Hart Trophy winner be to announced before Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final

The winner of the Hart Trophy will be announced Thursday.

Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers are the finalists for the Hart, which is given annually to the NHL player voted most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The winner will be announced on ESPN2 in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada during pregame coverage for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.

The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2.

Kucherov was second in the NHL with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 games for the Lightning this season. He led the League with a points-per-game average of 1.71 and had a plus-43 rating, tied for third among all players, and had at least one point in 60 of 76 games, including 40 games with at least two points. The 32-year-old right wing had nine games with at least four points and two five-point games. Kucherov's best stretch came from Dec. 20-Jan. 12, when he had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 10 games.

Kucherov led the Lightning in goals, assists and points, and he helped them finish second in the Atlantic Division with a 50-26-5 record. A finalist for the third straight season, Kucherov finished third last season and was runner-up in 2023-24. He won the award in 2018-19.

Kucherov was also a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players' Association; McDavid was announced as the winner of the Lindsay Award on Sunday.

MacKinnon is a five-time finalist who won the Hart in 2023-24. He led the NHL in goals with 53 this season and was third with 127 points (74 assists). The Avalanche captain led all players with a plus-57 rating and had 30 power-play points and seven game-winning goals. He had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) during a season-high 11-game point streak from Oct. 23-Nov. 13. MacKinnon had 20 games with at least three points and had at least a point in 61 of his 80 games.

The 30-year-old center helped Colorado win the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the NHL (55-16-11) as well as the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL (203 including shootout goals).

McDavid, who led the League with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists), to win the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion for the sixth time, is a Hart finalist for the seventh time, and is a three-time winner (2016-17, 2020-21, 2022-23). The Oilers captain could become the fourth player to win the award at least four times, joining Eddie Shore (four), Gordie Howe (six) and Wayne Gretzky (nine).

McDavid had at least one point in 68 of the 82 games he played this season, including 43 multipoint games, and seven games with at least four points, including three games with five points. The 29-year-old center had 46 points (19 goals, 27 assists) in a 20-game point streak from Dec. 4-Jan. 13. He led Edmonton in goals, assists and points and helped it finish second in the Pacific Division (41-30-11).

Goalie Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won the Hart Trophy last season.