I absolutely agree. 15 points in 4 games is absolutely unreal.

If Kucherov doesn't win the Hart this year, that's the new #1 bullshit.

I was talking about this just the other day. Kucherov does not get talked about enough, even when they were winning the cups

Kuch is very underrated, his back check and defensive game has also been unreal. He just doesnt get talked about that much! Great vid! Keep it up!

I've been saying for years that Kucherov is a top-3 player in the league. Idk what what he has to do to get the recognition he deserves. PUT SOME DAMN RESPECT OF KUCHEROVS NAME!!!

Kucherov's defense by way of controlling the opposing team is severely underrated. His steals/retrievals, his work along the boards, his ability to get the puck moving in the right direction. He's an embodiment of "a good defense is a great offense". Rarely does he even need to be in a defensive position, though if you watch him, he's sneaky good at D-ing up. Come playoffs you'll even see he Can be physical.

When Vasy was out early in the year, he was the only reason we stayed competitive. Dude's on a tear this season

Kucherov is the Carlos Valderrama of hockey. He is magic with the stick. The passes he delivers consistently is unmatched.

A lot of people sleep on Kucherov, even when he is carrying the Lightning on his back. Also, from a Lightning fan, thanks for a positive video on the Lightning.

ive been a kucherov defender since day 1, people do not give him nearly enough credit for keeping the lightning alive. if he was a canadian hed be treated like a god

He’s Russian and he plays in Florida which a lot of NHL media still can’t admit hockey is thriving and legit not only here, but also places like Carolina, Nashville, etc. So much attention gets put onto the Canadian and original six teams/players. Kuch is very much underrated you look at his Hart in 2019 and that was a Lightning team that at the time tied the single season record for wins so he was surrounded by stacked players, but to do it single handed is just something else. No question should AT LEAST be a finalist

As a lightning fan, i feel that he isnt talked about because 1.) Hes Russian 2.) People are tired of Tampa Bay 3.) Most people think he's an asshole. He has the best hockey IQ since Datsyuk imo

kuch is my favourite and HAS been for years. he works so hard despite his nonchalant attitude everywhere else, hes here to play hockey and thats it, and hes damn good at it

Completely agree. I made this argument in a sportsnet poll post citing that he is the most valuable to his team because he has less support than the others and people seemed to think he still plays on a team of all stars. Don't think they got the memo that a lot of those stanley cup team players are gone or old at this point. Without Kucherov, Lightning aren't anywhere near the playoffs. Without McKinnon, Avalanche still probably make it.

Kucherov is leading the next highest point player on the Lighting (Linemate Brayden Point) by 44 points. That's really pretty mindblowing.

Glad that you’re talking about this. That is criminal that he is fourth overall for the MVP race. If he was North American he would be the front runner 100%

If he is not the Hart winner, there is something seriously wrong with the selection process. We all know what a phenom MacKinnon is and nobody will ever say that McDavid is not a first ballot Hall of Famer but Kuch is truly in a league all his own. There has never been a player since Gretzky who has seen the ice the way that he does. He has the points to prove his prowess but I really wanted him to score 60 this year. So many near misses. You go Kuch and know that your biggest fan has his eyes on you.

Kuch is a beast. Period..His on ice vision and anticipation is beyond all those other guys

As an Avs fan, I want Mackinnon to win it. But objectively it's hard to say anyone deserves it more than Kucherov this season. The fact that he's fourth in the odds is absurd.

As a Lightning fan...we've known this for YEARS. Tampa doesn't get the national pub that other teams/players do (shout out to THG who DOES do that). Bolt fans are PERFECTLY content to let those teams have their guys. We'll keep Kuch. Thanks for playing.

I think that you are right is saying that Kuch should get the Hart. Per the NHL website “the Hart Memorial Trophy is presented annually ‘to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.’” I believe that Kuch is more valuable to his team that any other player in the league, as you said, he is dragging this team into the playoffs, whether they like it or not.

If Matthews/McDavid/MacKinnon aren't in the lineup, their team probably still make the playoffs. If Kucherov isn't in the lineup, the Lightning is in the bottom third of the league, well out of the playoffs.

