Josh Morrissey Post-game The Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs will not have a rostered player serve as the recipient of the Hart Trophy at the NHL Awards in Vegas. As a matter of fact, they didn't even receive a finalist nod. For rosters that include 69 goal scorer Auston Matthews and sure-fire Vezina frontrunner Connor Hellebuyck, it is wildly amusing that neither player received enough votes for consideration as a finalist. Sure, both Americans play in wild, media-crazy Canadian cities, but the hype surrounding their play over the 2023-24 season is certainly unparalleled. No goal scorer came within 12 goals of Matthews' 69, while no starting goaltender was as dominant across the board as Hellebuyck. The Hart Trophy is presented annually "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." Sure, the Professional Hockey Writers' Association chose three exceptionally deserving athletes as its finalists, but to exclude these other two may cause the league to have a look at a process overhaul. It would be hard to argue any of Nikita Kucherov (44 goals, 100 assists, 144 points), Nathan MacKinnon (51 goals, 89 assists, 140 points) and Connor McDavid (32 goals, 100 assists, 132 points), but the idea that a player who scored 69 of his team's goals and a goaltender that essentially guided his team into the postseason not earning enough votes to finish as a finalist may rub some the wrong way. Hellebuyck earned the William Jennings Trophy as the goaltender of record for the team allowing the fewest goals against in the regular season (198). He is the first solo winner since Jonathan Quick in 2018. Hellebuyck also helped Winnipeg to an NHL record-tying 35-straight games allowing three or fewer goals against. He finished the year with a 37-19-4 record, a 2.39 goals against average. a .921 save percentage and five shutouts. Matthews was involved in 36 percent of Toronto's goals this year, while nearly hitting 70 total strikes on the season. He scored eight game-winners, while only producing 29 power play points, meaning the majority of his points came at even strength. He owned a higher face-off winning percentage than the other three players, while skating in nearly as much time per-game as they did. The numbers don't lie, Matthews and Hellebuyck did as much as they could to earn Hart Trophy finalist nods. They just faced heavy competition - probably the most competition seen in some time. Luckily postseason performances do not count for these awards, as both players struck out during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
