Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, and Artemi Panarin are the finalists for the Hart Trophy, given to the NHL’s MVP.
The Hart Trophy is arguably the most prestigious individual award in the NHL. Sure, the Stanley Cup is more coveted, but that’s a team award. You could argue the Conn Smythe is partially one since you have to be on a team that makes the Stanley Cup Final to win it.
But the Hart Trophy goes to the league’s MVP. This year, there was a stacked class. The voters had to find a way to narrow it down to three and they did. Those three players are Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers.
Those names should sound familiar because they were also the three Ted Lindsay Award finalists. The Ted Lindsay Award is given to the player deemed to be most exceptional and it is voted on by the players. Meanwhile, the Hart Trophy is voted on by the PHWA.
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The Case For Leon Draisaitl
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Leon Draisaitl’s Hart Trophy case revolves around his offense. He led the league in points with 110 and finished fourth in goals with 43. Draisaitl had 13 more points than Connor McDavid, who finished in second place in points with 97.
Furthermore, Draisaitl played a good portion of this season away from McDavid and still remained productive. He stepped it up big time while McDavid was injured, helping the Oilers do quite well despite McDavid’s injury.
The Case For Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan MacKinnon is no stranger to the Hart Trophy conversation. This is his second time as a finalist, as he finished in second place back in 2017-18. MacKinnon also finished in sixth place last season.
He was on pace to shatter his numbers from the previous two seasons with 1.35 points per game. MacKinnon was counted on heavily by the Avalanche this season thanks to multiple injuries. He helped lead Colorado to the second-best overall record in the Western Conference and the third-best overall in the NHL.
MacKinnon also posted impressive underlying stats, driving possession and preventing shots against. The Avalanche were a much better team when he was on the ice. Few players were more important to their team this season than MacKinnon.
The Case For Artemi Panarin
I’ve already made the case for Artemi Panarin here. Panarin finished tied for third in points with 95 and led the NHL in 5v5 points with 59. Furthermore, his possession numbers were among the NHL’s elite. Panarin is a huge reason why the Rangers were able to make the postseason, along with Mika Zibanejad having one of the best 20 game stretches you’ll ever see from a player.
Perhaps no stat shows how important and valuable Panarin is than this one. The Rangers outscored their opponents 75-38 at 5v5 with him on the ice in 1,078 minutes. Without Panarin, the Rangers were outscored 105-75 at 5v5 in 2,225 minutes.