NHL icon Wayne Gretzky said Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer should be in the conversation for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player to their team. Adam Proteau agrees he should be discussed, although there are better contenders.
By any metric, New York Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer has had a terrific first NHL season.
The 18-year-old currently sits second on the Islanders with 47 points in 65 games, and he leads the team in time-on-ice, with an average of 24:18. He's also tied among all NHL defensemen in goal-scoring, with 20 goals, and he leads his team in game-winning goals, with four.
Schaefer is arguably the Isles' most valuable player this season as they sit third in the Metropolitan Division. But is he in the conversation for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable regular-season player?
The greatest player of all-time certainly thinks so.
TNT analyst and Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky spoke out Tuesday night in praise of Schaefer – specifically saying that Schaefer should be in the mix for this year's Hart.
"I'm sitting here thinking, my goodness…would this team be where they are right now without him?" Gretzky said. "What about winning the MVP of the league? That's how good this kid has been. I'm not saying he's going to win it, (but) I'm saying that's the talk he should be in."
We have to agree with The Great One when it comes to Schaefer.
There's a reason why the Isles took Schaefer first overall last summer, despite him playing 26 games across all competitions in his draft year.
Schaefer has the sky-high panic threshold and the elite vision for the game that few players of any age possess. And he's just getting started in terms of putting his stamp on the sport.
Schaefer's In The Hart Trophy Conversation, But Should He Win It?
That said, if voting happened today for the Hart Trophy, we wouldn't be choosing Schaefer as our pick for the award.
There are many Grade-A competitors in the running for the Hart this season. We'd choose three players well before we'd choose Schaefer.
For starters, Colorado Avalanche superstar center Nathan MacKinnon has been the most dynamic player on the NHL's best team this year, so he'd be our first choice as the Hart winner.
Close behind him is San Jose Sharks star center Macklin Celebrini, who has raised his game in a major way in his sophomore season.
Finally, there's Tampa Bay Lightning star right winger Nikita Kucherov, who is having another dominant season on a Bolts team that is the best in the Eastern Conference. Any one of those three deserves to win the Hart before Schaefer does.
That said, the Islanders have a bona fide difference-maker in Schaefer who plays a position that's in extremely high demand in hockey's top league.
Finding a true No. 1 defenseman like Schaefer has greatly helped the Isles have a strong bounce-back year after a subpar performance last season. And with due respect to star right winger Mathew Barzal and center Bo Horvat, Schaefer is clearly the key piece of the competitive puzzle on Long Island.
Gretzky is right in his judgment of Schaefer – namely, that, without him, the Islanders would probably be struggling to make the playoffs this season.
And what Gretzky said is a heck of a compliment for Schaefer's potential in the short-and long-term. Schaefer looks like an all-world player, so while he almost certainly won't win the Hart this season, he should earn his way into the conversation for years to come.
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