"I'm sitting here thinking, my goodness, would this team be where they are right now without him? What about winning the MVP of the league? That's how good this kid has been."
"Take a step back and say, would the Islanders be where they are today without Schaefer? I don't think they would be."
"The Hart Trophy is awarded to the player most valuable to his team-not necessarily the league's flashiest scorer."
Wayne Gretzky advocated for rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer to be included in Hart Trophy discussions, emphasizing value over individual statistics. While acknowledging elite defensemen like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes excel in Norris Trophy contention, Gretzky argued the Hart Trophy should recognize the player most valuable to his team. Schaefer's impact on the New York Islanders has been transformative, with his skating, puck movement, and composure revolutionizing the team's transition game and stabilizing their defense. Gretzky questioned whether the Islanders would achieve their current success without Schaefer, positioning the rookie's emergence as central to the organization's resurgence and trajectory.
Read at Eyes On Isles
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]