Way-Too-Early Rankings for the 2025 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was the 2023-24 winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy. The award honors the player adjudged to be the most valuable to their team at the end of the regular season in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers Association in all 32 NHL cities.

MacKinnon has been the Avalanche’s most valuable player and among the league’s elite stars since his 97-point breakout performance in 2017-18. This was the first time he won the Hart Trophy, joining former winners such as Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov.

All four of these stars remain at the peak of their playing prime and could be worthy candidates to take home the trophy this season. They will be challenged by younger stars such as New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes and his brother, Quinn, who captains the Vancouver Canucks.

With the 2024-25 NHL season underway, we present our way-too-early rankings of our Hart Trophy candidates. This compilation is based on factors such as on-ice performance, experience and value to their respective clubs.

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The New Jersey Devils entered last season projected to be among the league’s top teams following a franchise-best 112-point performance in 2022-23.

However, several factors—including injuries to core players like Jack Hughes—saw them tumble out of the playoff race, finishing 23rd overall with 81 points.

Entering this season, the Devils hope to put that disappointing campaign behind them.

A healthy Hughes will be crucial to those efforts. The 23-year-old needs a return to his career-best 99-point performance that put him among the league’s leading scorers in 2022-23 while setting a single-season franchise record for the most points.

A dazzling and creative offensive forward who can play center or wing, he has the skills to become a 100-point NHL player. Injuries have at times hampered or derailed his performance. If he can stay healthy this season, he should lead the Devils back toward the top of the standings.

Hughes finished eighth among the voters for the Hart Trophy in 2022-23. Approaching the prime of his career, he should be considered among the early favorites this season.

Entering his fifth NHL season, Kirill Kaprizov is firmly entrenched as the Minnesota Wild’s franchise player. Looking at his stats and performance over that period, it’s obvious that he has been their most valuable player.

A genuine scoring superstar, the right winger has led the Wild in scoring every year since winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. That includes in 2022-23 when he finished with 75 points despite being limited by injuries to 67 games.

The 27-year-old has scored 40 or more goals in each of the last three seasons. He set a franchise single-season record in 2021-22 with 47 goals and 61 assists for 108 points. Last year saw him reach 46 goals and 96 points in 75 games. Entering this season, no one else on the team comes close to his 160 goals and 330 points since 2020-21.

What’s more impressive is that Kaprizov is putting up those numbers for a club that has struggled to maintain a playoff contender due to salary-cap constraints from buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

The Russian is the one who gives them a chance to remain in playoff contention this season. Without him, they wouldn’t get within a sniff of the postseason.

The Vancouver Canucks reached the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2020 COVID-bubble postseason.

Team captain Quinn Hughes played a big role in their improvement, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman for the first time. He was also the first blueliner in franchise history to win that honor.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a career-best performance in 2023-24 with 17 goals, 75 assists and 92 points, leading all NHL defensemen in those last two categories. He also led the Canucks in assists and was second in points.

That performance elevated him among the league’s elite stars. Until last season, he was considered more of a puck-moving defenseman. While he had his best offensive stats, he also improved his overall play, finishing 10th among all blueliners with at least 70 games played in 5v5 puck possession (57.1 SAT).

It’s also not surprising that Hughes elevated his game after being named team captain before the start of last season. Turning 25 on Oct 14, he’s becoming a more mature player as he enters his playing prime. That could put him in Hart Trophy contention this season.

The Boston Bruins declined last season following their record-setting 2022-23 performance, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Nevertheless, they remain a formidable club thanks to the production of David Pastrňák, who finished with a team-leading 110 points, just three shy of his career-best 113 points from the previous season.

Last season was the second straight year that the 28-year-old led the Bruins in scoring and the third time since 2019-20. He entered this season sitting fourth in total goals with 323 and sixth in points with 674.

The winger has also taken on a larger leadership role with the Bruins alongside 36-year-old captain Brad Marchand. And the Czech will continue taking on more of the offensive burden. A co-winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin in 2019-20, he could be in the running for that award as well this season.

Now in his prime, Pastrňák is among the NHL’s elite superstars. He remains determined to lead his club into the playoffs in pursuit of a Stanley Cup that has thus far eluded him.

His passion for the game made him a finalist for the Hart Trophy in 2022-23 and will keep him among the favorites for this season.

The 2023-24 season was Cale Makar’s best for assists (69) and points (90). The Colorado Avalanche defenseman’s efforts made him a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL top blueliner for the second straight year.

Makar’s teammate, Nathan MacKinnon, took home the trophy for the first time last season. Given the Avalanche blueliner’s ongoing progression and his value to their defense corps, it wouldn’t be shocking if he wound up in the running for the Hart this season.

Turning 26 on Oct. 30, Makar already has a trophy case filled with NHL awards. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top rookie in 2019-20 and the Norris Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2022-23.

