Finalists for the NHL’s Hart Trophy include forwards Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins, and Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers.

Every year, “the player judged to be the most valuable to his team” receives the Hart Award. The winner is decided by a vote of the Professional Hockey Writers Association members.

In 2017 and 2021, McDavid won the Hart Award twice, making him just the second player in 97 years to do it unanimously. With 64 goals and 153 points after 82 games, Edmonton’s captain just completed another outstanding regular season. This marks the most points by a skater since Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux had 161 points in 1995–96.

With those numbers, McDavid also won his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer and his third straight and fifth overall Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top points producer. McDavid is also a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given to the NHL’s “most outstanding player” as chosen by NHLPA members. The 26-year-old helped the Oilers advance to the postseason for the fourth year in a row; Edmonton and Vegas are now deadlocked at 2-2 in their Western Conference second-round series.

In the regular season, Pastrnak achieved multiple career highs, including 61 goals scored (second most in the NHL), 113 points (tied for third most), and 52 assists. The top-line winger for the Bruins contributed significantly to the team’s historic regular-season run during which it set numerous marks, including the most victories in a season with 65, and took home the President’s Trophy thanks to a 135-point performance.

From the beginning to the end, Pastrnak was undoubtedly the Bruins’ finest player. He kept Boston on track when important players were out injured and eventually signed an eight-year, $90 million agreement with the team.

He is a finalist for the Hart and Ted Lindsay awards alongside McDavid. Before the Bruins lost Game 7 and were eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference first-round series against Florida, Pastrnak added five more goals.

Tkachuk has never made the Hart finals before. In terms of points (109), the Panthers forward finished the season tied for fifth, and his 40 goals marked his second straight season with at least 40 goals.

Tkachuk, 25, signed an eight-year, $76 million contract with the Panthers in July as part of a historic trade that took him from Calgary to Florida in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. Tkachuk had an immediate impact, leading Florida in both assists (69) and points with steady output even though the Panthers had a difficult year overall. Tkachuk was the driving force behind Florida’s late-season rally that earned the Panthers the final Eastern Conference playoff position and forced the team into the postseason.

Tkachuk scored a team-high 11 points in the series win for Florida, which beat top-seeded Boston as the eighth seed. Prior to Friday’s Game 5, the Panthers had a 3-1 advantage against Toronto in their second-round showdown.

At the NHL Awards on June 26 in Nashville, the Hart Trophy recipient will be revealed.

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