Anaheim Ducks Captain Ryan Getzlaf Playing With Hart

The Hart Memorial Trophy, one of the most prestigious awards in hockey given to the player deemed most valuable to his team at seasons end. An award that Wayne Gretzky received nine times, more than any player in history. In each of those nine seasons Gretzky produced at least 50 goals and at least 100 points. Though we will likely never see that kind of ridiculous offensive output again in todays NHL, the Hart trophy has been linked to similar scoring statistics for years. Excluding the shortened lockout season, the last time we saw the winner of the Hart Trophy fail to achieve either 50 goals or 100 points was way back in the 2003-2004 season.

This season has been a bit of an eyebrow raiser when it comes to statistics. No player will get close to 100 points and only one player will likely score 50 goals, Alex Ovechkin. Recent history says give the award to Ovechkin, but why? Why award a player for simply achieving a statistic when he may not be the most valuable player to his team. Nicklas Backstom, Ovechkins teammate, is just five points behind him. Based upon the NHL’s definition of the Hart trophy, no, Alexander Ovechkin has not been the outright most valuable player to his team this season.

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Carey Price is looking to be the first goalie since Jose Theodore in 2001-2002 to win the Hart Trophy. He certainly deserves to be put into the conversation. When looking at the forwards however, it is a unique situation. No player is seemingly running away in the race for the Hart. Goal and point totals will be looked at when the voting ensues like always, but what if there is a player who may get over looked? A player whose team has gone through an incredible amount of injuries as well as gigantic ups and downs. There is one player who has kept his team at the top of the standings throughout the year despite all of this adversity and that player is Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf.

Getzlaf currently stat line is impressive (24 goals 44 assists 68 points) but there is so much more behind his case to win the Hart trophy. Taking a look beyond the basic goal, assist, point production statistics shows his clear value. Getzlaf has been everything to the Ducks this season, specifically in close games. The Ducks have been impressive in one goal games this season piling up 32 one goal victories. In the Ducks 32 one goal victories Getzlaf has produced 30 points, proving to be the man driving the bus during close games. Getzlaf is also tied for the league lead in overtime points with 5. His production when it counts in these tight games is impressive, almost as impressive as his play during the Ducks adversity this season.

The 2014-2015 season has not been kind to the Ducks from an injury standpoint, but Getzlaf has not missed a beat. Since being drafted in 2003 Getzlaf has since been linked to his twin Corey Perry, a former Hart Memorial Trophy winner himself. Getzlaf and Perry have been line mates since the beginning of time, and during Perry’s absence Getzlaf showed his astounding value. Perry missed 15 games this season after a run in with the mumps followed by an injured knee. In those 15 games without Perry, Getzlaf produced 19 points and guided the Ducks to an 8-2-5 record. Getzlafs play kept the Ducks near the top of the western conference throughout Perrys absence. The true value of a player is told through their play during adversity. Adversity called and Getzlaf answered.

Getzlaf is not your typical goal scorer or skill player, he does it all. Of all the big names that have been linked to the Hart trophy this season, (Ovechkin, Crosby, Tavares) Getzlaf will be the only player to break the “triple one hundred mark.” Yes I made that statistic and name up myself. By this I mean Getzlaf will exceed 100 hits, 100 blocked shots, and 100 minutes played on the penalty kill. Not only will Getzlaf be the only one of those three mentioned players (Ovi, Sid, Tavares) to break the “100 mark” in all three of those categories, he will be the only one to even break 100 in two of those categories. All of that while still producing a big point total.

Getzlaf isn’t a role player, he is not a grinder, he is a number one center who just simply does it all. Hits, blocked shots and penalty kill time are not something that every number one center is called on to do. But Ryan Getzlaf is not like other number one centers, he does what it takes to win because he’s valuable.

For those that feel point production statistics should will be the determining factor in the Hart Trophy race, great, lets take a look at some. On the power play the Capitals (1st), Penguins (8th) and Islanders (12th) have all been consistent and impressive throughout the season. This has lead to Alex Ovechkins lethal power play production, scoring 24 of his 52 goals on the man advantage. Sidney Crosby has also destroyed opposing penalty kills producing 31 points on the powerplay, and John Tavares with 29 power play points is right behind Crosby. However, these big point totals on the power play lead to some interesting statistics.

Even Strength Point Totals: Percentage of Points That Have Come At Even Strength:

Getzlaf- 53 1. Getzlaf- 77%
Crosby- 49 2. Crosby- 61%
Tavares- 47 3. Tavares- 61%
Ovechkin- 46 4. Ovechkin- 59%

Getzlaf is part of an un consistent power play in Anaheim. Better yet, Getzlaf is on a team with a horrendous power play. Anaheim currently sits 26th in the league at 16.2% with the man advantage. Getzlaf has not had the luxury of getting some extra points on the power play, he has fought for every single one of his 68 points. Getzlaf, Crosby and Tavares are all inside the top 10 of the league when it comes to assist. However when looking at primary assist leaders it is a telling tale, (a primary assist is awarded to the last player to pass the puck to the goal scorer).

Primary Assists: Percentage of Assists That Have Been Primary Assists:

Getzlaf- 31 1. Getzlaf- 70%
Crosby- 29 2. Tavares- 59%
Tavares- 26 3. Crosby- 53%

Getzlafs league leading 31 primary assist make for an impressive statistic. His percentage of assist that are primary is even more impressive, heres why. Last season Joe Thornton lead the NHL in primary assists but only 55% of big Joe’s assist were primary assists. Getzlaf is at 70%, just let that sink in. Excluding the lockout season in 2012-2013, the last player to have at least 70% of his assists be primary assists was Evgeni Malkin (77%). That happened in the 2011-2012 season, the same season that Evgeni Malkin was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy at seasons end. The primary assist statistic could get over looked, but it clearly has been linked to previous Hart winners.

The word value generally describes something that has great importance or something thats use is hard to replace. Ryan Getzlaf has proven to be an irreplaceable asset. He has been heavily tested this season for the first time in his 10 year career. He has stepped up when it mattered during one goal games. He has answered the call of adversity during the absence of Corey Perry. He has been relied upon in every situation while still producing points. He has been the direct contributor to so many goals producing a primary assist percentage that history shows to be Hart worthy. He has quite simply been the best player on the best team.

If Carey Price is felt to be the reason for Montreal’s success then so be it. But there is no denying the fact that Ryan Getzlaf has had a season that should put his name right into the MVP conversation alongside the other great forwards of the NHL. Some say that numbers never lie, so why shouldn’t all of the numbers such as even strength production or primary assists percentages be looked at for the truth?

Ryan Getzlaf may not win the Hart Memorial Trophy this season and may not even finish runner up as he did a season ago. He will however be deserving of high praise for all that he has done for his team this season. The Hart Memorial Trophy is up for grabs and Ryan Getzlaf has seemingly done everything in his power to reach up and get ahold of it. Whether or not he will be recognized for his play remains to be seen, but it has been one hell of an effort.

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