The NHL has officially announced the finalists for the Hart Trophy, and it's a star-studded lineup that reads like a who's who of hockey royalty. All three nominees are previous winners of the league's MVP award, setting the stage for a historic race.

Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers have been named as this year's finalists. McDavid, a three-time Hart winner, leads the pack in experience, while Kucherov and MacKinnon each have one MVP trophy on their shelves. These three also dominated the scoring charts in the 2025-26 season, with MacKinnon adding the league lead in goals to his resume.

The Hart Trophy, voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, represents the player judged most valuable to his team. While the winner will be announced at a later date, hockey fans are already debating who deserves the honor—and who might have been snubbed from the list.

Beyond the Hart, the NHL is rolling out finalists for other major awards. The Jack Adams Award for coach of the year features Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper. The Vezina Trophy race includes Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. For sportsmanship, the Lady Byng finalist is Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar.

The Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as voted by the players themselves, has a trio of finalists: San Jose Sharks rookie sensation Macklin Celebrini, alongside Kucherov and McDavid. Meanwhile, the Masterton Trophy nominee for perseverance is Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ville Husso.

As the awards season heats up, one thing is clear: this year's finalists represent the very best of the game, and the debate over who truly deserves the Hart will keep fans talking until the winner is crowned.