Why Anže Kopitar should be front-runner for MVP

Kopitar playing in his 12 season (leading scorer in 10) for LA Kings is having his best season yet. He currently has 80 points (29 G 51 A) and has 29 point lead on the second LA kings scorer Drew Doughty (51 P). His most common linemates are Dustin Brown (48 P, third leading scorer) and Alex Iafallo (25 P, undrafted rookie). Their last season leading scorer(Jeff Carter) got injured in the start of this season in which he played only 16 games. Their second line center was most commonly Adrian Kempe (34 P).

He plays second most TOI/GP at 22:00, plays on average 2:14 of PK per game on second best PK in league, second best team in GA, he has 55 even strength points (5. in league, Kings are only 25 in PP/G opportunities), he has 47,7% OFF zone starts, while other Hart candidates are well over 55% (except Giroux 45.5% and Barkov 41.4%). Not only does he leads team by 29 points second best in league (Hall 31P lead), he also plays the role of third defender and is a top contender for Selke trophy. He might not be the most flashy player but he is the kind of player you win games and championships with. Kings are currently third in Pacific, if they qualify for playoffs he should be prime canditate for MVP.

Here is a comparison to other leading Hart trophy candidates :
(point and goal percentages for the top guys in the Hart race)

Malkin 37% 16.8%

Ovechkin 35% 19.4%

MacKinnon 38% 15.2%

Kucherov 35% 13.2%

Kopitar 39% 14%

Hall 36% 14.6%

Giroux 40% 12.5%

Wheeler 33% 7.6%

Barkov 34% 12%

McDavid 44% 16.8%