Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon are Hart Trophy finalists.
The NHL announced the three finalists for the Hart Trophy on Friday.
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon are the trio up for the 2026 Hart Trophy.
The Hart Trophy is awarded "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." This accolade is voted on by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Last year's winner was goaltender Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, who became the first netminder to win the Hart Trophy since Carey Price in 2014-15.
For this year's Hart Trophy, here is how I'd rank the finalists.
3. Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
McDavid led the NHL in scoring with another 100-plus-point season, reaching that mark for the ninth time in his career and the sixth straight season.
Though he was the Art Ross Trophy winner, that doesn't make him a shoo-in for the Hart Trophy.
While the Oilers captain had an incredible year offensively, some of his teammates did as well.
Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard led all blueliners in scoring this season, recording a whopping 95 points, a career high.
In addition to Bouchard's best campaign in his seven-year career, Leon Draisaitl also carried a heavy load offensively. Draisaitl scored 97 points in 65 games, missing some time to end the regular season with an injury.
So even though McDavid is Edmonton's most important player, I don't think he's the most valuable player to his team across the league.
2. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
MacKinnon has had a monster season for the Avalanche. He ended the campaign leading the NHL in goals, taking home the Rocket Richard Trophy, and finished third in the league in scoring with 53 goals and 127 points.
MacKinnon is the most recent skater to win the Hart Trophy, earning his first in 2023-24 following a career-high 140-point campaign.
However, similarly to McDavid, others around MacKinnon had incredible campaigns. Martin Necas registered his first-ever 100-point season, and don't forget stud defenseman Cale Makar, who is a finalist for the Norris Trophy yet again.
Aside from the superstars in Colorado, there's still an outstanding supporting cast that includes Brock Nelson, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, Devon Toews and more.
It doesn't mean MacKinnon doesn't deserve the Hart Trophy, but this next finalist is who I think is most deserving of the award.
1. Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning
It's not out of the ordinary to see Kucherov put up another 110-point campaign. This season marks the fifth year he's done that after putting up 130 points. It's also the fourth season in which he's scored 120 or more points.
What's even more impressive is the difference between the number of points he scored and the rest of his teammates.
Next on the Lightning's scoring list is left winger Jake Guentzel, who has 38 goals and 88 points in 81 games. He's followed by Brandon Hagel's 36 goals and 74 points in 71 games.
Ultimately, Kucherov had a 42-point lead on his next-best scoring teammate, which only heightens the perception of how valuable he is for Tampa Bay.
Kucherov contributed to about 45 percent of the Lightning's scoring this year. Tampa tallied a total of 286 goals and ranked fourth in scoring in the NHL, and a lot of that credit goes to Kucherov.
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