MacKinnon meets all definitions, wins both Hart Trophy, Lindsay Award

LAS VEGAS -- Nathan MacKinnon stood in front of the photographers after the 2024 NHL Awards at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Thursday, smiling with his arms around the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award.

“It’s really cool,” the Colorado Avalanche center said. “I honestly never thought I’d win these, so very special.”

It was particularly special for MacKinnon to sweep the Hart and the Lindsay, winning each for the first time, because there were so many deserving candidates this season.

Remember that the Hart and the Lindsay are supposed to be distinct honors based on the regular season. They have different criteria and different voters.

The Hart goes “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable player to his team” as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. What it means to be “the most valuable” -- especially in relation “to his team” -- is a matter of debate in and of itself.

The other finalists were Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid.

Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion with 144 points, the second-most by anyone over the past 28 years. He won the Hart in 2019.

McDavid finished third in the NHL with 132 points. He won the Hart in 2017, 2021 and 2023.

There wasn’t enough room in the top three for Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL goal-scoring champion with 69 goals, the most by anyone over the past 31 years. He won the Hart in 2022.

“It was really close,” MacKinnon said, speaking to a group of reporters. “It could have went to ‘Kuch,’ Connor, Auston, a lot of guys. Definitely very fortunate that you guys all voted for me. Appreciate it, I guess.”

Except the vote wasn’t that close, even though you could argue the Hart could have, or should have, gone to any of the other three.

MacKinnon won the Hart with 1,740 points (137 first-place votes). Kucherov was second with 1,269 (50), McDavid third with 845 (one) and Matthews fourth with 756 (two).

The Lindsay goes “to the most outstanding player” as voted by the NHL Players’ Association. In other words, it’s more straightforward: Who had the best season? And it isn’t up to the writers. It’s up to the players.

The other finalists were Kucherov and Matthews. Kucherov won it in 2019. Matthews won it in 2022.

The players don’t reveal their voting results, but clearly they had multiple good choices. It’s notable they had Matthews as a finalist instead of McDavid.

“Yeah, this year was difficult,” said Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, who won the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie as voted by the NHL general managers. “There was a lot of guys that could definitely have won it.”

Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, who won the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman as voted by the PHWA, said he and his teammates would talk about the awards over breakfast or dinner down the stretch.

“Everyone had different opinions on who they thought should win the Hart or Ted Lindsay,” Hughes said. “That’s what makes it such a unique year. There were so many great players that were up there.”

MacKinnon appreciated that his peers voted for him.

“You don’t know what guys really think about your game,” he said. “When I vote for the Ted Lindsay [like] I do every year … you put so much thought into it, the guys that you see on TV and you play against, so [it’s] super cool. Honored that the boys in the League really like my game. Definitely super respectful of everyone in the League. Definitely an honor as well.”

The bottom line is that MacKinnon had an award-worthy season by either measure despite incredible competition.

MacKinnon had 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) in 82 games, second in the NHL and an Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques record. 

He was so consistent that he was on the scoresheet in 69 games, most in the NHL. He led the League in even-strength points (92), multipoint games (44) and shots on goal (405), while ranking second in power-play assists (38) and power-play points (48).

He began the season with a 35-game home point streak, the second-longest home scoring streak in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky’s full-season home scoring streak in 1988-89, and he became the first player ever with two separate overall point streaks of at least 19 games in the same season.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Hughes said. “His drive and his competitiveness, you can see it. He never takes shifts off, and he plays 25 minutes, and you wonder how he does it. He’s a special player.

“You watch McDavid in the playoffs and all the records he’s breaking, and then also you’ve got a guy like MacKinnon in the League too, so the League’s in a good spot.”