Its because hes Russian and not North American. He has 32 points on Matthews, thats just not comparable. Hes absolutely contributed to more offense than any other player in the league. Defensively a center is going to bring some value a winger wont but Kucherov has carried his team in a way no one else has (or had to). Unless someone beats him in points I think I have him for the Hart. Cant argue against Mackinnon or McDavid getting it but if Kucherov has a significant lead on points by the end, then it should be his.

Thank you for the lightning love I love your hockey content Ek

The Lightning goal......scored by number 86 Nikita Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucherov!

HOW IS HE 4th. Like I know Tampa is hated but come on I hate Toronto but I’ll give matthews and all their studs the respect they deserve. This is criminal

Im with you dude, he's was leading the league in points most of the year, he can score and snap it around. So glad I got a great deal on his Young Guns card before the season started. My son just pulled Bedards YG out of a tin the other night too, lucky 11 yr old kid 😂.

Btw love ur vids keep it up

As an Avs fan, Kuch deserves MVP. He doesn't have the help that Mac and McDavid do. With that being said, I've seen Mac lose out of the Hart vs Taylor Hall because Mac had a lot for help (with Rantanen and Landy) than Hall did on NJ, which was fair, but then two years later Mac again finishes runner up to a guy who played on a line with Connor McDavid. So, yeah, the rationale is inconsistent as hell. In the end, who really cares about individual awards. Both are absolute freaks of nature in their own right.

In terms of carrying, it goes kuch, mcd, panarin

It's because he's Russian, like Crosby is better than Ovechkin, because of Stanley cups, but people forget that Malkin was the reason for at least one of them, but he is Russian, so we dismiss him from the conversation.

Kuch is leading the league in road points by a mile. Mackinnon is 20 points behind him, because MacK gets his points in Denver where there's a huge advantage. And if we want to compare defensive points shares, Kuch isn't far behind Mackinnon, with 2.0 vs 2.7. That's crazy, because Kuch hasn't been known for defense. And another thing to note, he can't get cheap points by winning the faceoff, or giving it to Makar. Kuch has the most primary points in the league. Mackinnon has the most secondary points in the league. The only story that compares to Kuch this year is McDavid bringing his team to the playoffs, but that team is also loaded. The Lightning are nothing without Kuch.

... reminds me of the current headlines about Matthew's being better than ovechkin... distracting from the fact that oveckin (a russian) is chasing down gretzky.

Contributing to 50% of all ur teams goals is absolutely outrageous

Kuch isn't my Hart pick but to put Matthews above him is beyond criminal. A guy who pulls his team vs a guy who scores a lot but honestly does little else and disappears when it matters.

If we're bringing advanced stats into the Hart discussion, it should also be mentioned that he matches Mackinnon and McDavid in points while having a 3M lesser cap hit. That also contributes to team success. Still, I think he won't win the Hart, but he's definitely a guy who's worth every penny of that contract and then some.

Kuch has been the 2nd best player in the NHL for awhile now. Get clued in buddy. Over the last six years his 1.54 ppg is second to only McDavid. His takeaways with 45 is more thsn Macs 32. That is a real stat that measures defensive play. Plus minus really isnt. One of only 7 players in NHL history to have 3 or more 80 plus assist seasons. Only active player to do so. McDavid has two. Is the only player to beat McDavid straight up for a Art Ross. Might be two soon. Has the record for 30 plus playoff points consecutively in the plsyoffs for a cup. The other players are named Wayne and Mario. The NHL press will never give him another hart. Anything russian is avoided in the media now. They already decided.

Get Matthews well off the Hart candidates list. He doesn’t even lead his own team in points and is only like 10th in overall scoring. I know goals look really important and are memorable but I feel like people don’t actually watch the game. Goal scorers tend to just float into scoring areas. Matthews is no different. Kuch, Mack, and McDavid all control the flow of play while Matthews just finds scoring areas and waits for Marner to make a play. Generational goal scorer and not many players can do what he does, but that man is missing playmaking skills and has been reliant on Marner who disappears in the playoffs. It makes sense he’s the only player here who hasn’t gone past the 2nd round.

