The case for and against every player in the Hart Trophy race

As the 2021-22 NHL regular season winds to a close, it's time for the intensity to rachet up into high gear. No, I'm not talking about the playoffs; I'm talking about awards arguments.

Sure they've been simmering all year long, but now that we have nearly fully-formed samples to reflect on, it's time for the knives to really come out.

The Hart Trophy race, which will decide the league's Most Valuable Player, is particularly interesting this year. Admittedly, after last year's unanimous victory for Connor McDavid, the fact that there's any competition whatsoever is interesting. But in my professional capacity as hockey-writer-to-be-yelled-at, I have heard compelling or at least spirited cases for far more players than usual this time around.

With that in mind, why not throw it back to my brief tenure as a mediocre middle school debater and make both sides of the argument for the six primary candidates?