Mackinnon had a great season, there's no denying it.
He didn't win the Art Ross.
He didn't win the Rocket.
He isn't nominated for Selke.
He didn't break a 30 year old scoring mark,
He didn't break a 30 year old assist mark.
All of those things happened, and Mackinnon was involved in none of them.
What also happened, is something that has literally never happened before, and the closest instance of it, is from 30 and 40 years ago.
People look at the numbers in a pure vacuum and ignore all context.
Colorado was 3rd in the league in power play time this past season and 2nd in power play opportunities.
Tampa Bay was 23rd in power play time, 16th in power play opportunities.
Edmonton was 31st in power play time, and 19th in power play opportunities.
Toronto was 26th in power play time, and 25th in power play opportunities.
Mackinnon led the league in pp time on ice this year, followed by Rantanen. Makar was 8th.
Kucherov was 4th in the league in pp time on ice.
Matthews was 37th in the league in terms of pp time on ice.
McDavid missed a few games, and ended up 51st in pp time on ice.
In terms of Colorado, their top 3 point producers were on the ice together as often as possible:
Mackinnon with 140 points
Rantanen with 104 points
Makar with 90 points
2/3 of the first line and their #1 defenseman.
In terms of Tampa Bay, they had 5 players above 75 points this year, Kucherov played with the other 4 all year long.
Kucherov with 144 points
Point with 90 points
Stamkos with 81 points
Hedman with 76 points
Hagel with 75 points
In terms of Edmonton, 4 players reached the 75 point mark, with McDavid playing with 2 or 3 of them routinely (depending on the usage of Draisaitl)
McDavid with 132 points
Draisaitl with 106 points
Bouchard with 82 points
Hyman with 77 points
In terms of Toronto, 3 players surpassed the 75 point mark. Matthews played with the 2 of them on the power play, and with one of them for half the season.
Matthews with 107 points
Nylander with 98 points
Marner with 85 points
Matthews played the last 30 games of the season with Domi (47 points) and Bertuzzi (43 points).
Not exactly a point-rich environment in Toronto based on the player usage.
The best offensive defenseman in Toronto - Rielly with 58 points.
Of the 4 players who were in consideration for the Hart Trophy, Matthews had the most unique argument, and by miles the least amount of help from the rest of the team or the officials for that matter.