Where the Hell is Hank’s respect?
Henrik’s been atop the points race for at least a week now and he’s hardly been noticed, talked about, or praised by anyone other than Canuck Nation. In fact, whenever Ovechkin and Crosby are up there they get all the spot light. Heck, even when Kopitar was up there he was the NHL’s golden boy and everyone was all over him. “Kopitar this” and “Kopitar that”. Where’s Kopitar now, he’s certainly not still at the top. So what gives?
Hank’s no fluke. He’s climbed his way up the points standings, he took over first, he’s been monstrous for the Canucks and he’s established himself as one of the elite forwards in this game putting himself above names like Crosby, Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, and Thornton just to name a few. That’s some pretty elite company. Not only that, he’s been quiet in doing so. He’s not a rockstar like Ovechkin. He’s not the NHL’s posterchild like Crosby. He does his job quietly game in and game out and the fact he’s up there and has remained up there accounts for a lot, yet he gets no respect from the league, and the Eastern media don’t even notice he exists.
Henrik Sedin proved to everyone that he was capable of leading this team without his brother when Daniel went down to injury and proved to everyone that individually he was a difference maker. He set himself apart from his brother and answered the question we’ve always been wondering: “What happens when you split up the Sedins?”. His numbers garner a little more recognition and it baffles me as to why Henrik isn’t given a little more respect around this league.
He leads the NHL in points, points on home ice, points against other divisions, and even strength points to name a few offensive categories. He has a top tier plus/minus and he has the second highest points per game at 1.36. A testament to how good he’s been is the number of points he has at even strength. He’s finding a way to get it done without doing it on the Power Play like other players in the league who rack of the PP points. Even Christian Ehrhoff has more PP points than him. Even more impressive is his efficiency when he’s on the ice. He’s amounted his league leading 64 points this season in substantially less time than anyone else. Henrik Sedin’s average time on ice per game ranks him 56th in the league, in some cases more than 2 minutes per game less than any of the other forwards in the NHL’s top 10 for scoring. In fact he’s only hit 30 shifts in a single game once this season and that was last night against the Minnesota Wild.
In 47 games for the Canucks this season he has been held pointless in only 11 games and during that span has also strung together two point streaks of 9 and 10 games. He has been in on over 40% of all goals scored by the Canucks this season and has 20 multi point games so far this year. He’s proven he’s not just a player maker but he can score goals and he’s on pace to shatter his career highs and break the 30 goal plateau for the first time in his career and be the highest point getter this team has seen since Markus Naslund had 104 points in a season.
Henrik Sedin has risen to the top of the NHL and it’s about time the league noticed.
I’ll drink to that!
He’s also second in the league in shooting percentage, at 21.3%. Kovalchuk is 7t, but Thornton, Crosby, and Ovie don’t even crack the top 20. That’s another testament to his finesse.
I’ll drink to that!
He’s also second in the league in shooting percentage, at 21.3%. Kovalchuk is 7t, but Thornton, Crosby, and Ovie don’t even crack the top 20. That’s another testament to his finesse.
He was named NHL player of the month for December and I believe player of the week two weeks ago.
He has also been getting some Hart trophy talk for his performance.
He was named NHL player of the month for December and I believe player of the week two weeks ago.
He has also been getting some Hart trophy talk for his performance.
While watching a Versus game broadcast on TSN2 earlier in the week one of the commentators during intermission chose Henrik for his Hart Trophy nominee so far. I was surprised to say the least especially because it was the guy with ‘The Hair’ (don’t know how else to describe him)
While watching a Versus game broadcast on TSN2 earlier in the week one of the commentators during intermission chose Henrik for his Hart Trophy nominee so far. I was surprised to say the least especially because it was the guy with ‘The Hair’ (don’t know how else to describe him)
He might get less recognition because he’s a twin, and it’s always been hard to distinguish him from Daniel.
He might get less recognition because he’s a twin, and it’s always been hard to distinguish him from Daniel.
It’s definitely an interesting year to pick an MVP. With such a wide spectrum of candidates, it will be difficult task for the writers. In an effort to narrow the field, I suggest we eliminate the goaltenders from contention. I’m of the belief that, unless a goalie is top 3 or 4 in every important goaltending statistic (SV%, GAA, wins, SO), let them fight over the Vezina. In 06/07, for example, Brodeur and Luongo dominated almost every stat (Brodeur moreso than Luongo). But what was most compelling was their wins (Brodeur 48, Luongo 47). Miller and Bryzgalov have played extremely well, but nothing compared to the performances by Brodeur and Luongo in 06/07 (and not even in the same light as previous Hart winners Hasek and Theodore).
