Will Auston Matthews be a hart finalist this season? Yes or No

[bobholly39]

Pretty straightforward question - will he be a finalist this year, or no? If you think he'll actually win, please post in the comments.

Last year on Dec 2nd - Matthews was 19 points off point lead, and 7 goals off goal-lead.

This year on Dec 2nd, he is 16 points off point lead, and 10 goals off goal lead.

For goals - last year it was Drai #1, Ovechkin #2 this time of year.
This year it's Robertson at the top....no offense to him, but he seems more unlikely than Drai/Ovi were to keep up his goal-scoring pace, so Matthews is probably a similar level away from goal-scoring lead as he was last year.

Matthews had a fantastic season last year, and the year before as well. We all know he's an incredible player, but there's a lot of great players so far this season. McDavid obviously, but Robertson, Karlsson, MacKinnon, Draisaitl...well I could go on and probably name 10-15 other guys who can have a case for hart.

Leafs are actually doing really good in the standings right now, despite's Matthews' "slow" start. That's probably not a great thing for hart, as voters like it when a star player is the one seemingly helping his team rise in the standings, but the season is still early.

So what's your prediction? Does Matthews end up a finalist to the hart trophy this year?

I'll start by saying yes. I still expect him to score ~55+ goals this season, maybe even 60. I don't think he'll win the hart (in fact I'll be shocked to see him win), but I think he finishes top 3.

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[TheImpatientPanther]

No, hopefully it's Matty Tkachuk

 

[Midnight Judges]

At this point, less than a 50% chance so I said no.

That said, it's very early and pretty much anything can happen.

 

[BlueBaron]

Talk about fishing for negatives. I suppose it's amusing his standard is so high were supposed to feel bad about this while HF desperately runs out of ideas for Leaf bashing threads.

Thanks for keeping Leafs as the most talked about team in the league.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

I'd give him a 20% chance at being a finalist by the end of the season.

 

[North Cole]

I voted no. I tend to think McDavid will soak up his usual spot in the top 3, and I think at this point barring a major decline Robertson will also be in the top 3 given he's come out of basically nowhere in terms of Hart recognition. That leaves one spot open for Kuch/Mack/Matthews/Karlsson/Crosby, hard to not pick the field.

Could easily be wrong if he goes on massive heater (which is not that unlikely) but at present I'd say he's outside the top 3.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Honestly Marner would probably be more likely at this point, he's been getting a lot more media attention this year. But most likely neither are a finalist and shouldn't be at this point obviously. The Leafs good record is mostly from their goal prevention.

 

[CN8]

Honestly Marner would probably be more likely at this point, he's been getting a lot more media attention this year. But most likely neither are a finalist and shouldn't be at this point obviously. The Leafs good record is mostly from their goal prevention.

This. I think marner so far is the team mvp

 

[Sheppy]

No

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I said Yes because I literally watched him do this EXACT thing last year.

It was about this point that he started his run of 51 goals in 50 games and then people went into denial and said he never did It even though he literally did.

I'm not putting anything past him.

As long as he's healthy he can do it.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

It was about this point that he started his run of 51 goals in 50 games and then people went into denial and said he never did It even though he literally did.

Most people weren't saying he didn't score 51 goals over a 50 game span. People were stating it was not an official 50 in 50 as those feats are in the teams first 50 games, which Matthews goals were not. There are several other players who have also done this, most recently prior to Matthews was Teemu Selanne in the category they put Matthews in.

 

[Peeri]

How could he be finalist when he is not even the best player on the team currently? NHL loves storylines, guys like Jason Robertson or even Karlsson are more likely to be finalists at this point. Then we add the normal favorites like Mcdavid, Mckinnon and CO. No I don't see that happening.

 

[ricky0034]

probably not

but he shouldn't have been last year either to be honest

 

[koyvoo]

If he plays with Marner for the majority of the season, it’s quite possible.

 

[Haatley]

I said Yes because I literally watched him do this EXACT thing last year.

It was about this point that he started his run of 51 goals in 50 games and then people went into denial and said he never did It even though he literally did.

I'm not putting anything past him.

As long as he's healthy he can do it.

He didn't. He scored 50 goals in 60 some odd games.

 

[bobholly39]

Talk about fishing for negatives. I suppose it's amusing his standard is so high were supposed to feel bad about this while HF desperately runs out of ideas for Leaf bashing threads.

Thanks for keeping Leafs as the most talked about team in the league.

How exactly is this a Leafs bashing thread when I'm one of the only people who actually voted yes to the question.

People are underestimating Matthews. He's improved his ppg and gpg in every single season of his career so far, and he did so last year despite a slow start/missed time when it seemed like that streak would certainly end. I think he's going to have a monstrous 2nd half.

I don't think he wins, but I do predict he'll be a finalist.

How could he be finalist when he is not even the best player on the team currently? NHL loves storylines, guys like Jason Robertson or even Karlsson are more likely to be finalists at this point. Then we add the normal favorites like Mcdavid, Mckinnon and CO. No I don't see that happening.

Because it's only been ~20 games? Still 60 games to go. The question is to predict where he'll be at year end, not who would win awards if season ended today.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

He didn't. He scored 50 goals in 60 some odd games.

He did score 51 in a 50 game stretch last season. Just not from the start of the season, It was in the middle games 18 to 67.

50 goals in 50 games - Wikipedia

 

[Filthy Dangles]

probably not

but he shouldn't have been last year either to be honest

That's pretty crazy to say he shouldn't have been a finalist last year. 60 goals, 6th in points, good all-around game for a star scoring fwd, and his peers voted him the best.

 

[The Podium]

probably not

but he shouldn't have been last year either to be honest

When he wins the Hart and Lindsay, it is literally unfathomable to say he shouldn’t have been a finalist

 

[Haatley]

He did score 51 in a 50 game stretch last season. Just not from the start of the season, It was in the middle games 18 to 67.

50 goals in 50 games - Wikipedia

So you posted a link that said the definition is scoring 50 goals in your first 50 games or less.

Then had Auston Matthews on the "unofficial list"

That hardly helps your argument.

 

[The Podium]

So you posted a link that said the definition is scoring 50 goals in your first 50 games or less.

Then had Auston Matthews on the "unofficial list"

That hardly helps your argument.

Do you get a kick out of being difficult?

Even if it’s an unofficial 50 in 50, he was the first to do it in almost 30 years

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

So you posted a link that said the definition is scoring 50 goals in your first 50 games or less.

Then had Auston Matthews on the "unofficial list"

That hardly helps your argument.

You claimed he scored them in 60 some games. I simply stated he scored them in a 50 game span. I also stated in a prior post he did not score an official 50 in 50. You just look foolish.

 

[ottawa]

No, he peaked last year.

Unlikely he goes on another run like that.

 

[TheNumber4]

The fraud Matthews won’t be able to swindle the League for another Hart. That ship has sailed for the good of the legitimacy of the Trophy.

 

[General Fanager]

Marner has a better chance imo.

I voted no