Welcome back to The Rig Roundtable. It’s getting closer to the trade deadline (which we addressed last week), so this time around, I asked the writers to consider their MVP selection. Obviously, everyone is going to pick Connor McDavid, for a multitude of reasons, so I eliminated both he and Cam Talbot from their choices.
We hear from Alex Thomas, Bret Litke and Preston Hodgkinson.
Other than Connor and Talbot, whose performance this year has impressed the most and why?
Alex Thomas
This is a tough one, but I’m going to go with Oscar Klefbom here. The Oilers have been starving for a puck moving defender who can also play top-four minutes and be decent responsible in his own zone. Justin Schultz was a disaster here, while Ryan Whitney never seemed to work out due to injury. After about seven years, Klefbom has finally emerged as that guy.
Bret Litke
I will go with a less obvious answer than some of the options that are available and say Matt Benning.
Preston Hodgkinson
Draisaitl gets my pick!
Lots was made of how he would do without Taylor Hall by his side, and by god has he silenced those critics! The German purebred is on his way to giving the Oilers a ferocious 1-2 punch down the middle and he generates chances every time he’s on he ice!
I thought he would regress a little this year and he proved me wrong!
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