What Does It Take to Be the Most Valuable Player? the Hart Memorial Trophy

MVP

What does it take to be the most valuable player? The Hart Memorial Trophy is an award given annually to a player who proves to be the most valuable to his team. This player must have the skill, the dedication, the leadership and the drive to help to take their team to the top. This year in the National Hockey League, there are two candidates competing for this prestigious award: Pittsburgh Penguin, Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin from the Washington Capitals. Which of these two superior athletes deserves the award?

Evgeni Malkin, Penguin's center, presents judges with a strong case to win the award. Through his astonishing and unparalleled skill, dedication, leadership and drive to make his team the greatest, Malkin has proved that he has what it takes to be an MVP. He finished last season with forty-seven goals and fifty-nine assists, for an astounding total of one hundred and six points, second only to Ovechkin. Besides his shocking statistics, the most honorable characteristic that makes Malkin worthy of the MVP was when he took the place of Penguin's star player, Sidney Crosby after Crosby went down with an injury, causing him to miss twenty eight of thirty one games. Over the course of those thirty-one games Evgeni compiled fifty-two points. In addition, Malkin also led his team to finish in second place in the Eastern Conference standing. Through his constant determination and skill, Malkin proved that he could and would become a superstar in this league; thus making a strong case for his fight for the Most Valuable Player award.

Alexander Ovechkin, or "Alexander the Great" as known by the majority of people around the league, backed up his nickname this season without question. As the Washington Capitols left wing, he finished the season with sixty-five goals and forty-seven assists for a combined one hundred and twelve points, a mere six points ahead of Malkin. Ovechkin also presents a strong case to win the award due to leading the team into the playoffs where he won the division title after his team was in dead last at the half waypoint of the season. This instance demonstrates his deep compassion for the game of hockey and the faith he had throughout the season