Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane wins Hart Trophy
By Leah Smith
The Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s MVP for 2016.
On Wednesday night, Patrick Kane made NHL history as he became the first American player to ever win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. He was also the first Chicago Blackhawks’ player to win the award since Stan Mikita won it back in 1968.
It was a record-breaking season all around for Kane. On top of the Hart, he also won the Art Ross Trophy as the player with the most points at the end of the regular season with 106. This marked the first time in his career that Kane recorded over 100 points in a season, scoring 46 goals and adding 60 assists. He became the first Blackhawk to reach 100 points since Jeremy Roenick in 1993-94, and the first American to do so since Doug Weight in 1995-96.
Kane also went on the longest point scoring streak by an American and Blackhawk from October to December of 2015. Over that stretch, Kane registered a point in 26 straight games scoring 16 goals and 24 assists. He won one final award this year, the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as judged by the NHL Players Association – the Hart Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
The other two finalists for the Hart Trophy were Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars.
Crosby got off to a slow start this season leading to questions over if his best playing days were behind him. Then, the Penguins made a coaching change and under the leadership of Mike Sullivan, Crosby and Pittsburgh turned their season around on route to the Stanley Cup. Crosby played in 80 games for the Penguins scoring 36 goals and 49 assists for 85 points. Along with the Cup, Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.
Benn followed up his 87-point Art Ross winning season by registering 89 points this season for Dallas. He played all 82 games for the Stars scoring 41 goals and 48 assists.
The Hart Trophy was donated to the NHL by Dr. David Hart, and has been given to the League MVP since the 1923-24 season. Wayne Gretzky holds the record for most Hart Trophy wins at nine.
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