As the NHL season reaches its midway point, the MVP conversation continues to evolve. A lot has changed across the league, from surprising team struggles to eye-catching individual performances, and the race for the Hart Trophy is far from settled.
Now, an NHL insider has added an unexpected, and bold, new name to the mix alongside established superstars like Nathan MacKinnon.
NHL MVP Race Heats Up After Insider’s Bold Take
At the moment, familiar faces remain at the top of the MVP discussion. Connor McDavid leads the league with 69 points, while Nathan MacKinnon sits close behind with 66. But ESPN insider Greg Wyshynski believes the conversation shouldn’t stop there.
Wyshynski recently argued that San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini deserves real MVP consideration, despite playing on a rebuilding team. “Look, I know we all have our criteria for what ‘value’ means in the NHL MVP race,” Wyshynski wrote. “But what Macklin’s doing is absolutely absurd within the context of his team.”
To support his argument, Wyshynski pointed to the numbers that show just how dominant Celebrini has been. The 19-year-old leads the Sharks with 21 goals and 39 assists for 60 points in 39 games, creating a massive 31-point gap over the team’s next-highest scorer, Will Smith, and underscoring how much of the offense runs through him.
Celebrini delivered another standout showing Monday night. He posted a goal and two assists in a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. It was already his 10th three-point game of the season. His production has fueled debate among fans, with some wondering if a player on a rebuilding team can realistically be considered for MVP honors.
One fan pushed back on Wyshynski’s argument, referencing Connor McDavid’s 2018 season with Edmonton. “McDavid had the most even-strength points in over two decades that year, and his gap over his next teammate in that sense was 29 to Hall’s 9. Not that this matters, though, since the argument at the time was “you can’t win the Hart if you miss the playoffs.”
Wyshynski responded by saying, “Taylor Hall had a wider gap (41 points) between his second-place scorer than McDavid (38 points) did that season. Airtight logic, infallible voting,” highlighting how subjective MVP voting can be.
What makes Celebrini’s season even more remarkable is the historical context. The Sharks’ 19-year-old phenom now has a real shot at chasing a Wayne Gretzky record, as Gretzky reached 100 points in 61 games as a teenager, ahead of Sidney Crosby (65) and Mario Lemieux (73). Whether he wins MVP or not, Celebrini is now firmly in the conversation.
