Who will be NHL MVP? Awards to be handed out Thursday
The Stanley Cup Final is over and now it's time to take one last look at the regular season before building for the future.
The NHL will announce the winners of its remaining regular-season awards on Thursday night (7 ET, ESPN) during the league's annual televised show. The event will be held at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, near the Sphere, where the NHL draft will be conducted on Friday night and Saturday.
Five awards will be handed out for MVP (writers vote, players vote) and the top goalie, defenseman and rookie.
Here are the finalists, plus the winners of the awards that have already been announced:
Hart Trophy (MVP to his team)
Finalists (in alphabetical order): Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid.
Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association
Notes: Kucherov led the NHL and set a franchise record with 144 points and became one of five players in NHL history to record 100 assists in a season. MacKinnon set a franchise record with 140 points and led the league in even-strength points (92), multi-point games (44) and shots on goal (405). McDavid scored 132 points in 76 games to help the Oilers surge from a 2-9-1 start and make the playoffs after a coaching change. He also hit the 100-assist milestone.
Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player)
Finalists (in alphabetical order): Kucherov, MacKinnon, Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews
Who votes: Members of the NHL Players' Association
Notes: Kucherov won the award in 2019 and Matthews won it in 2022. MacKinnon is a three-time finalist but has never won. Matthews led the league this season with 69 goals, the most since 1995-96.
Norris Trophy (defenseman)
Finalists (in alphabetical order): Vancouver Canucks' Quinn Hughes, Nashville Predators' Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche's Cale Makar.
Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association
Notes: Hughes led all defensemen with 75 assists and 92 points – breaking his franchise records for a defenseman – as the Canucks won their first playoff berth since 2019‑20 and first division title since 2012-13. Josiled defensemen in goals (23), power-play goals (nine) and shots on goal (268) and finished third with 85 points. Makar had 21 goals, 69 assists and 90 points to top defensemen with 1.17 points per game.
Vezina Trophy (goaltender)
Finalists (in alphabetical order): Florida Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky, Vancouver Canucks' Thatcher Demko and Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck.
Who votes: General managers
Notes: Bobrovsky (36-17-4, 2.37 goals-against average, .915 save percentage, six shutouts) had a 14-1-1 stretch from Dec. 23 to Feb. 20 as Florida rose from third place to first. Demko (35-14-2, 2.45, .918, five shutouts) set career bests in wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts in just 51 starts as the Canucks won the division title. Hellebuyck (37-19-4, 2.39, .921, five shutouts) won the Jennings Trophy as the goaltender on the team allowing the fewest regular-season goals. He yielded three or fewer goals in 50 of his 60 appearances, including a pair of 10-game streaks with two or fewer goals against.
Calder Trophy (rookie)
Finalists (in alphabetical order): Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes.
Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association
Bedard led or tied for first among rookies in goals (22), assists (39) and points (61) despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw. He had a five-point game on March 12 against Anaheim and scored a lacrosse-style "Michigan" goal on Dec. 23 against St. Louis. Faber tied for first among rookie in assists (39) and led rookies in average ice time (24:58) and blocked shots (150). His 47 points broke the Wild's previous record for points by a rookie defenseman (Filip Kuba, 30 in 2000-01). Hughes led all rookies with 21 power-play assists and 25 power-play points.
Already awarded
Jack Adams Award (coach): Canucks' Rick Tocchet
Selke Trophy (defensive forward): Panthers center Aleksander Barkov
Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship): Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin
Jim Gregory GM of the Year: Dallas Stars' Jim Nill
Masterton Trophy (perseverance): Arizona Coyotes' (now Utah Hockey Club) Connor Ingram
King Clancy Trophy (humanitarian): New York Islanders' Anders Lee
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: New York Rangers' Jacob Trouba