Toronto Maple Leafs: Freddie Andersen Is a Hart Candidate
By Carson Trask
Frederik Andersen is the Toronto Maple Leafs Most Valuable Player.
The Hart trophy is more wide open this season than it has been in recent years. Everyone’s pre-season favorite, Connor Mcdavid, is having another outstanding season, but many people refuse to vote for a player from a non-playoff team, opening the door for other players, including the Toronto Maple Leafs Freddie Andersen. With as many worthy candidates as there is this season, It should be the players who have their teams in positions to contend for a Stanley Cup.
The Usual Contenders:
The list of contenders for the Hart trophy is a mixture of guys who seem to be in this discussion every season as well as newcomers who have taken their games to the next level. Connor Mcdavid, Evgeni Malkin, Patrice Bergeron and his teammate Brad Marchand, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux and Sidney Crosby are all players who have track records of playing at an MVP level for their teams, and all are worth nominees this season.
Player First Time in Contention:
The new guys getting love for the Hart are players that have experienced some solid offensive seasons, but now that their teams are having success they are starting to get the respect they deserve. Tyler Seguin who is currently fifth in the NHL in goals with 39 is playing on a dominant line with Jamie Benn, has the Stars competing for playoff spot, Nathan Mackinnon who has been dominant all season sitting third in scoring with 92 points, as well as first averaging 1.37 ppg, and Taylor Hall who set the league on fire going on a 26 game point streak, looks like he may finally get a chance to play postseason hockey.
The Favorites:
While all the candidates mentioned above are very deserving, it is looking like a three man race. Connor Mcdavid, who has taken over the scoring lead, Nathan Mackinnon, and Taylor Hall. Hall leads the Devils with 82 points, 33 more than second on the team Nico Hischier. Hall has put the Devils on his back carrying them into a playoff spot.
The Case for Frederik Andersen:
Since the Leafs traded for Frederik Andersen at the 2016 NHL draft, he has been everything they had hoped for and more. Anyone that remotely follows the NHL knows that the Leafs weakness is their defence and Andersen is the last line of it. According the NHL official website Andersen has faced the most shots this season, has the most saves, has played the third most minutes, tied for first in games started and is fourth in shutouts with five.
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The fact that Andersen consistently has to face grade A scoring chances makes his statistics even better than the numbers suggest. When Andersen starts, the Leafs are giving up 34 shots a game which is near the top of the league for goalies that have made the minimum starts to qualify.
A prime example of Andersen’s importance showed up in a game against the Dallas Stars. In the first few shifts Andersen made a big save on Tyler Seguin on a partial breakaway and then shortly after on John Klingberg in the slot. Those saves allowed the Leafs to settle in and resulted in them scoring two quick goals. This is nothing new for Andersen this season. The Leafs have made it a habit at times to not follow coach Mike Babcock’s favourite phrase “start on time” getting out shot badly at times.
The Leafs have been able to survive this season with certain guys missing time with injuries. Nikita Zaitsev missed 17 games with an ankle injury, Morgan Rielly has missed time and, of course the Leafs franchise center Auston Mathews has been injured multiple times. Mathews has missed 20 games this season with various injuries, and still the Leafs are sitting comfortably in a playoff spot. This would not be the case if Andersen had to miss significant time. He is their most irreplaceable player. It isn’t a stretch to think the Leafs would be fighting for a playoff spot if it wasn’t for Andersen.
The leafs tied a franchise record for wins Saturday (though there are no longer ties) against the Detroit Red Wings and are on pace to set a franchise record for points. Andersen is the main reason for both. . Andersen has stolen games this season and seems to get better the more shots he faces.
The Leafs quick ascension into a Stanley Cup contender just two years after picking first overall is because of Andersen. While he won’t win the Hart, but he deserves to be in the conversation for his play this season. His value to the Leafs can’t go unnoticed.