The 29-year-old was surprisingly not named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday, with the three nominees instead being Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Cale Makar. On Thursday, however, the NHL released the three finalists for the Hart Trophy, one of whom was Draisaitl.
It’s very deserved for Draisaitl, who many believe is the frontrunner to win the award. He scored a league-high 52 goals in just 71 games this season, while also registering a team-leading 106 points.Sports
Edmonton Oilers’ Draisaitl nominated for Hart Trophy and here’s who he’s up against
Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl won’t be completely snubbed from every NHL award.
The 29-year-old was surprisingly not named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday, with the three nominees instead being Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Cale Makar. On Thursday, however, the NHL released the three finalists for the Hart Trophy, one of whom was Draisaitl.
It’s very deserved for Draisaitl, who many believe is the frontrunner to win the award. He scored a league-high 52 goals in just 71 games this season, while also registering a team-leading 106 points.
Going up against Draisaitl for the award will be Connor Hellebuyck and Kucherov.
The Winnipeg Jets goaltender is likely to win his second-straight Vezina Trophy after a 2024-25 campaign that saw him post a 2.00 GAA along with a .925 SV% and a 47-12-3 record through 63 appearances.
As for Kucherov, he was able to win his second-straight Art Ross Trophy and the third of his career after managing 121 points on the season. He has one Hart Trophy to date, which came back in 2018-19 when he put up 128 points.
For Draisaitl, as great as it would be for him to win his second Hart Trophy, he has much bigger goals on his mind. After beginning their playoffs in a rough patch by falling 2-0 in their first-round series to the LA Kings, the Oilers have been able to storm back with three-straight wins and will look to advance on Thursday evening.
