Tampa Bay Lightning: Nikita Kucherov’s Hart Trophy case is strong

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is quickly emerging as a very strong Hart Trophy candidate. 

The Tampa Bay Lightning‘s most famous player is probably Steven Stamkos. He’s an elite goal scorer and a very good playmaker as well. More importantly, Stamkos is the face of the franchise as the team captain.

However, teammate Nikita Kucherov is quickly rising in the ranks and might well take his place as the most popular Lightning forward. One could make the argument he is already their best forward and perhaps their best player (though Victor Hedman is certainly a solid choice there as well).

Kucherov has been a bit underrated. All he’s done in the league so far is consistently produce and improve. Kucherov’s point total has been climbing in each of his NHL seasons, starting at 65 points in 2014-15. Most recently, he put up 40 goals and 85 points in 2016-17. Had it not been for the Lightning missing the postseason, he would have been at least in the top five in Hart Trophy voting.

Why He’s A Hart Trophy Candidate

It’s difficult for a wing to be an MVP candidate in the NHL. Centers are typically seen as more valuable, and rightfully so. The extent of defense for most wings involves not looking bored and looking to get the puck out of the defensive zone. However, centers are asked to be a third defenseman, or at least be active in the defensive zone.

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Kucherov is a rare exception. Obviously, he’s very productive offensively, posting over a point per game last season. But Kucherov might be even better defensively. He’s excellent with his stick, poking free a lot of pucks. And though Kucherov isn’t big, he uses his speed and agility to his advantage to swoop in and grab loose pucks. His extremely high hockey IQ and impressive instincts help as well.

The Lighting are off to a strong start this season, and no Tampa Bay player is off to a hotter start than Kucherov. He has scored in each of their first seven games, something that only Mario Lemieux has outdone.

Anytime Super Mario is the only person ahead of you in a category, you know you’re doing something special. Kucherov leads the league in points with 12 points in eight games and trails only Alex Ovechkin in goals with eight.

Sustainability

Right now, Kucherov is probably the favorite to win the Hart Trophy. However, the season is roughly 8.5 percent over, so there’s still a ton of time. Auston Matthews, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Patrick Kane each look like pretty strong contenders in their own right. Three of the four are centers and the fourth has already won a Hart Trophy.

Kucherov must sustain his current performance. Obviously, he’s probably not going to put up over 132 points. Jaromir Jagr and Wayne Gretzky are the last two players to reach that milestone, and it happened over 20 years ago. However, over 100 points is quite reasonable. Because that’s what it took Kane to win it in 2015-16.

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Kucherov faces an uphill battle to win the Hart Trophy as a wing. The odds are against him, especially when you consider Matthews plays in the NHL’s top media market while Nikita plays in Tampa. But Kucherov has what it takes to bring home the Hart Trophy.