The NHL has released the list of award finalists for the 2018/19 season and it’s safe to say there aren’t really any surprises. Each annual trophy has been narrowed down to three finalists with the big prize being the Hart Memorial Trophy for the player voted as the most valuable to his team. This year’s Hart finalists are centre Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, right-winger Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and centre Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.
Professional Hockey Writers Association members voted on the trophy winners when the regular season ended and the league announces the three finalists. The winners are then announced at the league’s annual awards show in Las Vegas, which will be held on June 19th this year. The Hart Trophy was introduced in 1924 and let’s take a quick look at this year’s three finalists.
The 22-year-old McDavid of Edmonton racked up 116 points in 78 games this season on 41 goals and 75 assists and finished second in league scoring behind Kucherov. He also registered a point on 50.7 per cent of his team’s total of 229 goals. The Oilers’ captain just finished his fourth NHL season and his point total has risen every year. McDavid never went two games in a row without scoring a points this year becoming just the eighth NHL’er to achieve the feat while playing a minimum of 50 games. The others were Steve Yzerman, Darryl Sittler, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Elmer Lach, Paul Kariya and Jari Kurri.
McDavid played an average of 22:50 minutes per game in 2018/19 to lead all NHL forwards. He finished in a second-place tie for game-winning goals with nine and three of those came in overtime. McDavid took the Hart Trophy home for his play in 2016/17 and he’s trying to become just the second player ever to win the silverware more than once before turning 23 years old.
The 25-year-old Kucherov of Tampa Bay already has one award under his belt this season as he captured the Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in scoring. He notched 41 goals and 87 assists for 128 points in 82 contests this year. The 128 points were the most in the league since the 1995/96 campaign and his 87 helpers were the most since 2006/07. Kucherov’s scoring expertise helped Tampa to win 62 games in 2018/19 to tie league record. The Russian forward also led the league in power-play points at 48 with 15 goals and 33 assists.
Kucherov picked up at least a point in 62 games this season and posted a league-high 38 games of two or more points, including two five-point performances. His assist and point totals this season set new Tampa Bay franchise records for one season. He also becomes the highest-scoring Russian player in the league for his 128 points. Alexander Mogilny set the previous mark of 127 points with 76 goals and 51 assists in 1992/93 when he was with the Buffalo Sabres. Only one other Tampa Bay player has won the Hart Trophy as Martin St. Louis took the honours for 2003/04.
The 31-year-old year-old Crosby scored 35 goals and 65 assists for an even 100 points in 79 games for Pittsburgh this season. It was the sixth time the team captain has reached the 100-point barrier in 14 seasons. He helped his team reach the playoffs for the 13th straight year, but they were bounced in four straight games by the New York Islanders in the very first round. Just five players have posted more 100-point seasons than Crosby in NHL history. These are Peter Stastny and Mike Bossy with seven each as well as Marcel Dionne with eight, Mario Lemieux with 10 and Wayne Gretzky at 15.
Crosby finished sixth in league scoring this season and reached at least 30 goals for the ninth time and 60 assists for the sixth time. He also reached 1,200 career points in 2018/19, becoming the 11th-fastest player to achieve the feat in 927 games. Crosby has already won two Hart Trophies as he took the award home for the 2006/07 and the 2013/14 seasons. He also led his team’s forwards in plus/minus this year at plus-18 as well as ice time. This is the seventh time Crosby has been named a finalist for the Hart Trophy in his career and if he wins it he will become the ninth player in history to capture the trophy three times.