What is the Hart trophy in Hockey?

Hart Trophy is awarded for the most valuable contributions to the team and through evaluation of on-ice performance in the NHL. This award usually goes to the player; who owns the most goals or points in that particular season. 

Most importantly, the voters will judge the player on how much value the player added to the team, either by setting a new record or leading the scores and pushing the team toward the Stanley Cup.

The Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PWHA) nominates three players from NHL to select the MVP throughout the league. The association has approximately 180 voting members

Hart Trophy will be awarded on Monday, 26 June, at 8:00 PM ET. The winner is selected from the three finalists McDavid, Pastrnak, and Tkachuk.

The NHL Awards will be broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on TNT, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. 

Last year the trophy was awarded on 21 of the same month in 2022. The Hart Memorial Trophy and the other eight NHL Trophies will be awarded on 26 June after the Stanley finals.

All NHL Trophies  and awards presented live on that day are:

• Frank Selke Trophy
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
• Calder Memorial Trophy
• James Norris Memorial Trophy
• Jack Adams Award
• Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
• Ted Lindsay Award
• Vezina Trophy
• Hart Memorial Trophy

Unlike these trophies, the Presidents' Trophy is awarded as soon as the Regular season ends.

Hart Trophy nominees 2023 are Connor McDavid, Jason Robertson, Nikita Kucherov, and more. McDavid has stepped over the nominees to become the finalists for the award.

Connor McDavid, Mathew Tkachuk, and David Pastrnak are selected as the finalists for the award.

Other Nominees for this award were:

• Leon Draisatl 
• Sidney Crosby
• Mathew Tkachuk

Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Auston Mathews, and Kirill Kaprizov also displayed themselves as excellent nominations in early games.

Jason Robertson

Jason Robertson had signed a $31 million contract with the Dallas Stars. During the 2022-23 season, he made officials look at him as underpaid.

The 23-year-old winger started the season with a rage. He scored 46 goals, 63 assists, and 109 points in the 2022-23 regular season.

He was in the race to win the award. Robertson is on the top 10 list having the most points in the NHL scoring Leaders 2022-23.

Nikita Kucherov

Nikita Kucherov had gathered 112 points in 82 games played. Kucherov scored only 30 goals but assisted for 83 scores, which is this season's second-most assist.

Kucherov won the Hart Memorial Trophy in the 2018-19 season with around 98% first-placed votes.

Leon Draisaitl

Leon Draisatl scored the second-highest points in the leaderboards. But McDavid from his team Edmonton Oilers led the league with the most goals and assists.

Draisatl scored 52 goals and 76 assists with 128 points this season. Draisaitl deserves to be nominated in the list for the Heart Memorial Trophy.

Leon won the award with 77% of first-place votes in 2020.

Hart Trophy finalists 2023 are Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, and Matthew Tkachuk. These players received the most votes at the end-of-season to be the contender for the award.

Connor McDavid

McDavid is the heavy favorite this season. He has already snatched the Art Ross Trophy for the most points (153) and Rocket Richard Trophy for the most goals (64).

He is one of the six players to score more than 150 points in a season. McDavid will tie Alex Ovechkin with three Hart Memorials if he wins this season.

During his eight-year career in NHL, McDavid has played 569 games with 303 goals and 547 assists. Connor has already won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2017 and 2021.

David Pastrnak

David Pastrnak has broken his record by scoring 61 goals this season. He led the NHL by scoring 20.3% of the Bruins' 301 total goals.

Pastrnak is competing for this award for the first time as a finalist. He has collected 113 points this season which is the 3rd highest number of points after Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from the Edmonton Oilers. 

Matthew Tkachuk

Although Matthew's points this season are in the 7th rank, he is voted as the finalist for the 2023 Hart Award. Tkachuk hit 40 goals for the second consecutive year in Florida Panthers.

Tkachuk set the record for scoring the second-highest single-season points in the Panthers' franchise history. This is the first time Tkachuk has ever been a finalist for the trophy.

List of hart trophy winners by year includes Auston Matthews (2022), Connor McDavid (2021), Leon Draisaitl (2020), and more. A total of 98 Trophies are distributed to 61 different players.

It has been almost a century since the Hart Trophy was introduced. It was presented to players each year except the 2004-05 season due to the lockout.

The table displays the name of players who won the Hart Memorial Trophy over the last decade.

Alex Ovechkin won it ten years before ten years. The 2012-13 season organize only 48 games in the regular season. Ovechkin led the NHL with 32 goals, earning him the third Rocked Richard Trophy.

Carey Price won the 2015 trophy with 95.41% first-placed votes. 

Despite being on rank #6 in the 2017-18 season, Taylor Hall won the trophy. Taylor scored 39 goals in 76 games, compared to the leading 41 goals in 82 games by Connor McDavid. 

Connor McDavid won against Auston Mathew and Igor Shersterkin in 2021. McDavid has won the award twice over the decade.

McDavid played 56 games in the season, where he scored 33-72-105. He led the league with 105 points and 72 assists.

The winner of 2023 is yet to be announced on June 26. Auston Matthews was the last player to win it. Matthews scored the highest number of goals (60) in the season.

Although Connor McDavid led the league in points, Matthew was recognized as the MVP of the season.