how many finalist this year selected for hart trophy?”
USA TODAY will catalog the finalists for the major NHL awards for the 2008-09 season on this page as they are announced. Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is a finalist for a second straight Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. Russian players Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins andPavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings were also among the finalists announced by the league Wednesday. Ovechkin led the league in goals this season with 56, and the Russian could become the first repeat winner of the Hart since
I must admit, when it came time to hit the send button on my annual awards picks as a member of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, I hesitated. As the NHL’s regular season wound to its conclusion, I had voiced my opinion on a number of occasions, through a number of media, that Evgeni Malkin was a worthy pick for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. It was a pretty easy argument to make at the time; Malkin had established a large lead in the NHL scoring race, and his once-dormant Penguins had been revitalized as a Cup contender. But as the days crept by and the April 15 voting deadline approached, Washington star Alex Ovechkin began closing the gap on Malkin. Still, I held fast to my original belief that Malkin was a Hart Trophy player. Having covered every Penguins playoff game this spring, I have no regrets, even though I understand the playoffs are a separate being altogether.
