The three finalists for the 2024-2025 NHL Hart Trophy have been named. The Hart Trophy is awarded to one player after every season deemed the most valuable player to their team. The three finalists include Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck (G), Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl (C), and Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov (RW).
Connor Hellebuyck led all goalies in wins with 47, goals against average with 2.00, and shutouts with 8. Nikita Kucherov led the NHL in points this season with 121 and Leon Draisaitl led the league in goals with 52.
Although all three of these players are deserving of winning the Hart Trophy, there is one player that may have been overlooked. Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak had a stellar season and was the heart of the Bruins’ offense all year long. In terms of value to the team, Pastrnak proved himself to be irreplaceable.
David Pastrnak finished the season with 106 points, tied for third best in the league. His 43 goals were fifth most this season and he was seventh in assists with 63. Pastrnak led Boston in all of these categories.
The Bruins finished the season with 222 goals scored. With his 106 points between goals and assists, Pastrnak had a hand in 106 out of 222 Bruins goals. This means he was a factor in almost 48% of the goals scored by the Bruins all season. To put this into perspective, Kucherov and Draisaitl were both factors in 41% of their teams goals for the season.
Adding to his case, David Pastrnak finished the season with more goals than Kucherov and more assists than Draisaitl. Being a part of nearly half of your team’s offense for an entire season both proves value to an organization and shows that Pastrnak deserved to be a finalist for the Hart Trophy.
What Impressed Don Sweeney Most About David Pastrnak’s Season
Leon Draisaitl, Connor Hellebuyck and Nikita Kucherov were named finalists for the Hart Trophy, the NHL announced Thursday.
Given how miserable the Boston Bruins’ 2024-25 campaign was, it’s not hard to see how David Pastrnak could be overlooked. However, you can’t ignore the fact that Pastrnak played arguably the best hockey of his career this season.
After becoming just the third Bruins player in franchise history to record three straight 100-point seasons, joining legends Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito, Pastrnak’s accomplishment on a team that finished at the bottom of the league should have made him a true Hart Trophy contender.
There’s no denying that without Pastrnak’s point production, Boston’s season could have been even worse than it was. Finishing the season tied for third in points, with Draisaitl, was even more impressive — considering the start Pastrnak had.
“If you look and see at the start of the season that David got off to, the fact is that’s where he ended up in the scoring races, and overall in the league is even more impressive, because he, as well, did not get off to a torrid start by any means,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said during a recent appearance on the “100% Hockey” podcast. “He came off a little bit of knee stuff in the offseason. (He) probably didn’t have the most effective training schedule that he’s generally accustomed to having.
“So, he had a little bit of a slow start, but boy, did he produce. By year’s end, he was in the top echelon of the league, right where he belongs.”