He is one of a handful of elite defensemen in today’s NHL. He also has the talent, experience and leadership to become a finalist for the Hart Trophy.

The Edmonton Oilers are blessed to have two superstar forwards like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on their roster. Both have garnered Hart Trophy honors and are invaluable to the team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

Turning 29 on Oct. 27, Draisaitl remains in his playing prime. Oilers management showed how much they value the versatile German forward by signing him to an eight-year, $112 million contract extension on Sept. 3. When it goes into effect on July 1, 2025, the average annual value will be a league-leading $14 million.

Draisaitl earned this contract with his stellar play. He entered this season second among all scorers in total points with 643 to McDavid’s 726. He’s also second in total goals with 272. He won the Hart, the Ted Lindsay Award and the Art Ross Trophy in 2019-20.

The Oilers will attempt to return to the Cup Final this season. If anything should happen to McDavid, they know they can rely on Draisaitl to fill the void. He should be among the favorites to win the Hart this season.

In 2018-19, Nikita Kucherov rode a career-best 41 goals and 87 assists for a league-leading 128 points to win the Art Ross Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, and the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Five years later, the 31-year-old winger set new career highs with 44 goals and 100 assists for 144 points, winning the Art Ross and finishing second in voting for the Hart.

Kucherov has been a core player for the Lightning since his 40-goal, 85-point performance in 2016-17. He helped them win the President’s Trophy in 2018-19 and was the leading scorer in the 2020 playoffs (34 points) and 2021 postseason (32 points). The latter achievement came after he missed the COVID-shortened 2020-21 regular season recovering from hip surgery.

From 2016-17 to 2023-24, Kucherov led the Lightning in scoring six times. Over that period, he’s fourth among all NHL skaters in total assists (472) and points (724). A skilled and creative playmaker who always rises to the occasion in big games, he was a key part of their Cup runs in 2020 and 2021.

The Lightning are no longer the power they were earlier in this decade as salary-cap constraints led to the departures of notable players like former captain Steven Stamkos.

Nevertheless, they will remain a playoff contender with Kucherov still in his prime and producing at an elite level. He is the straw that stirs the Lightning.

The greatest goalscorer of his generation, Auston Matthews received another honor in August when he was named the 26th captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history.

It’s only fitting, as the center ranks among the best-ever players for the franchise.

Matthews has won more individual awards than any player in Leafs history. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2016-17, the Maurice Richard Trophy three times (including a franchise-best 69 goals last season), and the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy in 2021-22.

The 27-year-old entered the season 53 goals away from breaking Mats Sundin’s franchise record of 420. Now in his ninth NHL season, he should break that record if he at least comes close to last season’s torrid scoring pace.

Matthews is more than just a goal scorer. He’s become a more complete player, backchecking with the same intensity he brings to his offensive game.

The Leafs superstar remains among the serious contenders for the Hart this season.

A three-time finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2017-18, 2019-20 and 2020-21, Nathan MacKinnon finally received the honor last season.

He joined Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg as the only members of the Colorado Avalanche to win this award.

It was a well-deserved for MacKinnon, who enjoyed a career-best performance by finishing second overall with 140 points and third in assists with 89. He set the single-season club record for points and filled their leadership void with team captain Gabriel Landeskog sidelined by a knee injury for the second straight season.

Going into his 13th NHL campaign, the 29-year-old has been among the NHL’s elite players since his 99-point breakout performance in 2017-18. Throughout his career, he’s third in total points (899) and assists (564) and eighth in goals with 335.

The Avalanche enter this season with Landeskog facing an uncertain future, Valeri Nichushkin in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and questions about their goaltending.

With MacKinnon in top form, though, they remain among the Stanley Cup favorites, putting him among the leading contenders for the Hart Trophy.

A three-time winner of the Hart Trophy, Connor McDavid’s hopes of becoming the fourth player to win the award at least four times were dashed by an uncharacteristic slow start last season.

The Edmonton Oilers captain soon returned to form, finishing third in scoring with 132 points and tying Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov for most assists with 100.

McDavid showed why he’s still the NHL’s best player during the 2024 playoffs and led the Oilers to the Cup Final.

While his club fell to the Florida Panthers in seven hard-fought games, the Edmonton captain won the Conn Smythe Trophy, leading all playoff scorers with 41 points and setting a single-season playoff record with 34 assists.

Now 27, he enters his 10th NHL season at the peak of his powers. His blazing speed and dazzling skills put him well ahead of his rivals. He and his teammates will be motivated to win the Stanley Cup after coming so close last season.

That desire to win it all should have McDavid bursting from the gate in better form than last season. If he avoids injury, he should again finish in his usual perch atop the scoring race, ensuring a fourth Hart Trophy graces his trophy cabinet.