Bloggers Roundup: Leading with Hart

Let’s get right into it. This one’s going up a few days early because of the holidays.

This week’s question: “If you had to pick today, who would you pick for the Hart Trophy?”

We started with me last time – let’s be a little less self-serving and start with Dustin Leed, our resident (and fantastic) writer for the Philadelphia Flyers. Please note that I collected input over the course of the week since our last Bloggers Roundup, so stats cited may have changed since our writers got back to me.

DUSTIN LEED (FLYERS): Without a doubt, it has to go to New York Rangers’ Marian Gaborik.

He leads the team with 24 goals (half on the power-play), the Rangers don’t even have anyone else in double-digit scoring and his 45 points are 16 better than Vinny Prospal’s 29 (second on the team).

He leads the NHL in goals and is second in points, three behind Joe Thornton. If you look at the true definition it reads ‘most valuable to his team’ and without any question, you take Gaborik away from the Rangers, they’re nothing.

Every player atop of the scoring race has another legit threat to work with on the ice, Gaborik is doing it solo.

The Hart deserves to go to Gaborik.

TY ANDERSON (BRUINS): It’s hard to argue against Marian Gaborik in New York. While the Rangers have struggled to get the contributions from guys like Drury, Higgins and Kotalik, Gaborik is still leading the league in goals and is second for points.

DAVID STREHLE (BLACKHAWKS): At this point in the season the Hart Trophy would have to go to Marian Gaborik of the NY Rangers.  If not for him and his 25 goals (leading the league) and 49 points (2nd to only SJ’s Joe Thornton), the Rangers would surely be battling with the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers for last place in the Eastern Conference.  Instead, they are on the fine line of qualifying for the playoffs.  He has avoided the injury bug that plagued him in Minnesota and has been a total godsend for Manhattan.

CHRIS WASSEL (DEVILS): I am going to go with Ryan Miller.  Yes I am going goalie here for the simple reason is that Buffalo does have balanced scoring but when Clarke MacArthur is your leading goal scorer…you have to play your best and Miller has so far…leading the league in GAA, save %, and tied for the lead in shutouts with 4. He has 21 wins and really is the reason why Buffalo is where they are right now.  Without him and they are a disaster.  Point blank simple.

BRANDON AUGIONELLIO (RANGERS): Anyone mention Ilya Bryzgalov yet? Where would the cinderella ‘Yotes be without his stellar play in net? True Gaborik is unreal, but they are a borderline playoff team as of now. If you were handing out awards in December, the MVP would be Bryzgalov. They are solidly in a playoff spot and who would have thought  they would be anywhere near the playoffs, at any point in the season?

ANTHONY CURATALO (ISLANDERS & THE HOCKEY GUYS): Without a shadow of a doubt Marian Gaborik.  The team the Rangers have, outside of Gaborik, have no business being where they currently are.  Gaborik has single handedly (well, along with Henrik Lundqvist) given the Rangers the offense they need to win games.  They should not be a bubble team, but they are.  Yes, it’s great for the Rangers and good for the league, but what is really important is the fact that Gaborik, for the most part, has been healthy and is playing amazing hockey.

I always said this guy, if healthy, would be a dominant force in the league.  He is proving just that.  If the Rangers hit the playoffs, and he keeps up his pace, this league has no idea the actual player it will be facing when the Rangers play.

Gaborik is the purest goal scorer in the league. Watch out NHL.

CHRIS BLUFF (STARS): There’s no question that the Gaborik story is a great one for neutral fans. He’s finally doing what Minnesota fans knew for years he was capable of but never had the supporting cast. He kind of has that now. Yes he is a pure goal-scorer but I can’t help but feel that any pure goal-scorer is only ever as good as his linemates.

I’m very much with Brandon on this one. For me it has to Ilya Bryzgalov. This guy was an absolute write-off before the season together with a Phoenix team who looked as though they would struggle to hit double digit wins this season and playing in a limited hockey city as well as their unrelenting off-ice distractions. Bryz though has saved games standing on his head all season. He and Shane Doan between them make the Coyotes who they are, they epitomize everything about the team and bring their respective A-games every night.

CONNOR LEWIS (SABRES): I hate sounding like a homer, but I have to vote for Ryan Miller. Marian Gaborik has undeniably been playing fantastic hockey, but his team has been a playoff team for a few seasons now; their management just traded some of their underperforming pieces for a legitimate superstar. It’s an upgrade on their old product, but their old product was still good enough for postseason hockey.

The Sabres, on the other hand, went two seasons without making the playoffs after capturing the President’s Trophy, and were projected by most offseason power rankings to finish well outside of the playoff bubble. But Ryan Miller – who has likely seized the reigns of Team USA’s net for the Olympics despite his competition’s Vezina-winning performance last season – has been leading the Sabres to phenomenal performance despite anemic offensive production (a sophomore player, Clarke MacArthur, currently holds the team lead in goals with 10). They currently hold firm control of the Northeast division, and would place fourth in the conference in points without their division lead despite having games in hand.

He’s my favorite for the Vezina, so far, and I think he stands a good shot at being the first goalie since Jose Theodore to simultaneously win the Vezina and Hart trophies. Ilya Bryzgalov is a close second in my book, but it’s hard to say whether the Coyotes – laden with young talent, new faces, and a fresh coaching direction – would be competitive with a lesser talent in net. The answer is clearer in Buffalo, where little changed in the offseason.

MIKE ELLIS (RED WINGS): Cast my vote for Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. He leads the NHL in Save Percentage, Goals Against Average, and Shutouts. Then, of course, you have Derek Roy leading the team in scoring, with 28 points …good for 53rd in the league.

Yes, the Sabres leading scorer is scratching and clawing his way, trying to keep up with Thrasher Tobias Enstrom. And while that barn-burner of a race continues, it is because of Ryan Miller that the Sabres are in first in the Northeast, and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

And while we’re talking about Miller, guess why the U.S. is a darkhorse to capture Gold in Vancouver?

JEFF MAULDIN (THRASHERS): I would  also  have to say Gabby for the reasons cited by the others. His scoring has been opportune and has kept the Rangers in the hunt along with the fabulous play of King Henrik

MITCHELL SOLOMON (SHARKS): I, too, have to go with Gaborik. It is hard to imagine any other player singlehandedly (I guess Lundqvist has helped too) taking a team from the bottom of the conference and making them into a playoff team.

There you have it. From everyone at Crash the Crease, have a wonderful Christmas and happy holidays!

- C.