The NHL has announced the three players in the running to be named the league’s most valuable player for this season.
With the playoffs in full swing, the NHL has been announcing finalists for its major awards over the past few weeks. On Monday, the league announced the three players who could get the nod for the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2016-17 regular season.
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets are this year’s Hart candidates as the top three vote-getters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Crosby has won the Hart twice already in his career, first in 2007 and again in 2014. As captain of the Penguins, he’s currently leading them to a possible repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. Crosby won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP last season, and this year already has 11 postseason points as Pittsburgh lead the Washington Capitals 2-0 in their series.
The 29-year-old center scored 89 points this season, including 44 goals to lead the NHL and win Crosby his second Rocket Richard Trophy.
McDavid, the sophomore captain of the Oilers, won the 2017 Art Ross Trophy by leading the league with 100 points. He led Edmonton to its first playoff appearance since 2006 and now has six points through nine games as they currently lead the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 in their series. McDavid is just two years removed from being picked first overall at the 2015 draft, making an immediate impact in the league as one of the most sought-after teenagers in league history.
Finally, Bobrovsky had a career year in net for the Blue Jackets. He went 41-17-5, backstopping them to a surprising playoff appearance, and led the NHL with a .931 save percentage. Bobrovsky was also recently named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the league, after a season that’s matched only by his 2012-13 rookie year, when he posted a .932 save percentage in 38 games.
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Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks won last year’s Hart Trophy. We’ll find out the winner for 2017 at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, on June 21.