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NHL MVP Power Rankings: Way-too-early candidates for the Hart Trophy

With the 2023-24 NHL season still in its early stages, we take a look at some players that could win the Hart Trophy, including some former NHL MVPs.

By Jonathan Bailey

Auston Matthews is already reminding the NHL he's an MVP-caliber player.
Auston Matthews is already reminding the NHL he's an MVP-caliber player. / Claus Andersen/GettyImages
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The NHL has more stars than ever before, and that will make this year's Hart Trophy race extremely competitive. The first week of the 2023-24 NHL season has been full of surprises, such as reigning MVP Connor McDavid getting shut down by the Vancouver Canucks not once, but twice. Games like those will open up the opportunity to win the Hart Trophy for a slew of other players.

Of course, it's only been two games for most teams in the league, but from this small sample size we can get a glimpse of which players might be pushing to challenge for this year's Hart. First, we'll start with the best of the rest — players with a history of competing for the Hart Trophy (or winning it) but are on the outside looking in on our way-too-early rankings.

10. Cale Makar, RD, Colorado Avalanche
9. Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers
8. Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche
7. Matthew Tkachuk, LW, Florida Panthers
6. Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning

And the top 5 candidates for the Hart Trophy:

5. player. David Pastrnak MVP Rank #5. . David Pastrnak. David Pastrnak. Right wing. 70. . 2023-24: 2GP, 3G, 1A, 4 pts, +3

Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak was squarely in the MVP conversation last year, finishing in second place in Hart Trophy voting to none other than Connor McDavid. Many felt that Pastrnak had a legitimate case to pry the coveted award from McDavid, but the latter received 99.54 percent of first-place votes.

After all, it depends on what side of the 'most valuable' conversation you're on — there's no doubt McDavid is the best player in the NHL, but is he the most valuable with another MVP candidate like Leon Draisaitl on his team? If the answer is no, Pastrnak's argument just got stronger.

The 27-year-old returns to Boston in 2023 without longtime Bruins centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, and now he'll have to show just how valuable he is. If Pastrnak fails to score at a rate similar to last season, the supporting cast argument might end up working against him anyway. For now, the 60-goal scorer still firmly remains in the Hart Trophy conversation thanks to his strong start to the season.

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