The Daily Faceoff Show: Is Kirill Kaprizov a Hart Trophy candidate?

Kirill Kaprizov had a dominant month of March, leading the NHL in goals in that span with 14, while helping the Minnesota Wild to a 10-4-3 record.

After a summer of intense contract negotiations which resulted in Kaprizov getting a lucrative deal with five years and a $9 million AAV, he certainly gained some doubters who were skeptical about whether he deserved that money this quickly. He’s proved them wrong again this season, as he’s very close to the 40-goal plateau and has already passed 80 points on the year.

On the Daily Faceoff Show, Frank Seravalli and Matt Larkin talk about if they are buying or selling Kaprizov as a Hart trophy candidate.

Matt Larkin: “I am buying. And when I think of why, I go back to a couple conversations I had with scouts the year before he came that still resonate today. One was a scout that was so high on him, saying he’s going to be a ready-made product when he arrives. He has the brain of Brad Marchand, the body and physicality of Vladimir Tarasenko and the hands of Artemi Panarin.

"The other scout was a little bit more bearish, and said he’s going to be great, but is he going to be good enough to make others around him better? And that ties to this Hart conversation. Look at the numbers of Ryan Hartman and Matt Zuccarello this year. Look at the numbers of Victor Rask last year, compared to this year. He’s no longer on the line, and he’s pretty much a castoff. That’s the difference of playing with Kaprizov and not.