EA has announced their TOTY candidates for NHL 24, the year's most significant event. Three forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie will be the best of the best, and they will have some of the most coveted cards released for the upcoming event. These cards usually require careful resource planning and continue to upgrade automatically to match the best card of that player, so it is genuinely an end-game card for most dedicated NHL players. Here are the nominees and my predictions that you can disagree with. Remember that these are not based on this season but on their performance during the 2023 calendar year.
Forwards: David Pastrnak, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon
You may think I'm a homer Boston Bruins fan for picking Pasta (authentic), but he is an absolute menace. He is one of the top scorers in the league, giving Ovi a run for his money last year, and continues to produce at a high rate, even this season without Bergeron. He has received a TOTY card in the past and, based on his point totals, deserves a TOTY card as he is elite at his position.
McDavid is the obvious choice, being one of the league's elite forwards even on a team with goalies that can't make a save if the world depended on it. His card is always the best in the game, and based on his performance, I think you will see a lot of players trading in their maxed-out Xfactor McDavid in favour of his TOTY.
MacKinnon is a monster and such a great player. He is a rugged forward who can score and make plays happen, and even with some personnel changes after their cup win, he still kept his usual high level of production. I can see his TOTY having Truculence and tearing through other teams.
Defense: Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes
Makar is the cover athlete, and based on his performance in his position, it makes him an obvious choice. From a game perspective, he will get a 99 through the 99 collectables at year's end, so having a card that upgrades as one of the game's end-game cards makes sense. He is a speedy forward, always a solid addition to teams' blue line.
Quinn Hughes has established himself as the top-producing defensemen in terms of points and has helped jump-start the Canucks as of late. It would also be great to have a new addition to the TOTY, where we sometimes see repeat players.
Goalie: Linus Ullmark
Coming off a Vezna winning season, Ullmark continues to shift the momentum in games for the Bruins and, at times, has been the difference maker. He is by far the best goalie in the league (with Swayman in second place) and continues to play at a high level. He is why the Bruins have not missed a stride by losing their 1C.
Let us know who you think deserves TOTY this year in NHL24! The event starts Friday, January 5, at 1 pm EST.
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