Same goes for Josi imo. He has been carrying the Preds for years and is probably the best defenseman out there, yet he is hardly discussed. It was insane when he missed out on the Norris trophy a couple years back despite having a 96 point season. Makar is a beast but I mean look at who he is surrounded with as opposed to Josi and the Preds.

Kuch is not talked about because he is Russian and he plays in Tampa. He is having a 2017 McDavid-esque season. Dude is a first ballot HoF.

Asides from not being Canadian or playing on a Canadian team I think Kucherov is overlooked because his best plays are subtle rather than flashy and don’t make highlight reels as often.

As a fan of the Avs and the Bolts, this scoring race is something I couldn't have ever dreamed of

As much as I loathe the Lightning for the same reason that most people loathe VGK, if Kucherov doesn't get the Hart, it's a travesty. He's 44 points ahead of the next highest scorer on his team and has been involved in more than half of his team's total goals. End of story. 100% it should not go to Matthews... he gets the Rocket, but he's not even the top point earner on his team and there are 3 TML in the top-20 in scoring. (edit - probably gets the Byng as well). I'm biased, as I'm an Oilers fan, and absolutely McDavid should be considered as when he was injured early in the season and not playing well, they sucked. McD has been playing to his usual level since November and (no surprises) the Oilers have been (one of?) the top team in the league since. That said, finalist, yes. Winner, no. He is the best player, though. McKinnon shouldn't get it because an argument can easily be made that Makar could also be a candidate. Makar's guaranteed a finalist for the Norris, so there's also that. The only player that should even be considered a secondary option is Pastrnak for essentially the same reasons as Kucherov, but with lower stats.

Kucherov is the best player this season, absolutely unreal

I think team success is (or should be) part of the equation. If they can't make the playoffs even with Kucherov's contributions, his impact is less substantial than if they _do_ squeak in because of him. If they hold their spot, I'm okay with him getting MVP, but I think I'd take issue with it if he got it over McDavid or MacKinnon while his team doesn't even make the post-season. I guess that's my own intangible that I factor in.

MVP should be McDavid every year honestly

Habs fan here, Kuch is the league MVP, no doubt about that.

Definitly underrated. McDavid is the greatest player of all time, but it’s not his season. MacKinnon is the second best in the league but kucherov is still keeping up (not even; he’s leading). Not a lighting fan, but he’s the real deal.

Kuch deserves it much more than Matthews. Matthews may have a lot of goals but he’s not even first on points on the team.

You talked about Mackinnon for defense which makes sense, but look at Matthew’s stats on defense

Agree. Without Kucherov the Lightning wouldn’t be in

Show the respect to the best russian player in the league like they were in the Red Wings cup runs

the fact people are still voting matthews is a joke lol people don’t know what the hart is. he’s also russian which and just straight up means he’s not going to win it but of all the players it should only be between nate and kuch those 2 have been just outstanding. Mcjesus can still win it if he catches them and hits 100 assists

Kuch doesnt want the MVP.. he wants to score goals win cups and crush bud lights

Kuch only doesnt get talked about just because his name was tainted by the whole LTIR playoffs situation as he was pretty much the first notable player to be under scrutiny of it.

The only real argument I would make for Mac over Kuch is simply that Kuch win it 5 years ago. Mac is definitely due, but barring that, Kuch has been absolutely lights out and I’d definitely underdiscussed. Might be the best playmaker in the league

The only person I can say that wills their team to win more would be Larkin. But since Larkin doesn’t have the points to match, Kuch might just win MVP

Yeah it should be just the best player that season. Who has the most effect on the game? Can't really comment who is in what place as I don't follow enough to really say anything.

In terms of most valuable, McDavid and MacKinnon are more impactful, due to them not playing makes their teams go from division winners to borderline wild card teams. Kucherov is fantastic, and you might be in the right that he should be in consideration for the Ted Lindsay award, but too many other players are probably ignoring his contributions.

Since he won the hart back in 2019 he has been a top 3 player in the league, extremely underrated because he is a russian

He probably gets 100 assists too but no one is talking about it

Its his awful ego imo. He is primadona multiple incidents out there where he behaved like complete prick because he doesnt know how to handle his nerves. I would say thats it. Edit: Just to clarify his play is insanely good I always liked him as a player in that regard but he is hothead and he is not a little boy, he should have that under control already.

