https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/747154 ... l-share-ta
2019-20 Blues
Record: One year after winning the Cup, the Blues went 42-19-10 in the COVID-shortened season, good for a 108-point pace over a full season and the second best mark in the league.
Playoffs: They were part of that weird round robin thing in the bubble playoffs, then lost to the Canucks in round one.
Why’d they get shut out? First things first — while the Cup-winning 2019 team was one of our nominations for best team without a Hall of Famer, they don’t qualify for this list because Ryan O’Reilly and Jordan Binnington both got some Hart votes. But not this year, as the entire team is shut out despite being the reigning champs.
Who got snubbed?: The best candidate is Alex Pietrangelo, who leads the team in average ice time by over a minute and finishes fourth in Norris voting. It was one of eight times in his career that he got Norris votes, but he never showed up on a single Hart ballot.
2021-22 Bruins, Hurricanes and Blues
Record: All three teams finished in the top ten, with the Hurricanes leading the way at 116 points, the Blues getting to 109 and the Bruins having 107.
Playoffs: The Hurricanes beat the Bruins in round one in another no-Hart matchup. Then they went out in the second round, as did the Blues.
Why’d they get shut out? A relatively low total of 14 players got Hart votes this year. Beyond that, this is apparently another group of teams where the total is more than the sum of the parts.
Who got snubbed? Vladimir Tarasenko, Sebastian Aho, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak all finished with better than a point-per-game. Frederik Andersen finished fourth in Vezina voting, and Patrice Bergeron ran away with the Selke as always, but none of it is enough to get the attention of voters who are focused on the Connor McDavid vs. Auston Matthews debate back when that was a thing.