To mark the beginning of the 2022-23 regular season, NHL.com is running its first installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the player voted as the most valuable to his team in a vote by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Connor McDavid is 25 years old. He’s entering his eighth NHL season. The Edmonton Oilers center is expected to play his 500th regular-season game Nov. 7 at the Washington Capitals if he stays healthy.
All this is to say McDavid is no longer the young guy taking the NHL by storm. He’s a veteran, old enough, mature enough and wise enough to know his place as the face of the League. He knows how he’s viewed as the best hockey player in the world.
In many respects, experience has changed him. He has grown.
“Just being a little bit more comfortable, maybe a little more comfortable with being a captain and comfortable in the room, comfortable doing media stuff,” McDavid said on the “NHL @TheRink” podcast. “Just being a kid it’s a little bit overwhelming, it can be a little bit daunting. I always felt super awkward. I’m sure it was like pulling teeth for everyone else trying to get me to do media stuff. I’m just trying to be more comfortable with those types of things.”
Then he should be comfortable knowing that he is also NHL.com’s preseason pick to win the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player.
Out of a panel of 15 NHL.com writers, 10 listed McDavid first on their ballots for the Hart Trophy entering this season. He received 67 voting points, 26 more than the Toronto Maple Leafs forward Austin Matthewswho won the Hart Trophy last season.
The writers weren’t alone in their prediction of McDavid for the Hart Trophy.
Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle said McDavid would win it for the third time (2016-17, 2020-21) after leading the NHL with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) last season.
“He does it every night,” Stutzle said. “I think he’s too good for the League.”
Buffalo Sabers forward Victor Olofsson had a similar sentiment about McDavid.
“He just keeps getting better and better,” Olofsson said. “I think he’s the best player in the world right now.”
Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen said, “If he scores 100-something points again, which I think he’s going to do, he’s going to be the MVP.”
Video: Connor McDavid ranks first for top centers
McDavid has surpassed 100 points in five of his seven NHL seasons, including 105 (33 goals, 72 assists) in 55 games in 2020-21. He had 97 points in 64 games in 2019-20, the season cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He leads the NHL with 697 points (239 goals, 458 assists) and 1.43 points per game since entering the League in 2015-16.
“He’s just so good and he does so much for the Edmonton Oilers,” St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas said after predicting McDavid would win the Hart Trophy. “I think he’s going to come out firing this year.”
“Because he’s such a focal point of that team and he’s always putting up so many points,” Washington Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper said of why he too is picking McDavid.
The odds are good that he will again put up a lot of points, but McDavid’s focus isn’t on his production or the individual hardware he might be able to take home from the 2023 NHL Awards show in Nashville on June 26.
The Oilers reached the Western Conference Final last season for the first time in McDavid’s career, but they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche, the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
After getting a taste of some success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, McDavid obviously wants more, but he’s not getting ahead of himself.
Not surprisingly, he’s taking the mature, veteran approach towards this season.
“You’ve got to build it back up, you’ve got to start fresh,” he said. “We certainly feel close in Edmonton. We have a lot of belief in our room, belief in each other and we feel good about where we’re at, but that being said each year is a fresh start for everybody.
“They don’t hand out the Stanley Cup at the end of October. It’s a long process, a long journey, but I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Connor McDavid, Oilers, 67 (10 first-place votes); Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, 41 (1); Nathan MacKinnonAvalanche, 25 (1); Cale MakarAvalanche, 21 (2); Kirill KaprizovMinnesota Wild, 17; Artemi PanarinNew York Rangers, 9 (1); Leon DraisaitlOilers, 6; Johnny GaudreauColumbus Blue Jackets, 6; Roman JoseNashville Predators, 6; Alexander BarkovFlorida Panthers, 4; Brayden PointTampa Bay Lightning, 4; Jonathan HuberdeauCalgary Flames, 3; JT MillerVancouver Canucks, 3; Matthew TkachukPanthers, 3; Sidney CrosbyPittsburgh Penguins, 3; Igor ShesterkinRangers, 2; David PastrnakBoston Bruins, 2; Jack HughesNew Jersey Devils, 2; Sebastian AhoCarolina Hurricanes, 1
NHL.com staff writers Tom Gulitti and Tracey Myers contributed to this report
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