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The NHL awards the Hart Trophy to the player in the league who is "judged to be the most valuable to his team."

As rookies may not necessarily provide any "MVP" status in their first couple years in the league, it would be a stretch to see them winning the trophy. If this did happen, however, it would duplicate what Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby did in 2008 and 2007, respectively.

Fans may dispute the choice of Jonathan Huberdeau as a future Hart Trophy winner (given how bad the Florida Panthers are now). But the fact remains that previous Hart Trophy winners like Sidney Crosby saved the Penguins from perennial last-place finishes.

As Huberdeau's Panthers will continue to get better (as there is no way to go other than up from their last overall finish), he will eventually end up leading the team back into the playoffs.

His 31 points in 48 games truly seem to be just a fraction of what he can do for the Panthers. While it may take a while for the Panthers to regain relevance, the five-year window imposed by this article allows Huberdeau to wait a little bit longer until his team can regain some dignity.

Players like John Tavares were in the Hart discussion this past season, and he is only 22 years old. Expect great things from Huberdeau.