This Is Why Forsberg Will Win The Hart Trophy, Deserving Or Not (I Should Have Known)

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Michael Griffiths

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I can't believe this little fact slipped by me (and many others on here apparently), but it looks like Naslund and Bertuzzi are both just too good for each other. They will split the Hart vote, thereby allowing Forsberg or Modano to win by default. It happens in politics all the time, and it happened to some extent last year when Jose Theodore won the Hart instead of Iginla or Roy. Check out this article:

http://www.faceoff.com/nhl/teams/canucks/news/story.html?f=/news/20030325/44138.html
 
Upon thinking about this matter, I've come to a different conclusion about what *should* happen. What *will* happen, of course, is a different story, and thus the vote might still be split after all is said and done. However...

The one thing that needs to be mentioned here is the actual definition of the Hart Trophy. It's supposed to be awarded to "the player who is most valuable to his TEAM." Many think of it as the MVP of the *league* but it is NOT that. That's why Gretzky won the Hart in his his first season with LA even though he only had 168 points compared to Lemieux's 199 points that year. Lemieux's Penguins were terrible all season, and Gretzky's Kings ended up being 4th overall from 4th worst the year prior! Gretzky was awarded it because, clearly, he was more valuable to the Kings success than Lemieux was to the Penguins' success (or lack thereof).

In this case, we must do the same thing - ask the question in accordance with the definition of the award. Who is the player this year who is most valuable to his team? I would have to say that Bertuzzi is not as valuable as Naslund, because Naslund has been more consistent over the entire season. Bertuzzi has taken a few games off here and there, and some nights it looks as though he's kind of just coasting. Naslund, however, is the hardest working guy on the ice, night in and night out, regardless of whether he gets any points. And he has scored more consistenly than Bertuzzi. This is why I don't think the vote should be split. I hope the people who are voting look beyond just the numbers.
 
I hope the people who are voting look beyond just the numbers.
If only that were the case... well, I think that the Professional Hockey Writers are responsible for this damn trophy ever year. I would tend to agree with what you've said about Naslund, Bertuzzi, and Forsberg. This is a really crappy year for this award, because it seems like everyone in the league is underachieving (see last year). Most teams that have candidates for this award have multiple candidates, which entirely defeats the purpose of the award (unless all are recognized)... Modano or Thornton might be sleeper picks in that case. I think to be even considered for the award your team has to make the playoffs.
 
Hopefully there will be some awards heading that way... they should just share the Hart.
 
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