Sidney Crosby: Is Sid The Kid The NHL’s MVP?

Sidney Crosby. Write it down. Sid the Kid is your NHL MVP for the 2013-2014 NHL season, boys and girls. The only thing that remains between now and Crosby receiving his second Hart Trophy is the time between now and the ceremony in Las Vegas on June 24 – because there certainly isn’t much (if any) question that Sidney deserves it. The obligatory other nominees don’t need to worry about putting together an acceptance speech – and they know it.

Trib Live reports that earlier this week, Canada’s TSN network asked took a straw poll of 16 NHL coaches, just for giggles. The result? As might be expected, 16 out of 16 said that Sidney Crosby is the NHL MVP this year.

Here are just a few of Sid the Kid’s accomplishments this year, the nuts and bolts of why many consider Sidney Crosby the only serious choice for NHL MVP for 2013-2014:

• Sid the Kid is the only player to top 100 points this year – and the only one who’s even going to get close to topping the century mark. With one game yet to play tonight, Crosby has 104 points – 36 goals and 68 assists.
• Sidney will lead the league in assists (68) and finish in the top 10 for goals, barring a truly bizarre final day of the NHL season. He will skate away easily with this year’s Art Ross trophy as the league’s scoring leader.
• Sid the Kid has done all this despite leading a team that has been crippled with injuries this year, including the loss of his long-time right-winger.
• Crosby has been involved in over a third of the Pen’s potent offense (either as the goal scorer or with an assist). Even more significant, Sidney accounts for well over half of Penguins’ league-leading power play goals.
• The longest scoring drought Crosby has had all season long is 2 games – and in an 82 game season, that’s only happened three times.

Sports journalists are at a loss to even offer alternate suggestions to Sidney Crosby for NHL MVP. Newspapers from rival towns in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division, such as the Buffalo News, are giving the nod to Crosby for MVP.

With one more game remaining for the Penguins before the playoffs and the playoff teams already set, the Penguins might decide to sit Sid the Kid out of tonight’s meaningless game against the Ottawa Senators. If they don’t, and if Sidney Crosby has a hot game tonight, he could even add additional (though unnecessary) evidence for his candidacy by cracking the top five goal scorers in the league.