MacKinnon explains why the Hart Trophy is no longer high on his must-have list
There's no question the Hart Memorial Trophy is a prestigious award in the world of hockey. Given annually to the player deemed to be most valuable to his team, the award can sometimes carry as much controversy as it does prestige, though. Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche had previously stated it's an award he would really like to win at some point in his career, but during the NHL Player's Media Tour, MacKinnon indicated it's not as important to him as it once was.
"There was a time when I cared about it a lot, but I realize I can't put my faith in how 'Jimmy from Philly' or whoever votes," MacKinnon told reporters.
That's an obvious knock on how the winner of the award is determined. It's voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writer's Association. While there's no doubt some won't let their geographical biases get in the way, it leaves room for doubts over whether everyone does.
The last five winners of the award starting in 2018 have been Taylor Hall, Nikita Kucherov, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Auston Matthews.
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JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
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| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||