Will a Leaf Win the Hart Trophy for the 1st Time Since 1955?
- Toronto’s John Tavares and Auston Matthews among top four contenders for the Hart Trophy
- The last Leaf to win the Hart was Teeder Kennedy in 1955
- Only two Leafs have won the Hart since it was introduced in 1924
Toronto Maple Leafs fans who lament the team’s Stanley Cup drought, which extends back to 1967, are taking heart that this could finally be their year. And they should take heart, because a Leaf might even take the Hart this season – something that hasn’t happened since 1955.
Odds to Win the Hart Trophy in 2019
| Hart Memorial Trophy NHL (MVP) | Odds |
|---|---|
| Connor McDavid | +333 |
| Sidney Crosby | +650 |
| John Tavares | +1000 |
| Auston Matthews | +1000 |
Both Auston Matthews and John Tavares are given +1000 odds of earning the nod as MVP of the NHL. With it will come inscription on the Hart Trophy, which the league presents to the player adjudged to have been the most valuable to his team.
To play this future wager, the question you must first answer is which Leaf do you go with? Is it the established superstar (Tavares), or the rapidly-rising sensation (Matthews)? Or do you hedge your bets and put a little money down on each of them?
Average Odds to Win the Hart Trophy in 2019
Neither has been MVP, unlike Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (once), the favorite at +333, or Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (twice), the second betting choice at +650, but then again, a year ago, who would have pegged New Jersey’s Taylor Hall for the Hart?
Will Johnny T Be Good?
Toronto rocked Leaf Nation and the entire hockey world for that matter when Tavares was inked to a contract just hours after the July 1st free-agent signing window opened. It made the Leafs instant Stanley Cup contenders. The prize of the 2018 unrestricted free agent crop, there’s plenty to like about Tavares as a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate.
Tavares was MVP of the OHL and CHL in 2006-07.
The first overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft, he’s already a two-time Hart finalist, in 2012-13 and 2014-15. Tavares finished third in the balloting on both occasions. If he and the Leafs both have huge years, Tavares and the Hart would be a natural pairing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfdkn2bDp98
Three times with his previous team the New York Islanders, Tavares topped 80 points in a season. That included a career-high 86 in 2014-15. He finished just one point behind Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars for the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion. Consequently, Tavares was named center on the NHL First All-Star Team following the 2014-15 campaign.
Does Auston Have Limits?
The first player chosen in the 2016 NHL entry draft, Matthews set the tone for superlatives quickly. He scored four goals in his first NHL game against the Ottawa Senators.
He topped all rookies during the 2016-17 season in goals (40) and points (69). In the process, Matthews ended one hardware hoodoo for the Leafs. He won the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s rookie of the year, the first Toronto player to do so since Brit Selby in 1965-66.
As added incentive, Matthews is in the last year of his entry-level contract. He figures to cash in regardless, but a monster season punctuated by a Hart Trophy triumph could drive his salary into the stratosphere.
The Hart of the Leafs
Around Toronto in the 1950’s, captain Ted (Teeder) Kennedy was known as the heart of the Leafs. In 1954-55, that moniker took on added meaning, as Kennedy was awarded the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.
Toronto Maple Leafs Past Hart Trophy Winners
| Leafs Hart Memorial Trophy Winners | Stats (GP-G-A-P) |
|---|---|
| Babe Pratt-D (1943-44) | 50-17-40-57 |
| Teeder Kennedy-C (1954-55) | 70-10-42-52 |
It seemed an odd choice. With 52 points, Kennedy finished 10th in NHL scoring, and second on the Leafs behind Sid Smith (54 points). Kennedy’s 10 goals left him tied for 44th in the league.
The Leafs were a third-place team with a middling 24-24-22 record, well off their 32-24-14 performance of the season prior. Yet Leafs finished 1-2 in Hart voting. Goalie Harry Lumley was runner-up to Kennedy.
Three Leafs have finished as Hart Trophy runner-ups since the team’s last win – Tod Sloan (1955-56), Johnny Bower (1960-61) and Doug Gilmour (1992-93).
A 64-year drought could be ended by either Tavares or Matthews, and by doing so, they’d bring a better return from a betting standpoint than a Leafs Stanley Cup win.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
