Trophy Tracker: MacKinnon of Avalanche picked to win Hart as League MVP

To mark the three-quarter point of the 2024-25 regular season, NHL.com is running its third installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Hart Trophy given annually to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The example Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was using came from a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 4, when he thought his team was "sleepy" at the start, not fully engaged, not firing the way it needed to.

"But the one guy that stood out to me right away at the start of the game that was trying to make a difference on both sides of the puck was Nate," Bednar said. "He was helping be the driving force of that again."

Nathan MacKinnon won a puck battle in the corner and seconds later was behind the net setting up Artturi Lehkonen for a goal that gave Colorado a 1-0 lead 6:36 into the second period. In the third, he assisted on Casey Mittelstadt's power-play goal at 15:51, the game-winner in a 4-1 victory.

"If you're prepared and ready to compete like that for 60 minutes, a guy with his talent and ability is going to get something done," Bednar said.

MacKinnon has been getting it done for the Avalanche all season. He's NHL.com's favorite to win the Hart Trophy given to the League's most valuable player for the second straight season. The Avalanche forward received 71 voting points and was first on nine of 16 ballots submitted by NHL.com staff writers and editors.

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl finished second with 47 voting points and three first-place votes. Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the favorite for the Vezina Trophy, was third with 38 voting points and three for first place.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, the Norris Trophy favorite, also received a first-place vote.

"I think you look at the adversity that our team's faced with injuries," Bednar said, "and just the number of guys that we've had in the lineup, the fight we've been in, a lot of the credit should go to those top guys and the consistent seasons they're having, and Nate's certainly driving that bus again this year."

MacKinnon leads the NHL with 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 67 games. He started the season with a 13-game point streak (six goals, 19 assists). He has an active 20-game home point streak, including 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in Colorado's eight-game home winning streak.

On Monday, MacKinnon became the 100th player in NHL history, and 10th active player, to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

"He gets it done no matter what, which is what you need out of a guy like him," Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson said. "That's why I think he's the best player in the world. He gets it done no matter who's on the ice, what's going on."

That MacKinnon has been the driving force leading Colorado all season is not a surprise. That's his job. This season he's been doing it as consistently as ever despite the Avalanche getting covered by clouds of adversity stemming from injuries, subpar goaltending and blockbuster trades.

The Avalanche struggled to keep the puck out of the net early in the season with Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen. It was a challenge, but MacKinnon did not look or play as if he was impacted by it. If anything, it drove him to be better.

If not for MacKinnon and his 41 points (nine goals, 32 assists) in the first 29 games, the Avalanche could have been underwater before they completely overhauled their goaltending.

Instead, they were 16-13-0 at the time they acquired Mackenzie Blackwood in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 9, after getting Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30. Georgiev went to San Jose, Annunen to Nashville.

The Avalanche are 24-11-3 since, led by MacKinnon's 61 points in 38 games.

"His threshold of elite game is so high that even when he's not at his sharpest he's still such an elite player," Manson said. "His level of buffer is so much higher than everybody else's because he's so good."

On Jan. 24, MacKinnon's hockey world was rocked with longtime linemate and co-impact forward Mikko Rantanen getting traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal that brought Martin Necas to Denver.

MacKinnon was emotional when it happened. He, of course, did not like that Rantanen was gone. But, no surprise, Necas has thrived on his line with 17 points in 18 games. MacKinnon has 27 points.

"Obviously, he's a consistent player, and when he's on his game, it's not just about a point or two," Necas said. "He can have three, four, five points a night, so you can see that he's super explosive and just fun to watch with the puck."

Valeri Nichushkin has missed 38 games because of suspension (17) and an injury (21). Jonathan Drouin has missed 33 because of injuries. Miles Wood (37), Ross Colton (17) and Lehkonen (12) have been out too. Captain Gabriel Landeskog still hasn't played, again.

MacKinnon has played all 67 games, getting a point in 51 and at least two in 30. The Avalanche are sixth in the League with 3.33 goals per game. They are third in the Central Division, three points behind the Dallas Stars.

MacKinnon has driven them this far. It might be his most valuable performance yet.

"Doesn't matter if there's injuries, no injury, full lineup," Drouin said. "He plays with such an edge that it's very hard to play against. And he's not a one-trick pony."

Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis): Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, 71 (nine first-place votes); Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, 47 (three first-place votes); Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, 38 (three first-place votes); Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, 30; Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, 23 (one first-place vote); David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, 7; Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, 7; Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, 6; Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, 3; Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, 2; Kyle Connor, Jets, 2

NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this story