Edmonton

Oiler Draisaitl and Jets goalie Hellebuyck among finalists for NHL's Hart Trophy

With 52 goals, Edmonton's Draisaitl led the NHL in scoring this season, while Winnipeg's Hellebuyck led the league with 47 wins.

Draisaitl led the NHL in scoring, Hellebuyck led league in wins

A hockey player wearing a white jersey takes a shot on a goalie wearig a dark jersey.
Edmonton Oilers Leon Draisaitl scores on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during a March 2024 game in Winnipeg. The two players, along with Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, were named as three finalists for the Hart Trophy. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck are finalists for the Hart Trophy, the NHL announced Thursday.

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov is the third nominee for the award, which is given annually to the player judged most valuable to his team.

Draisaitl, from Cologne, Germany, led the NHL with 52 goals to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy and added 54 assists for 106 points, helping Edmonton finish third in the Pacific Division. He previously won the Hart in 2020.

Goalie Hellebuyck led the NHL with 47 wins, a 2.00 GAA, and a .925 save percentage, adding eight shutouts while guiding Winnipeg to its first Presidents' Trophy. The 31-year-old, who is a Vezina Trophy finalist and already captured the William M. Jennings Trophy, is the first player in franchise history to be named a Hart finalist.

He aims to become the fourth netminder in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to win the award, joining Dominik Hasek (1997 and 1998), Jose Theodore (2002), and Carey Price (2015).

Kucherov, from Maykop, Russia, topped the NHL with 121 points to capture his third Art Ross Trophy. The 2019 Hart winner helped Tampa Bay reach the playoffs for the eighth straight season.