At the end of every NHL season, the league gives out its most prestigious award, the Hart Trophy.
The Hart Trophy is given to a player who is deemed the most valuable to their team in the regular season. This season, there are numerous candidates for the award, as the league’s overall success and talent continue to grow.
However, three players have stood out the most, each with a strong argument for why they should win.
Who are these three players, and which argument is the best?
3. Nathan Mackinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Nathan Mackinnon won the Hart Trophy in the 2023-24 season and is once again playing at an MVP level.
Mackinnon leads the NHL with 51 goals and a +57 plus/minus rating and is third in the league in points, with 122. He is also on the best team in the NHL this season, the Colorado Avalanche, leading the league with 110 points.
Being the best player on the best team is a pretty good argument for the Hart Trophy, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Mackinnon shares the ice with Cale Makar and Scott Wedgewood. Makar ranks third among defensemen in points and is one of the favorites to win the Norris Trophy, which is given to the best defenseman in the league. Wedgewood leads the league in save percentage and goals against average (minimum 10 games played), playing a significant role in the team’s success.
Mackinnon is also on a line with Martin Necas, who has 92 points this season.
Does having those players make Mackinnon less valuable? It most definitely does. Mackinnon isn’t the sole reason for Colorado’s success, and if you take him off the team, the Avs would still be top contenders.
This doesn’t mean Mackinnon isn’t playing exceptionally this season, but it definitely hurts his case for an award that is meant for a player who is the most valuable for his team. The other players on this list are far more valuable to their teams than Mackinnon is.
2. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Like Mackinnon, Nikita Kucherov has a teammate who’s a favorite for another award, as goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is a nominee for the Vezina trophy. However, this situation is vastly different from the Mackinnon situation.
Vasilevskiy has nothing to do with the Lightning’s offensive success. They are second in the league in goals for, with 264, and unlike Mackinnon, Kucherov does not have a lot of help.
Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 125 points and has 41 more points than Jake Guentzel, who is second on the team. Kucherov also leads the NHL with 1.79 points per game.
What makes his performance even more impressive is that throughout the entire season, his high-scoring teammates have been in and out of the lineup with injuries, giving him less help and more pressure to carry the team.
The Bolts would not be where they are this season if it weren’t for Kucherov, making him extremely valuable. However, there is one player this season whose value for his team is like none other.
1. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
Without a doubt, Macklin Celebrini should be the 2026 Hart Trophy recipient. Celebrini is in his second NHL season and is only 19 years old, but plays like he’s a seasoned veteran. He is already in the top echelon of current players in the league.
Celebrini is in the top five in points with 105 and top 10 in goals with 40. The stats are impressive, but the circumstances behind them are even more remarkable.
Celebrini is playing for a Sharks team that finished dead last in the league last season with 52 points. This season, San Jose is fighting for a playoff spot, and currently holds the final wild card spot, solely because of Celebrini’s breakout season.
He currently has 51 more points than his teammate Will Smith, who is second on the team in points. Just one example that the Sharks rely on Celebrini, as he doesn’t get much help.
Some believe that if San Jose doesn’t make the playoffs, Celebrini doesn’t deserve the Hart, but that couldn’t be any farther from the truth.
This award is given to the player who is the most valuable to their team. If you were to take Celebrini off the Sharks, they wouldn’t even be in the playoff conversation and would be a bottom-five team in the league once again.
Celebrini’s value is unlike any other player’s value in this league and is everything the Hart trophy is about.
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