Finalists for the Hart Trophy include Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, and Matthew Tkachuk
The NHL announced on Friday that forwards Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins, and Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers are the three finalists for the Hart Trophy.
The player regarded to be the most valuable to his team receives the Hart trophy each year. The Professional Hockey Writers Association casts votes to determine the winner.
McDavid previously won the Hart Award twice, in 2017 and 2021, when he made history by being just the second player in 97 years to win it unanimously. The Edmonton captain recently completed another outstanding regular season, scoring 64 goals and 153 points in 82 games, the highest by any skater since Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux scored 161 points in 1995–96.
Additionally, McDavid received his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer and his third straight and fifth overall Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top points scorer thanks to those statistics. McDavid is a finalist for both the Ted Lindsay Award and the Stanley Cup, which recognizes the NHL’s “most outstanding player” as chosen by NHLPA members. The Oilers, who are now locked 2-2 with Vegas in their Western Conference second-round series, were propelled to their fourth consecutive postseason appearance by the 26-year-old.
In the regular season, Pastrnak achieved multiple career highs, including the second-most goals (61), third-most points (113), and second-most assists (52) in the NHL. The top-line winger for the Bruins was a key contributor to the team’s historic regular-season run, during which it set numerous milestones, including the most victories in a season with 65, and took home the President’s Trophy thanks to a 135-point performance.
From the beginning to the end, Pastrnak was perhaps the greatest player for the Bruins. He helped the team stay on pace while important players were sidelined by injuries and eventually signed an eight-year, $90 million contract deal with the team.
He is a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Award alongside McDavid. Before the Bruins lost Game 7 and were ousted from the playoffs, Pastrnak added five more goals in the Eastern Conference first-round series against Florida.
Tkachuk has never made it to the Hart finals. The Panthers striker recorded 40 goals for the second consecutive season, tying for fifth place in the league in goals scored (109) and points (109).
Tkachuk, 25, committed long-term to the Panthers with an eight-year, $76 million contract in July’s blockbuster trade that took him from Calgary to Florida in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. Tkachuk had an early impact and led Florida in both assists (69) and points with steady play throughout the course of the season, even though the Panthers had a difficult time. With a late-season run that helped the Panthers win the final playoff place in the Eastern Conference, Tkachuk took the lead in pushing Florida into the postseason.
Eighth-seeded Florida defeated top-seeded Boston in the first round; Tkachuk led the team with 11 points throughout that series triumph. Prior to Game 5 on Friday in their second-round clash, the Panthers lead Toronto 3-1.
On June 26 during the NHL Awards in Nashville, the Hart Trophy recipient will be revealed.
