The NHL has a tight race for the scoring title. Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals and Connor McDavid of the Oilers are tied with 47 points each, while McDavid's teammate Leon Draisaitl is one point behind. He is eight points ahead of Nazeem Kadri, who is in fourth place.
But while Ovechkin leads in my MVP Chase, McDavid and Draisaitl aren't even in the top ten. There's a good reason for that. The Oilers are 17-11 and 15th in the overall league standings. The Capitals are first. For the MVP Chase, it's not how much you score, it's if you score (or have a positive +/-) in victories and overtime losses. Good stats are helpful only if they help in the standings.
The MVP Chase isn't about who deserves to be an All-Star, or who's building a Hall of Fame career. Contributing to team success is the biggest factor.
Here are the MVP Chase standings for the NHL followed by the NBA.
UPDATED THROUGH DECEMBER 17, 2021
NHL: An MVP point is earned in the NHL for a player when a) his team wins the game or loses in overtime, and b) he has a +/- of at least one OR he scores at least one point and has a +/- of at least zero.
22 MVP Points
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, 22 MVP Points
19 MVP Points
Elias Lindholm, Flames, 19
Steve Stamkos, Lightning, 19
18 MVP Points
Adam Fox, Rangers, 18
Johnny Gaudreau, Flames 18
Victor Hedman, Lightning, 18
Jonathan Huberdreau, Panthers, 18
17 MVP Points
Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, 17
Aaron Ekblad, Panthers, 17
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Capitals, 17
NBA: An MVP Point in the NBA is earned for a player when a) his team wins the game, b) his minutes played plus +/- equals 32 or more.
22 MVP Points
Mikal Bridges, Suns
Steph Curry, Warriors
20 MVP Points
Kevin Durant, Nets
Chris Paul, Suns
Andrew Wiggins, Warriors EDIT 12/26/20: Wiggins appears in error. As of 12/26/20, Wiggins has 19 MVP points.
17 MVP Points
Giannis Antetokeounmpo, Bucks
Desmond Bane, Grizzlies EDIT 12/26/20: Bane appears in error. AS of 12/26/20, Bane has 16 MVP points.
Rudy Gobert, Jazz
James Harden, Nets
Kyle Lowry, Heat
Donovan Mitchell, Jazz
Jordan Poole, Warriors
James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you find value in his articles, subscribe and exchange value for value. You may contact him for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com.
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