<p>The NHL Hart Trophy race hasn’t felt this wide open in years. A goalie reigns as the league MVP, with Connor Hellebuyck becoming the first in a decade to earn the honor. Three-time MVP Connor McDavid is the consensus top player in the world but, with his team hellbent on a championship, his health is paramount, and that means he could be load-managed. Other previous MVPs likely to jockey for the award this season include Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov. We have contract year Kirill Kaprizov. We have Jack Eichel with the best linemate of his career. Anything can happen in 2025-26.</p>



<p>So who are the top Hart candidates for this season? I’ve ranked my picks below.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Nathan MacKinnon, C, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/colorado-avalanche/line-combinations">Colorado Avalanche</a></h2>



<p>MacKinnon is by default an elite MVP candidate given he won the award in 2023-24, has finished as a finalist three other times and placed second in league scoring each of the past two seasons. But for me, his Hart candidacy gets even stronger because of his team situation. The Avalanche have begun a slow decline, their point total shrinking every season since they won the Stanley Cup in 2021-22. As they become increasingly top-heavy, they rely on MacKinnon and Cale Makar more and more. MacKinnon’s ice time has flirted with 23 minutes a game the past two years. Because I expect Colorado will have to fight all year even to be a top-three team in the Central Division, MacKinnon won’t be able to rest. He’ll be the ferocious engine driving the Avs, as important to them as any player league-wide is to his team.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="266"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Connor McDavid, C, <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/2025-26-nhl-team-preview-prediction-edmonton-oilers/">Edmonton Oilers</a></h2>



<p>Even if load management becomes a factor, we can only rank the consensus best player of a generation so low every year. McDavid’s floor –&nbsp;a 26-goal, 100-point season in 67 games last year – qualifies as a career year for most mortal NHLers. It’s not a question of whether he’ll tilt the ice in Edmonton’s favor nightly or notch 100 points again or rank among the league leaders in points per game; it’s whether he plays enough games to sway Professional Hockey Writers Association voters. It’s clear at this stage of his career that individual accolades are not a priority. He’ll punt the Hart and Art Ross in the name of being fresh for the playoffs. That said: it’s McDavid. I refuse to rank him lower than second.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Auston Matthews, C, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">Toronto Maple Leafs</a></h2>



<p>Matthews, Hart candidate coming off a 78-point season, with Mitch Marner gone as a linemate? Hear me out. Narrative can influence a vote, and the loss of Marner could strengthen Matthews’ MVP case if he stays healthy for, say, 75 games. Even when he’s not scoring goals, he’s an elite chance generator, a great defensive forward, a fearless shot blocker and one of the most impactful all-around players at his position, and on the years where his body co-operates and he has his shot at full power, no one has a higher goal-scoring ceiling. If Matthews returns to being an elite scorer, he could earn a long look for the Hart given he’ll be perceived as carrying a weakened Leafs team on his back. The purist Hart voters who prioritize value to team over picking the best player could lean Matthews’ way even if his point total falls way short of the league leaders’.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="282"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Kirill Kaprizov, LW, <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/2025-2026-nhl-team-preview-minnesota-wild-kaprizov-season-predictions-breakdown-roster-lineup/">Minnesota Wild</a></h2>



<p>In exactly half a season, shortened by injury, Kaprizov produced at a 50-goal, 112-point pace last season. That type of production would place him among the God-tier forwards over the course of a full year – but, unlike those peers, Kaprizov doesn’t have truly elite talent surrounding him day to day in Minnesota. That isn’t a knock on great talents like Matt Body, Joel Eriksson Ek and Brock Faber, by the way, but it pales in comparison to Makar, Leon Draisaitl, William Nylander, Brayden Point and so on. If Kaprizov, in his UFA walk year, delivers a signature season and helps the Wild reach the postseason again, he’ll get some serious Hart love. He finished seventh in the vote in 2021-22.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Connor Hellebuyck, G, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/winnipeg-jets/line-combinations">Winnipeg Jets</a></h2>



