Does Golden Knights' Jack Eichel Have A Case To Be An Early Hart Trophy Favourite

Vegas Golden Knights centre Jack Eichel is off to an electric start and has put himself in conversations about possible Hart Trophy winners.

With eight goals and 34 points in 22 games, Eichel has silenced all critics who claimed the Golden Knights lost too much offensive production to be amongst the league's best. The 27-year-old is on pace for 30 goals, 97 assists and 127 points. Eichel has done all this offensive damage after losing Jonathan Marchessault in the offseason and missing William Karlsson and Mark Stone for parts of the season.

Currently, Eichel is tied with Kirill Kaprizov for second place in the NHL amongst point leaders, trailing Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon who have 35. MacKinnon was the winner of the Hart Trophy last year after he finished the season with 51 goals and 140 points. Through the first quarter of the season, he and Kaprizov have been the two most mentioned names when discussing Hart Trophy favourites.

Recent offensive surges by Eichel and Necas have entered their names in these conversations. Despite these four players leading the league in points, other players are keeping themselves in contention. Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov are always forces to be reckoned with. Kucherov has brought himself back in the Art Ross race after winning it last season and McDavid can shift gears at any moment and tear it up offensively.

Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews has missed quite some time with an upper-body injury and could be out of the Hart Trophy race, but when he gets hot, he can score goals like very few have in the history of the game. His dominance and both ends of the ice will always garner attention in Hart Trophy talk.

The race for the NHL's MVP is tight this season with no one separating themselves from the pack quite yet. Eichel has the offensive pedigree to keep his name in the race but what should be considered that is often overlooked is defensive impact and Eichel is among the league's best defensive forwards.

If Eichel can continue to be a dominant figure in all three zones of the ice and keep the point totals up, he can easily come away with his first Hart Trophy.

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