With his superior talent and trademark MVP effort, Nathan MacKinnon has continued to turn it up another notch when it doesn't seem possible.

Colorado Avalanche star center Nathan MacKinnon is coming off his first-ever Hart Trophy campaign. Here is an excerpt on what's launched MacKinnon to a new level from The Hockey News' Playoff Issue, with some parts updated.

Hard work beats skill when skill doesn’t work hard, but what happens when one of the most skilled players in the league is also one of the hardest workers? 

You get the colossus that is Nathan MacKinnon, in what was the Colorado superstar’s first Hart Trophy campaign.

Twice in his career, MacKinnon has placed second in MVP voting, most recently in 2019-20. After establishing a career high in points last year with 111, the powerful Avalanche center zoomed past that total to finish with 140 in 2023-24, a campaign in which he’s been one of the NHL’s top scorers virtually post-to-post. 

“He’s just taken it to another level,” said longtime friend and fellow superstar Sidney Crosby. “We’ve seen it time and time again, especially in the playoffs, where you’d think, ‘He’s not going to be able to turn it up another notch,’ and then he does. And he’s done that this year night in and night out. He’s tough to stop. He has a lot of weapons, his speed being the biggest one, but he has so many ways to be dangerous. He’s had an incredible year.”

So what is it that has launched MacKinnon to even greater heights? A new lifestyle guru or perhaps a TikTok account? A previously unknown benefit of Ozempic? Naw. When experience and preparation converge, good results just tend to happen. 

“I’m seeing things well out there,” MacKinnon said. “Plays are developing slower, in a good way. It’s a fast game, so you try to see things as they come, and I try to make the best decisions I can. I always try to work on playmaking and vision, and right now, things are going pretty good.”

Not only are things working out, but MacKinnon is thriving under less-than-ideal circumstances. Colorado remained one of the top teams in the West and an elite-tier Stanley Cup contender in 2023-24 despite the fact captain Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played a game for the Avs since he hoisted the Cup in the summer of 2022. Meanwhile, crucial forward Valeri Nichushkin missed a big chunk of time while getting personal help from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. So, even with teams keyed in on MacKinnon – and star running mate Mikko Rantanen – they still can’t stop him. 

“He’s so consistent with his preparation that he has the confidence he’ll get chances,” said Avs goalie Alexandar Georgiev. “This year, it’s another gear there. He’s making all the right plays, and he’s a game-changer on a nightly basis. Every time we come to play, he’s the best player on the ice. He deserves to be the MVP.”

Famously fastidious when it comes to his nutrition and fitness, MacKinnon is making the jealous ones eat sour grapes on a regular basis. 

“I’m always trying to get better, and that’s the goal,” he said. “Not so much the outcome, but the everyday grind and doing different things to get better. What I really enjoy about being able to do what I do is not so much the points but the pursuit to improve.”

This is an excerpt from Ryan Kennedy's major feature story in The Hockey News' Playoff Preview 2024, in which the editor in chief takes a deep dive into what makes Nathan MacKinnon tick.

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