Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov were named the finalists for the 2023-24 Hart Memorial Trophy on Tuesday.
The award is presented “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team” and voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
McDavid won his third Hart Trophy last season and is looking to join Wayne Gretzky (nine), Gordie Howe (six) and Eddie Shore (four) as the only players in NHL history to win at least four. The Edmonton Oilers captain also seeks to become the first back-to-back winner since Alex Ovechkin in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
McDavid, 27, contributed 132 points (32 goals, league- and career-high 100 assists) in 76 games this season while leading the Oilers to the playoffs following a 2-9-1 start to the season.
MacKinnon, 28, played all 82 games for the Colorado Avalanche and set career highs across the board with 51 goals, 89 assists and a franchise-record 140 points – just the fifth 140-point campaign in the league in the past 30 years. The center is a Hart finalist for the fourth time, having finished second in 2019-20 and 2017-18. He looks to join Peter Forsberg (2002-03) and Joe Sakic (2000-01) as the team’s third MVP winner.
Kucherov, who won the Hart Trophy in 2018-19, led the NHL and set a Tampa Bay Lightning record with 144 points (44 goals, league-leading 100 assists) in 81 games this season. In addition to winning his second Art Ross Trophy, the forward led the league in power-play points (53), power-play assists (40) and three-point games (23). He would be the fourth active player with multiple Hart Trophy wins: McDavid (three), Ovechkin (three) and Sidney Crosby (two).
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