Crosby, Getzlaf and Giroux voted Hart Trophy finalists

NEW YORK – Forwards Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers are the three finalists for the 2013-14 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team," the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association submitted ballots for the Hart Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Tuesday, June 24, during the 2014 NHL Awards from Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas. The 2014 NHL Awards will be broadcast by NBCSN in the United States and CBC in Canada.

Following are the finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy, in alphabetical order:

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby posted 36 goals as well as a League-leading 68 assists and 104 points to capture his second career Art Ross Trophy and lead the Penguins to their second consecutive division title. He registered points in 60 of the 80 games he played in (75.0%), including 30 multi-point performances, and never went more than two consecutive games without registering a point. Crosby also reached the 100-point milestone for the fifth time in his career and on Nov. 29 hit 700 career points, doing so in his 497th game, the fastest among active players and sixth-fastest in NHL history. The 26-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the fourth time after winning the award in 2006-07 and finishing as a runner-up in 2009-10 and 2012-13.

Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks

Getzlaf scored a career-high 31 goals and ranked second in the League with 87 points to power the Ducks to the top record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. He posted a 14-game point streak Nov. 15-Dec. 15 (6-11—17), the longest in the NHL since the 2011-12 season. Getzlaf also set a career high with seven game-winning goals, second on the team to Corey Perry (9), and recorded a +28 rating, the second-highest of his career (2007-08: +32), to help the Ducks set franchise records for wins (54), points (116), points percentage (.707), home wins (29) and road wins (25). The 28-year-old Regina, Sask., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time.

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race with 86 points to help the Flyers bounce back from a 3-9-0 start to the season to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven years. After being held pointless in his first five games and not scoring a goal until his 16th contest, Giroux totaled 28-51—79 in his final 67 outings of the season, an average of 1.18 points per game. He also compiled a career-long, nine-game point streak Dec. 11-30, totaling 6-11—17 in that span, and recorded his 100th NHL goal Dec. 19. The 26-year-old Hearst, Ont., native is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time.

History

The Hart Memorial Trophy was presented by the National Hockey League in 1960 after the original Hart Trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The original Hart Trophy was donated to the NHL in 1924 by Dr. David A. Hart, father of Cecil Hart, former manager-coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

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