He or McDavid are the Heart choice. It's silly to think otherwise

I have him top 5 in the league rn lol

Dont have a high opinion of him after all stars

Given the depth of C this year in particular, he’s certainly worthy of it on fantasy rosters.

Agree!!!! Go Bolts

panarin honrable mention

Word. Everones talking about McDavid getting 100 pples or not - for a reason of course But Kuch is also in that race cmon

When it comes to award betting and Hart conversations, the Matthews/Leafs glazing is exasperbated.

1:49 🍼👶🏻

It’s actually 56%

Please talk about the preds

it's crosby and ovechkin all over again. No matter how great Kuch performs, there will always be millions of people saying, nate or connor are better because x, y, z. Canadian's have rose tinted glasses just like everyone else. Hell I'm american, and while I hate the maple leafs as a team, I'm quietly cheering on Matthews as he continues to prove he's the most elite goalscorer ever... mostly because he's american lol

The Hart is not for the best all around player, it's for the player most valuable to his team. Big difference.

145 points

I can't stand Kucherov, Hope he never wins a trophy again. I don't want him to get injured or anything like that.

He’s not my favourite player(because I’m a defensman) but he is definitely my favourite forward

Kucherov is MVP

Kuch said it best after the cup (for Vasy but), #1 BS

That’s kuch

I challenge anyone to go back to the 2011 Draft class and not put him #1. 58th overall looks laughable now. Even Yzerman passed on him once taking Namestnikov before Kucherov.

kuuchyy dadddyyyy

0:20 ayo wtf Mathews doesn’t belong in that conversation 🤣 toronto fans have to ruin everything papi over davo and kuch is CRAZY!

"This" bait

Hart Trophy is not for league MVP. Stop spreading wrong info.

Put it this way. Tampa misses playoffs then he wins. If not then MacKinnon wins he's had longer point streaks and the avs are almost too of the league and also, kucherov does get talked about alot like the past five years or so. It's honestly redundant at this point. Yes he's a good player whatever nobody likes a show off, right?

He's underrated because people dont like him, i get he doesnt have to appeal to the public to be good, but him being a dick at the allstar games and generally an unlikeable character in the media means you arent going to get fan support which means you get less attention.

This year is absurd. MacKinnon is playing unreal hockey, Kucherov is just disgustingly good this year and McDavid is McDavid. While MacKinnon is nigh unstoppable this year he's also on an incredibly good team. i'd overall give kuch a little edge over MacKinnon. McDavid probably takes it (who am i gonna kid). Kuch is who deserves it in my opinion, as very much the opposite of a lightning fan. He is dragging this lightning team into the playoffs whether they want in or not. (shoutouts to point and stammer going strong alongside him)

I would say that Matthews is at least somewhat carrying the Leafs, but not to the degree that Kuch is carrying the Lightning.

Point percentage of their team and players carrying their team will naturally overcompensate towards players on worse teams. I honestly think it could be any of the 4 and the people deciding will get a lot of hate no matter who they go with.

Kuch is the best player of NHL in my view. Better than McDavid and MajcKinnon . Those guys are just well-oiled machines doing known stuff extremely well. Kuch is an artist. He creates new plays, new tricks etc. That's much more cool and valuable.

I'd argue that Edmonton as a worst roster overall though. And I think Kucherov is not considered because he doesn't come out as that much of a good person. Great hockey player though

Kucherov is underrated big time but mcdavid carries any team he on more by far its not even close. He generates scoring chances single handedly every shift almost and about to make Hymen a 50 goal scorer. I'm srry but kucherov could never accomplish this. Nobody could except Gretzky and lemieux imo

I use to like Kuch until his ego blew up and began taking cheap shots behind the play, and whine to the regs constantly.

preds yet??

Kuch is part of another interesting stat. in 5v5 no other person in the entire NHL has been on the ice for as many goals against as kuch. just saying...

If Nate loses the hart to Kuch, I wouldn't be able to argue against it 😂

hes disrespected because he acts like a douchebag during interviews and in front of fans, but maybe i’m biased because i’m a habs fan and i cant get over that interview he did after the he won the cup in 2021

best passer in nhl history