Dallas Stars Captain Jamie Benn continues to receive accolades for the masterful season he had this year. On the heels of being named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay award yesterday, one voted on by the players, Benn was named a finalist for the Hart Trophy today.
The Hart Trophy is basically an MVP award voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. This means that Benn is recognized by both his peers and the media as one of the best in the league this season.
Stars fans knew already that Benn was the MVP of this team. He plays in all situations, and when the team needs a spark, it often comes from Benn’s stick. He’s arguably one of the best power forwards in the league, playing a high skill, high speed, tough-nosed game.
You know you’re doing something right when one of the premiere defensemen in the league dreads playing against you.
My teammate Drew Doughty is one of the best defensemen in the world, so I’ll take his word above anyone when it comes to players, and he’s always saying how tough it is to play against Benn. He can do everything at a high level, but I think he also buys a lot of space for himself on the ice because he’s tough as nails. Benn will hit you. He will fight you. He’s not afraid of anyone. Sometimes the game plan against star players is to rough them up and see if they can take it. With Benn, forget it. — Jonathan Quick, The Player’s Tribune
Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, who led the league in scoring, and Pittsburgh Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby are the other two finalists.
Kane was a big part of the success of the Hawks this season and led them to a third seed i the Central division. In his career season, he became the first American to win the scoring title (Art Ross trophy) with 46 goals and 106 points.
Crosby struggled offensively to begin the season, as did his team — so much so, they got their coach fired. Since the coaching change, Crosby rediscovered his game and the Pens, inspired by their captain, went on a great run to force their way up the standings to a second seed in the Metropolitan after being out of the conversation for a good chunk of the beginning of the season.