some of us begun as kids and now are in their teens. Others watched when they were young and are now in college or into their adult years. The fact that he’s still going strong with the game and the world changing every day is remarkable.
With 45 goals it’s not a question as to if but when he will reach the 50 goal mark. He is aiming to reach that mark for the ninth time in his career. That would tie Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most 50 goal seasons in NHL history.
In addition, Ovechkin would become the first player to reach the 50 goal mark at age 36 or older.
The hardest part about winning the Hart Trophy for Ovechkin is the play of Auston Matthews. He has a whooping 58 goals but as our contributor David Atlas wrote, despite leading the league in goals at age 24, Ovechkin had even more goals in his career when he reached that point.
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I think the Hart will be a tossup between Ovechkin and Matthews but these three reasons are why I think it’ll help put Ovechkin over the top.