Nick Kypreos Stuns Fans And Names Unlikely Leafs Candidate For The Art Ross Trophy
Nick Kypreos has highlighted one member of the Toronto Maple Leafs who's play warrants discussion as someone who deserves the Art Ross trophy.
Sportsnet hockey analyst Nick Kypreos says that he believes the defense of Mitch Marner could be holding back his Art Ross potential.
He believes Marner has the potential to be the NHL points leader, but his defensive efficiency holds back that potential as he is willing to give equal focus at both ends of the ice.
Kypreos argues in his newest article forthe Toronto Star, which breaks down his case.
At this point, the value he brings to the Leafs on the defensive end is the only thing holding him back from having a legitimate shot at winning an Art Ross Trophy.» - Nick Kypreos
Marner has 10 goals, 28 assists, & 38 points in 28 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
Is Mitch Marner Likely To Win An Art Ross Or Selke?
As a Selke candidate, Mitch Marner faces the uphill task of the award usually favoring centers over wingers. The last time a winger won the Selke was Jere Lehtinen in 2003 with Dallas.
Marner has already been named a finalist in the past, already a feat for a winger just to be nominated.
Along with Mark Stone, the two have been at the forefront for defensively able wingers in the league.
It'll be hard to top some strong candidates for the Selke this season, including who looks to be the frontrunner early on in Nico Hischier, who has had a strong defensive season with the New Jersey Devils along with 15 goals this season.
Aleksander Barkov, who won the Selke last season, has 29 points in 21 games this year for the Florida Panthers and is always a perennial frontrunner for the award.
For the Art Ross Trophy, Marner is only nine points back of Nathan MacKinnon for first, and with the pace he's been on could be closing in on Colorado's superstar rapidly.
The return of Auston Matthews should help Marner's offense if Matthews is at 100%, but he's in a tough bit of competition, yet is still in the hunt for the league points leader.
There's a case for Marner's Selke candidacy even if he doesn't appear to be the leading candidate though the Art Ross seems a bit more in the distance especially with the amount of elite players alongside Marner in the league.
No player has ever won both the Selke Trophy and the Art Ross. Only two players, Bryan Trottier and Peter Forsberg, have won the Art Ross and have also been nominated for the Selke.
The closest a Selke winner has come to winning the Art Ross is Sergei Fedorov in 1993-94, his 120 points coming 10 points back of Wayne Gretzky for the league lead in points with 130.
Fedorov won the Hart and Selke that season, the first and only time a player won both in the same season.
Bobby Clarke was the only other player to win both awards, although nonconsecutively, winning the Hart in 1973, 1975, and 1976, and later winning the Selke in 1983.
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