<p>Last season, Hellebuyck became the first goalie to win the Hart since Carey Price in 2014-15. The last and only puckstopper to win it two years in a row was Dominik Hasek in 1996-97 and 1997-98, so the odds of Hellebuyck doing so are obviously slim. Then again, the conditions that made Hellebuyck a worthy winner last year remain in place. He’s the most consistent netminder of his generation, regularly grading out as one of the best puck-stoppers in the game, starting as many games as any other goaltender if not more, backstopping a playoff contender. He’s won three Vezina Trophies in the past six years and has three top-six finishes in the MVP vote over that span. Having lost scoring forward Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency and with captain Adam Lowry starting the year on injured reserve following hip surgery, the Jets may need Hellebuyck even more this season than last.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="273"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. Leon Draisaitl, C, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/">Edmonton Oilers </a></h2>



<p>I always feel like I’m doing Draisaitl dirty placing him this low on the board. Previously, I did so because he only won his Hart during a year when McDavid missed significant time. Now, Draisaitl is less likely to find himself in that scenario because the Oilers might load-manage <em>him</em>, too. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy last season despite playing only 71 games, but those 11 missed games probably cost him the Hart. He finished second to Hellebuyck. So much has to go right for Draisaitl to win it.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">7. Quinn Hughes, D, <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/">Vancouver Canucks</a></h2>



<p>If the Canucks can’t claw their way back into the postseason, any MVP discussion will be moot. The last Hart winner from a non-playoff team was Mario Lemieux in 1987-88. Even if the Canucks reach the big dance: no defenseman has won the Hart since Chris Pronger in 1999-00. So why put Quinn Hughes on this list? Because no player in the league carries his team more. With Hughes on the ice at all strengths last season, the score was 122-85 Canucks. Without him, the Canucks were outscored 166-111. The scoring chances were 995 to 599 with him. Without him: 1,545-1,108 for the other team. Those are <em>unbelievable </em>discrepancies. If the Canucks are a playoff team, he’ll remain a disproportionately important contributor and will likely deserve some MVP consideration.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="219"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">8. Nikita Kucherov, RW, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/tampa-bay-lightning/line-combinations">Tampa Bay Lightning</a></h2>



<p>How can Kucherov rank this low when he’s led the league in scoring two years running? That answers the question. If he can’t win a second career Hart when he wins the scoring title, it feels like he never will again. He’s a sublime offensive player, my personal favorite to watch, but he falls comfortably behind his peers defensively, which keeps him in finalist territory rather than the winner’s seat.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">9. Jack Hughes, C, <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/2025-2026-nhl-team-preview-prediction-new-jersey-devils/">New Jersey Devils</a></h2>



<p>Jack Hughes’ injury problems are very real, even if he insists they are of the fluke variety. Over his past four seasons, he’s played 49, 78, 62 and 62 games. On the other hand: per 82 games over that span, he piles up 40 goals and 98 points. That production reminds us that a healthy Hughes can rank among the NHL’s true superstars and enter the MVP discussion if his team performs well along with him.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="146"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">10. Jack Eichel, C, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vegas-golden-knights/line-combinations">Vegas Golden Knights</a></h2>



<p>The 2025-26 campaign represents Eichel’s best shot at a Hart. He’s in his prime at 28, coming off a peak season in which he notched a career-best 94 points and finished fifth in the Hart <em>and </em>Selke Trophy votes. Not only has Eichel found his optimal form as a responsible all-around player, but he gets a fellow superstar-grade talent on his wing in Marner. Eichel is a dark horse to become the first player to win the Hart and Selke in the same season since Sergei Fedorov in 1993-94.</p>



<p><em>Other 2025-26 Hart Trophy candidates to consider: Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, David Pastrnak, Mitch Marner, Aleksander Barkov, Clayton Keller, Brady Tkachuk, Nick Suzuki, Tage Thompson, Zach Werenski, Artemi Panarin, Dustin Wolf, Sidney Crosby</em>, <em>Robert Thomas</em></p>



<p>_____</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF SURVIVOR POOL</strong></h2>



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<p>Think you’ve got what it takes to outlast everyone else? Test your hockey smarts in the Daily Faceoff Survivor Pool — a high-stakes game of elimination with a $2,500 grand prize for the last fan standing. The contest continues until there’s only one survivor — and that winner takes it all. Are you ready to survive?<a href="https://fantasy.dailyfaceoff.com/dfo/hksurvivor25/home"> Sign up now and make your picks!</a></p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="189"></div>



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