A Way Too Early Look At Toronto Maple Leafs Contending For NHL Awards

Hart Memorial - Auston Matthews

While Matthews is a long shot at winning the Art Ross trophy, he has a good chance of winning the Hart trophy, an award given to the player judged most valuable to his team.

Matthews has only won this award once, in 2022. He finished second in Hart voting in 2021 and was robbed of a finalist nomination last year, finishing fourth.

I will not argue that Matthews should have won the award over Nathan Mackinnon, but Matthews led the NHL in scoring five-on-five goals and finished second in primary points at even strength while being one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL last season.

The other two finalists last year, Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov, did have more points than Matthews throughout the year. Still, their stats were overinflated by secondary assists, which, in my opinion, mean very little.

Matthews is the best goal scorer in hockey and continues to improve defensively every year. Playing alongside Mitch Marner in a contract year, Matthews can have a huge year and put himself in the conversation for the Most Valuable Player award.

There is also a much lower, but not impossible, chance of Mitch Marner having a Hart Trophy season. He is an elite player and likely hasn't had the best season of his career yet.

Marner's reputation may be at a low point, but maybe that just serves to motivate him. He is a longshot, but it could happen.