There is less than a month remaining of the NHL regular season. This season has been full of surprises such as legendary forward Patrick Kane signing with the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins trading star player Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline.
Despite all of the big shocks during the season, the big talk of every final stretch of the season is which player is going to bring home the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player of the league. Legendary players such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Sidney Crosby have all won the trophy in their careers, so is it time to crown a new most valuable player of the league or will there be a repeat winner?
The first candidate likely to win the Hart Trophy is Nathan MacKinnon, center on the Colorado Avalanche. MacKinnon is the current favorite to win the award based off his betting odds and this would be the first time he won the award. He is currently tied for the most points in the league and has led his team to a 46-21-5 record.
The player with the second-best odds to win the Hart Trophy is Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov was viewed as the favorite to win during the first half of the season. However, MacKinnon caught up to him in points as they are now tied for the league lead. The one category that Kucherov lacks that MacKinnon is great in is team success. The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently 39-25-7, which is solid, but it does not compare to the strong record of the Avalanche.
The final player that is getting consideration is Edmonton Oilers center, Connor McDavid. McDavid would probably be the front runner for this award if he didn’t get injured, but he is still third in the league with 119 points. McDavid is the most recent Hart winner and has won this award three times since 2017. If he can go on a tear in the final 10 games, he can make up ground and become a back-to-back Hart winner for the first time in his career.