Hart Trophy Finalists 2026: McDavid, MacKinnon, Kucherov. One Doesn't Deserve to Win

McDavid just posted 138 points. Career high. Sixth time leading the league in scoring.

And somehow he's the biggest question mark in the Hart race.

The Oilers got bounced by Anaheim in the first round.

McDavid was playing through a foot and ankle fracture. None of that erases what he did from October through April. Voters have short memories and long biases. Early playoff exits have killed candidacies before. The guy had 90 assists in 82 games. Ninety. A 20-game point streak from December into January. He was operating on a different planet offensively and everybody is acting like that's just normal now.

It can't be normal.

McDavid's case is historical

If McDavid wins his fourth Hart, he's in a club with exactly three names: Gretzky (nine), Howe (six), and Eddie Shore (four).

That's it.

He's 29. If his body holds, Howe's six starts to look reachable. The way he sees the ice, the way he accelerates through the neutral zone, nobody in the league does it like him. StatMuse has him at 1.68 points per game this season. He doesn't have Kucherov's power play setup. He doesn't play on Colorado's team. He drags Edmonton to relevance mostly by himself.

A fourth Hart puts him third all-time. Third. Behind only Gretzky and Howe.

Those are the only two names that matter in this argument.

MacKinnon's got the narrative

Now here is what nobody wants to admit. MacKinnon might actually win this.

Colorado won the Presidents' Trophy with 121 points.

They allowed 203 goals, fewest in the league. MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals. His plus-57 was the best rating in hockey. He won the Hart last year. He is five for five on finalist appearances. The Avalanche took a 2-0 series lead on Minnesota and he was the reason. Ten points in six playoff games. Voters love a narrative and MacKinnon is handing them a good one.

Colorado looks dangerous in a way few teams do.

If the ballot lands before the second round, MacKinnon's momentum is real.

The case nobody talks about

Kucherov finished second in scoring with 130 points in 76 games. That's 1.71 points per game, best in the league. He led all players in primary assists. He was plus-43. He won the Hart in 2018-19 and has been a finalist three straight years. He is the best power play quarterback in hockey. Tampa's system runs through him.

He has never gotten the narrative love that McDavid and MacKinnon get, but his numbers are impossible to ignore.

The Ted Lindsay voters, the players themselves, put him on their ballot.

That carries weight. Guys who play against him every night think he is the best player in the league.

So who actually wins

McDavid was the most valuable player. Full stop. But the Hart has a history of crowning whoever you cannot take your eyes off of in the moment. Right now that is MacKinnon.

The vote closes before the Cup is lifted.

We will see which argument wins.