Who will win the NHL's top awards this season? Here are AP's predictions
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Toronto’s Auston Matthews are all in the running to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.
MacKinnon has carried the top-heavy Avalanche into the playoffs, Kucherov has played a role in half the Lightning’s goals, McDavid got the Oilers back in it after a horrid start and Matthews is on the verge of becoming the first to player to hit 70 goals in a season in more than 30 years.
McDavid also became just the fourth player to record 100 assists in a season, and Kucherov is one away with a game left.
“There’s a lot,” Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman said. “These kind of numbers have not been reached in a long time. ... It’s going to be close, but you obviously know who has my vote.”
Here is who AP’s hockey writers think will take home the hardware on these regular-season awards in June (all stats through Monday):