The title says my opening lines, pretty much.
Practically Guarunteed:
1. Patrice Bergeron
2. Ryan Getzlaf
Very Likely:
3. Shea Weber
4. Marc-Andre Fleury
Fairly Good Chance:
5. Corey Perry
6. Eric Staal
Lower Chance:
7. Brent Burns
8. Ryan Suter
9. Zach Parise
10. Corey Crawford
Not Likely:
11. Thomas Vanek
12. Jeff Carter
13. Joe Pavelski
Fluke (Just for lols):
14. Ryan Kesler
15. Jaroslav Halak
16. Dion Phaneuf (lols FTW)
-BlueBull
The only ones I would entertain would be the top 7. Crawford seemed to be a decent candidate for it at one point, but even then he was going to have to be a goalie that got in for winning a lot.
Bergeron is all but a lock I think. He is more than a Carbonneau/Lehtinen/Peca type. For starters he was better offensively than either of them and secondly is likely to be the all-time winner in Selkes. Plus his playoff record is pretty good and he's been a staple on Team Canada. He's in.
Getzlaf ought to be in as well. He's had some good years where he peaked for the Hart: 2, 6, 7th. Plus what will put him over the top is his playoff record, it is great. He's had some great runs but his team has fallen short. Still has the Cup, also was a regular on Team Canada.
So those two.........definitely. You think of them among the best centres of their era don't you?
After that we'll see but I like Weber's chances. Can you keep a defenseman out who has 4 First or Second all-stars and finished for the Norris 5 times in the top 4? Plus some other good years outside of that. How can you? It isn't as if Weber even had a bad year in Montreal before he got hurt. He just ran into some terrible luck. He's on a mediocre team his whole career, his team made a trade to a dysfunctional organization with no hope and the team he bled for over a decade for started getting good. I hope we haven't forgotten that quickly how he can do in a full season. His last full season - a year ago - he finished 6th in Norris. If people don't think Weber is a HHOFer, then they have a serious case of "What have you done for me lately". How about two gold medals in the Olympics where he was without a doubt their best defenseman combined?
Perry, no. Just not enough and he's declining. Nice Hart year in 2011 but if you have to thank David Steckel for it (Crosby injury) it tells me you would have never won it in the first place. Granted, it was a great season, but he only has one other elite year. It isn't enough.
Staal, no. First 5 years in the NHL, yeah it looks like it. But he's had some prime years where he had every opportunity to do something and didn't. Floated around in Carolina for too long and was far too removed from the elite for too long as well. You might say he has those two nice playoff runs in 2006 with a Cup and in 2009. Sure, but since then? 15 games and 3 points. Nice little boost in Minnesota now, but it's too late. He's not going to start getting Hart noms at his age.
Fleury is the biggest wild card. For starters, he has three Cups. On second thought the two negatives for him are that he didn't have dominant regular seasons. Vezina finishes that were 7th and 8th. That's it. Not to mention some awful postseasons after 2009. Obviously in the last few years he's redeemed himself. Was extremely important last spring for Pittsburgh, even if Murray was too. Played most of the 2016 but Murray carried them in the postseason. Still, he played 58 games that year. Now seeing what he has done with Vegas you realize just how good he can be when he is "the guy". He was very popular and likeable in Pittsburgh and the #1 goalie for a long time but was never "the guy" in Pittsburgh with Crosby and Malkin but you are now seeing that he almost thrives better when he is relied upon more. I say his story is far from being written.