With ‘tenders out of the way, we move to players. Had Ovechkin not missed ten games this season, he would be the clear front-runner. He is the most dominant player in the game. Goals, points, hits. He’s an offensive force. But this year was not his best. And the suspensions, combined with his team’s success in his absence, takes him out of the running (but he should be nominated). Crosby has suddenly become a scorer this year, and not a moment too soon. With Malkin in and out of the lineup, and an overall lack of Penguin scoring, Crosby has buoyed the team into contention for the Atlantic division title. And let’s not forget his phenomenal success in shootouts and faceoffs. Crosby comes in at #2 on my list of nominees.
Despite the success of Crosby and Ovechkin this year, my nod goes to a quiet and steady Swede out west. Henrik Sedin has had an unbelievable season this year. He leads the league in points and assists while boasting an impressing +34 rating. His team is 3rd in the league in goals (263), of which he was involved in 107 (41%). Only Washington and San Jose had more goals – two teams with significantly more fire power than the Canucks. Henrik Sedin has a talented winger in his brother Daniel, but was without him for 18 games early this season (a span during which Daniel notched 10 of his 29 goals). Overall, a truly remarkable season resulting in a Pacific division title for Vancouver.
Could Henrik Sedin compete with Hart winners of the past? Not likely. But he has definitely put together a season worthy of the Hart Trophy in the absence of a clear frontrunner.
However, I predict that the writers nominate Ovechkin and Crosby, with Miller’s excellent season (and more importantly, his amazing run during the Olympics) persuading the writers to award him with the Hart.
The Art Ross could be a nice consolation for Sedin, but his absence in the Hart category will be an absolute travesty.
All the best,
Derek
It’s definitely an interesting year to pick an MVP. With such a wide spectrum of candidates, it will be difficult task for the writers. In an effort to narrow the field, I suggest we eliminate the goaltenders from contention. I’m of the belief that, unless a goalie is top 3 or 4 in every important goaltending statistic (SV%, GAA, wins, SO), let them fight over the Vezina. In 06/07, for example, Brodeur and Luongo dominated almost every stat (Brodeur moreso than Luongo). But what was most compelling was their wins (Brodeur 48, Luongo 47). Miller and Bryzgalov have played extremely well, but nothing compared to the performances by Brodeur and Luongo in 06/07 (and not even in the same light as previous Hart winners Hasek and Theodore).
With ‘tenders out of the way, we move to players. Had Ovechkin not missed ten games this season, he would be the clear front-runner. He is the most dominant player in the game. Goals, points, hits. He’s an offensive force. But this year was not his best. And the suspensions, combined with his team’s success in his absence, takes him out of the running (but he should be nominated). Crosby has suddenly become a scorer this year, and not a moment too soon. With Malkin in and out of the lineup, and an overall lack of Penguin scoring, Crosby has buoyed the team into contention for the Atlantic division title. And let’s not forget his phenomenal success in shootouts and faceoffs. Crosby comes in at #2 on my list of nominees.
Despite the success of Crosby and Ovechkin this year, my nod goes to a quiet and steady Swede out west. Henrik Sedin has had an unbelievable season this year. He leads the league in points and assists while boasting an impressing +34 rating. His team is 3rd in the league in goals (263), of which he was involved in 107 (41%). Only Washington and San Jose had more goals – two teams with significantly more fire power than the Canucks. Henrik Sedin has a talented winger in his brother Daniel, but was without him for 18 games early this season (a span during which Daniel notched 10 of his 29 goals). Overall, a truly remarkable season resulting in a Pacific division title for Vancouver.
Could Henrik Sedin compete with Hart winners of the past? Not likely. But he has definitely put together a season worthy of the Hart Trophy in the absence of a clear frontrunner.
However, I predict that the writers nominate Ovechkin and Crosby, with Miller’s excellent season (and more importantly, his amazing run during the Olympics) persuading the writers to award him with the Hart.
The Art Ross could be a nice consolation for Sedin, but his absence in the Hart category will be an absolute travesty.
All the best,
Derek