Trophy Tracker: MacKinnon of Avalanche emerges as leader for Hart as MVP

To mark the halfway point of the 2023-24 regular season, NHL.com is running its second installment of the Trophy Tracker series. Today, we look at the race for the Hart Trophy, awarded annually to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team as selected in a vote by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Nathan MacKinnon is arguably playing the best hockey of his 11-year career, no small feat for the Colorado Avalanche center who has been one of the best and most productive players in the NHL for six-plus seasons.

"Once he reaches a bar, he's going to raise the bar again and try to push towards it again," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "That's the competitor in him. That's the perfectionist in him. But I think if you chatted with him, what he's done and been able to do in the first half, he'd be satisfied. But that's not his big picture. All he thinks about is winning."

The Avalanche have done a lot of that this season due in large part to MacKinnon, who is NHL.com's favorite for the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player at the midpoint of the season.

MacKinnon received eight of 14 first-place votes and 60 voting points, 12 more than runner-up Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who received three first-place votes.

MacKinnon in second in the NHL scoring race with 73 points, two fewer than Kucherov. MacKinnon has a League-high 49 assists.

"Him and Kucherov and probably [Auston] Matthews, they’re all playing really well, but the way Nate is playing now, we're just trying to help him to get there," Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said of MacKinnon's Hart Trophy candidacy. "I know he probably doesn't think about it too much but he's for sure up there. No. 1 for me."

MacKinnon was the NHL's player of the month for December, when he set a franchise record with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 15 games.

He has at least one point in 39 games, including at least two in 23. He had 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in a personal NHL best 19-game point streak from Nov. 20-Dec. 27. He has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in a 10-game point streak after scoring in a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

MacKinnon has points in all 23 of Colorado's home games (16 goals, 30 assists), which is tied with Joe Sakic for the team record for longest home point streak (2000-01).

"The consistency," Bednar said. "It's every game. Very few bad games. Very few nights off. The conditioning side, the preparation side of it, which has always been there, is just reaching new heights and it's allowing him to play at a very high level on a nightly basis. That preparation is not just physical, it's mental as well."

MacKinnon had 111 points (42 goals, 69 assists) in 71 games last season.

"I'm not sure [if I have reached a new level]," MacKinnon said. "Last year was a solid year. This year, I am always trying to get better. I think a lot of guys are having great years on our team. I'm definitely getting a lot of bounces right now so I have to enjoy it while it lasts."

That's the humble way of putting it.

What MacKinnon won't say about himself is he's arguably the most dangerous player in the NHL -- a fast, skilled and consistent 200-foot center in a power forward's body.

"Every single piece of his game he has elevated," Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said. "The big thing for him right now is his physicality. I think he is just attacking plays and attacking the net and finding those open areas.

"He's driving us right now. It's probably the best stretch I've seen from him so far."

Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Nathan MacKinnon, F, Colorado Avalanche, 60 points (8 first-place votes); Nikita Kucherov, F, Tampa Bay Lightning, 48 points (1 first place vote); Connor McDavid, F, Edmonton Oilers, 33 points (1 first place vote); Artemi Panarin, F, New York Rangers, 32 points (1 first place vote); David Pastrnak, F, Boston Bruins, 17 points; Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks, 10 points (1 first place vote); Sidney Crosby, F, Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 points (1 first place vote); Jack Hughes, F, New Jersey Devils, 5 points; Sam Reinhart, F, Florida Panthers, 3 points; J.T. Miller, F, Canucks, 3 points; Auston Matthews, F, Toronto Maple Leafs, 2 points; Jack Eichel, F, Vegas Golden Knights, 2 points; William Nylander, F, Maple Leafs, 2 points; Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets, 1 point

NHL.com independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this story.