Trophy Tracker: McDavid, Draisaitl, Robertson leaders for Hart as MVP

To mark the halfway point of the 2022-23 regular season, NHL.com is running its third installment of the Trophy Tracker series. Today, we look at the race for the Hart Trophy, given annually to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team as selected in a poll by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

There are two important questions to ask when debating Connor McDavid as the favorite for the Hart Trophy awardec to the most valuable player in the NHL this season.
* How can a player be in contention for the Hart Trophy if his team is only on the bubble for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, like the Edmonton Oilers?
* Where would the Oilers be in the standings if not for McDavid?
The answer to both can be combined into one.
The Oilers are on the playoff bubble, fifth in the Pacific Division, because they have McDavid and he's having the best season of his eight-year NHL career. Without him, they'd probably be thinking more about the potential to get the other Connor, last name Bedard, a forward playing for Regina in the Western Hockey League and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Edmonton won't come close to landing Bedard or the No. 1 pick if its current Connor keeps doing what he's doing. It may be the best we've seen from McDavid, who is already a two-time Hart winner and four-time Art Ross Trophy recipient awarded to the skater who leads the NHL in points at the end of the regular season.

McDavid is the midseason favorite to win the Hart, according to a panel of 14 NHL.com writers, with 61 voting points (11 first-place votes). He was also first in a first-quarter poll in late November, when he received 67 voting points (12 first-place votes). He again leads the NHL in scoring with 82 points (37 goals, 45 assists) in 44 games. Next closest is Leon Draisaitl, his teammate, with 66 (24 goals, 42 assists) in 42 games.
Suffice it to say, the scoring race is not going to be close if McDavid stays at his pace.
Speaking of which, he's on pace for 153 points. No player in the NHL has had that many in one season since Mario Lemieux scored 161 in 70 games in 1995-96.
But McDavid could also win his first Rocket Richard Trophy as the leading goal-scorer in the regular season. His 37 goals are the most by anyone this season, five more than Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak.
Best yet about McDavid, his scoring is impactful. He has 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in Edmonton's 23 wins. That's 2.57 points per win. He has factored in on 50.8 percent of the 116 goals the Oilers have scored in their victories.
McDavid has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in the Oilers' 21 losses, including overtime and shootout, during which Edmonton has scored 44 goals, so again McDavid has factored into 52.2 percent of its goals in the games it lost.
The fact that the Oilers are on the bubble is not McDavid's fault. They're on the bubble instead because of him.
There's more.
McDavid has scored at least one goal in 29 games, with Edmonton going 18-10-1. He has only gone without a goal in 15 games this season and the Oilers are 5-8-2.
McDavid's value to the Oilers is clear, that much doesn't even have to be argued in the debate for the Hart Trophy.
But the stats show what makes a most valuable player to his team.
With McDavid, the Oilers are hanging in and have a chance to be a playoff team this season, the captain leading the charge and dominating along the way.
Without him, and it doesn't even look like they'd be close.
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis):Connor McDavid, Oilers, 61 points (11 first-place votes); Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, 36 (1); Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, 30; Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, 26 (2); Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, 8; David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, 7; Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche, 6; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 6; Mitchell Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, 6; Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, 5; Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, 5; Linus Ullmark, Bruins, 4; Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks, 4; Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, 1