No one, least of all Nikita Kucherov, is thinking about individual awards after the Tampa Bay Lightning were denied a chance at the ultimate team award at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Still, it’s nice to see that Kucherov has finished, at worst, among the top three players in the NHL this season as decided by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. It is the second year in a row that he has been a finalist, as he came up just sort last season, finishing second to Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.
While his numbers were down from his historic 2023-24 season, Kucherov still finished atop the NHL in points with 121 in 78 games. MacKinnon, who the Avalanche rested down the stretch finished with 116 points in 79 games. The duo tied for the lead league in assists with 84. Kucherov was the league’s leader in power play points with 46, and he finished third in even-strength points with 75. David Pastrnak (83) and MacKinnon (78) were the only skaters to best him. Kucherov also led the league in primary assists with 56.
In short, he was the engine driving the Lightning offense yet again. Perhaps a testament to how valuable he is to his team was their performance in the postseason. With Florida bottling him up for the most part (he did still four points in five games) the Tampa Bay offense sputtered, especially on the power play as they finished 2-for-18 (11.1%) against the Panthers.
He will face some stiff competition from Leon Draisaitl and Connor Hellebuyck, who were the other two finalists. Edmonton’s Draisaitl led the league in goals with 52 despite playing in just 70 games while Hellebuyck is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina. If the Winnipeg goaltender wins the Hart, he’ll be the first netminder to nab MVP honors since Carey Price won in 2014-15.
Kucherov, who has already added his third Art Ross trophy to his collection, is looking to join Alex Ovechkin as the only Russian-born players to win multiple MVP awards. Kucherov collected his first Hart Trophy in 2018-19. The 31-year-old was also named as one of the finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award given to the most outstanding player in the league as determined by the players.
While Kucherov would trade any of these nominations for another shot at the Stanley Cup, it is nice that his excellence on the ice is being recognized not only by his peers, but by those that cover the game. Congratulations Kuch.
