Nikita Kucherov was recently surprised with the Hart Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player voted most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard took the Hart Trophy out of its case at the Hockey Hall of Fame, and drove to the airport to make the trip from Toronto to Tampa. He then took a trolley, a jet ski and a convertible to surprise Kucherov at the Tampa Bay Lightning's practice facility, where the trophy was placed on a table in the dark room.
"Thanks for this honor. Just really grateful for my teammates, coaches, my family," Kucherov said. "This means a lot."
The Lightning right wing was second in the NHL this season with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 games. He led the League with a points-per-game average of 1.71 and had a plus-43 rating, tied for third among all players, and had at least one point in 60 of 76 games, including 40 games with at least two points. The 32-year-old had nine games with at least four points and two five-point games.
He was able to edge out Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid by 10 points, and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, who finished third, to win the Hart Trophy for the second time.
Kucherov was also a finalist this season for the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players' Association; McDavid was announced as the winner of the Lindsay Award on Sunday.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper was also on hand to surprise Kucherov. Cooper was previously announced the winner of the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, and Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy the winner of the Vezina Trophy for the NHL's top goalie.
"One of the great things that makes 'Kuch' Kuch is he's never satisfied," Cooper said. "He could have 50 goals one year, well, he wants 51 the next year. He could have a hundred assists one year. He might want 110 the next year. I think really that's the growth of Kuch, he doesn't put that above the team.
"The list of players on (the Hart Trophy) is amazing. For him to be on there multiple times ... pretty cool."
Kucherov has also won the Ted Lindsay Award twice, the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion three times and the Stanley Cup twice.
Selected by Tampa Bay in the second round (No. 58) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Kucherov has 1,124 points (401 goals, 723 assists) in 879 regular-season games and 177 points (54 goals, 123 assists) in 159 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. He won the Cup with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021, leading all postseason point-scorers each time.
