NEW YORK (May 8, 2026) – Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid – the same trio as in 2023-24 – are the three finalists for the 2025-26 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 Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
MacKinnon topped the NHL with 53 goals in 80 contests (53-74—127) to capture his first career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and lead the Avalanche (55‑16‑11) to a franchise-record 121-point season as they earned their fourth Presidents’ Trophy as the League’s best regular season team. He additionally paced the NHL with 42-55—97 at even strength, the most such points in a single campaign since 1990-91 (when Wayne Gretzky produced 33-70—103 w/ LAK), and a +57 rating, tied for the fourth-highest figure by any skater in a single season since 1987-88 (behind Johnny Gaudreau: +64 in 2021-22 w/ CGY, Elias Lindholm: +61 in 2021-22 w/ CGY and Vladimir Konstantinov: +60 in 1995-96 w/ DET). MacKinnon, who collected points in 61 of his 80 outings (76.3%) and became the 20th-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 1,100-point milestone (917 GP on Jan. 19 vs. WSH), also finished among the top three in 2025-26 in even-strength goals (1st; 42), multi-goal performances (1st; 14), shots on goal (1st; 350), even-strength assists (2nd; 55), points (3rd; 127), multi-assist performances (3rd; 22), multi-point performances (3rd; 39), assists (t-3rd; 74) and shootout-deciding goals (t-3rd; 3). The 30-year-old MacKinnon is a Hart Trophy finalist for the fifth time, after winning the award in 2023-24, placing second in voting in 2019-20 and 2017-18, and ranking third in 2020-21. He and Kucherov are seeking to become the fourth active player with multiple Hart Trophies, following Connor McDavid (3), Alex Ovechkin (3) and Sidney Crosby (2).
History
The Hart Memorial Trophy was presented by the NHL 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.
Announcement Schedule
The series of NHL Trophy finalist announcements continues Monday, May 11, when the finalists for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award will be unveiled.
