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Toronto Maple Leafs End of the Season Awards

By James Tanner

UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) sets up in front of New York Islanders Goalie Robin Lehner (40) during a game between the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2019 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) sets up in front of New York Islanders Goalie Robin Lehner (40) during a game between the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2019 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 7: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators during the second period at the Scotiabank Arena on January 7, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 7: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators during the second period at the Scotiabank Arena on January 7, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

MVP / Hart

When it comes to the NHL Awards, nothing is more annoying than the people who hold to the wording of the Hart Trophy description – “Most valuable to his team,” – because this creates all sorts of idiotic choices, such as passing on the obvious best player last year (McDavid) because some people thought Taylor Hall was more valuable to his team’s success.

That’s crap.

This would be annoying in any sport, but in hockey it’s crazy because 100% of the time, the most valuable player is your team’s goalie.  If Edmonton got even average goaltending the last two seasons, they’d most likely have made the playoffs both years.

There are almost no exceptions to this rule: if your starting goalie is injured, your season is over.  Now, sometimes a back-up can come in and go for a run, but it’s highly unlikely.

In recent years we’ve seen it happen, but it’s almost always a total fluke.  There are a few current back-ups who may one day be star goalies, but they are few and far between.  A tandem like Rask/Halak is pretty rare, and other than Boston, and maybe the Islanders, no other playoff team can afford to lose their starter.

So with that in mind, I do not subscribe to the Freddie Andersen as the Leafs MVP.   He’s an obvious choice for the Vezina, but the Leafs best player this year has been John Tavares.

Your Toronto Maple Leafs MVP is John Tavares and it should be unanimous. He’s got 46 goals, might get to 50, and last I checked, he lead the league in 5v5 goals.

It’s a no-brainer.

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