NHL Announces Hart Trophy Finalists for League MVP

The NHL has announced the three finalists for the Hart Trophy, and the list includes Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.

Nathan MacKinnon (@Avalanche), Auston Matthews (@MapleLeafs) and Connor McDavid (@EdmontonOilers) are the finalists for the 2020-21 Hart Memorial Trophy. https://t.co/78c6pDAmtm #NHLAwards #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/K9UFGAWw01
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 10, 2021

The award is given out for the league's most valuable player and quite frankly it's going to be hard to not vote for McDavid. He's the clear front-runner after collecting 105 points in 56 games, which was 21 more points than any other player. McDavid was on a torrid pace of 154 points over a 82 game season. The 24-year-old won the award back in 2016-17.

Matthews has already won some hardware with taking home the Rocket Richard trophy for scoring the most goals in the NHL and receives a finalist nod for the first time for the Hart. The 23-year-old scored at will this regular season, tallying 41 goals in 52 games, including 31 at even-strength. He also scored 12 game-winning goals, which led the entire NHL.

MacKinnon is the only nominee still playing hockey as the Avs continue to battle the Vegas Golden Knights. He finished the season with 65 points in 48 games, ranking 4th in points-per-game. The 25-year-old has been nominated for the MVP two other times and finished as the runner up on both occasions. It's likely he finishes third this year.

Congrats to the nominees and you might as well start engraving the winner's name now.