Hart at Halfway

While most teams are the official 41 game halfway point of the season, when it comes to the Hart Trophy race for most valuable player-- some may think it could be a wide open field as we come down the stretch. However, in my eyes; it's a two-horse race. Granted, I actually take the literal description of the award, being the most valuable to his team.

The first is a no-brainer in Sidney Crosby. You take him off the Penguins and they probably aren't in the hunt for the President's Trophy for most points in the season. I don't like him as a player, but I respect him.

The second one will make you go, "Oh look-- Scotty's going for a gimmick." I'm not. I truly believe that Dustin Byfuglien should get a look at the MVP. Of course, you won't get many voters actually taking the literal meaning of the award, but it should be brought back to that; much like the Norris Trophy should be going to the best all-around defenseman, not the one with the most points.

As much as people say Byfuglien should be getting a look at the Norris for converting back to defense this year, his addition to the Atlanta Thrashers has seemed to revitalize a team that many thought were going to be a pushover in the first post-Kovalchuk season in the ATL. Most publications had them out of the playoffs, even if not by much. Yet now, the Thrashers are in a playoff spot and don't seem like letting up and I think a lot of it has to do with the energy and experience Byfuglien brings to the squad.

Personally, Byfuglien has a career-high in points and assists halfway through the season and only needs four more goals to have a career-high in that stat as well. He's finally getting to have his star realized after an amazing playoff season. For the team, he has been involved in 31% of the team's goals and had his hand in 54% of the power play goals the Thrashers have had. I don't know if they would have this same success without him in the line-up.

There will be plenty who will bring up Steve Stamkos or Henrik Sedin, which is definitely correct in that-- but at the same time; Stamkos has St. Louis helping him out and having close enough stats to him and Sedin has brother Daniel. While they have good stats, if you take them off the team; is the team still as good?? It's a fine line when you go with the literal sense of the award against the best player overall.

This plea will probably fall upon deaf ears should Byfuglien falls off the pace he's going or if someone else steps up big-time in the second half, but as of right now-- Big Buff has to be considered, even if it's in passing.

Big Buff vs. Alex the Great

There's something about the playoffs that brings out the other side of players that may have been hidden or flown under the radar. John Druce back in 1990 for the Caps, Johan Hedberg in 2001 for the Penguins, and I think Dustin Byfuglien for the Blackhawks would be this year's candidate for breakout star. Yet, even so, there's something about him that's so very endearing that makes you think that he'll have a bit more staying power and longer than a 15-minute outburst than the previous two.

In fact, I would say that the excitement, tenacity, and all around love of the game could be on par with that of Alex Ovechkin.

Sure, it's a reach, I know-- but when you see how he celebrates his goals, how he'll go into any kind of situation to win the small battles, how he can bring energy to most every shift; it kind of mimics Ovechkin's play. Of course, Byfuglien is becoming more and more of a clutch player, which Ovechkin has been knocked for not being-- especially they year with the Olympics and playoffs. Yet, both are big body guys, both have a nose for the net, and both seem to be the folk-heroes in their respective cities. Not only that, but both guys get attention. Ovechkin get it from his skill and point totals; while Byfuglien gets it from the fact he can stir the pot and draw penalties, while not taking as many. He seems to be what Tomas Holmstrom was in the 90s for the Red Wings.

Yes, I know Byfuglien will never score as much as Ovechkin-- that's a given, but his spirit for the games, as well as his versatility to play forward or defense; makes him a valuable commodity and a great team guy for his teammates to feed off of and really get behind if they need a pick-me-up. If the Hawks can win the Cup this year, odds are you'll hear about how Byfuglien was a big reason for the victory. If it's not for his clutch goals, it'll be for stirring the pot and getting the other team off their games because of his antagonistic game-plan.