Why MacKinnon should be considered a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate

Nathan MacKinnon is emerging as one of the NHL's most valuable players.

Here's a quick look at why he should be included in the conversation for the Hart Trophy at this point in the season:

The numbers

The Colorado Avalanche center scored his 20th goal of the season Monday against Anaheim, a second-period tally that served as the game-winner - his sixth of the season to date. His 34 assists boost his point total to 54, good for a share of second in the NHL.

Player	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Nikita Kucherov	44	27	33	60
Johnny Gaudreau	45	15	39	54
Claude Giroux	43	14	40	54
Nathan MacKinnon	43	20	34	54

These numbers put MacKinnon well on pace to break his previous career highs of 24 goals and 39 assists set as a rookie back in 2013-14.

On top of that, 46 of MacKinnon's 54 points are primary in nature, meaning either a goal or the first assist. Monday's goal pulled him level with Kucherov for tops in the NHL, per Corsica.

His six game-winners also slot him second in that category, one behind both Calgary's Sean Monahan and Tampa Bay's Brayden Point.

And while it's not outside the realm of normalcy for a No. 1 overall draft pick to score big goals and average a point per game or better, what makes MacKinnon's performance to date so noteworthy is the context.

The background

For starters, let's not forget Colorado is coming off a historically awful season, finishing 2016-17 with the lowest point percentage in the shootout era. But following Monday's win over the Ducks, the Avalanche - who sit two points out of a wild-card spot - now boast a record of 24-16-3, earning more wins and points through 43 games this season than all of last.

Related: Avalanche push win streak to 7 games

Leading that charge, of course, is MacKinnon, whose 54 points put him 13 ahead of Mikko Rantanen and 21 ahead of captain Gabriel Landeskog, the next most productive players on the roster.

All this after MacKinnon was thrust further into the spotlight following the departure of Matt Duchene, who ranked third behind MacKinnon and Landeskog in total points over the past five seasons - including the beginning of the current campaign.

With no immediate help brought in through the Duchene trade, MacKinnon is now quite literally the offensive driver in Colorado, and is putting up career numbers while drawing increased attention from the opposition's top defensemen.

The caveat

There's plenty of season to go, and there's certainly no shortage of worthy candidates, beginning with Nikita Kucherov, who could very well end up with both the Art Ross and Maurice Richards trophies. Right now, he's the clear-cut favorite.

And even with usual suspects Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid lagging in the scoring race, there's fresh faces like Johnny Gaudreau, Phil Kessel, and Blake Wheeler to contend with, among others.

But if MacKinnon remains near the top of the scoring leader board and the Avs can go from worst team in over a decade to the postseason, then he'll be as worthy as anyone in being judged as most valuable to his team.

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