Hart Trophy and NBA MVP Chases

The great game standard.

Photo credit: Santeri Viinamäki

The MVP Chase is about playing great in victories. Connor McDavid could have three goals in a loss and it won’t help his Hart Trophy candidacy. Joel Embiid can score 60 in a loss and it won’t help his MVP case.

I consider two things:

1. The number of times a player had a great game in a win.
2. The percentage of that number to the team’s total number of wins.

HART TROPHY CHASE

In the NHL, a team earns a point in the standings for an overtime loss, as if it counted as a tie. Therefore, For the MVP Chase, it helps players to have great games in wins and in overtime losses.

My standard for a “great game” in the NHL is:

Goals plus assists plus +/- equals 2 or more.

Here are the top ten for the Hart Trophy, with their MVP rating. These are for all games through February 23, 2023:

1. Connor McDavid, Oilers (28–18–4) 16.53
2. Jason Robertson, Stars (28–13–10) 16.44
3. Nikita Kucherov, Lightning (32–15–1) 16.03
4. Jack Hughes, Devils (32–13–4) 16.00
5. David Pastrnak, Bruins (39–7–5) 15.36