As the 2025-2026 regular season barrels into its final third, the Hart Trophy fight is getting tight. Nathan MacKinnon still leads NHL.com’s panel projections, but Macklin Celebrini and Connor McDavid chip away at his edge week after week.
The three — who skated together for Canada at the Milano Cortina Olympics — now dominate the conversation for league MVP.
MacKinnon Still No. 1
In a 12-member panel vote, Nathan MacKinnon remains on top with 48 points and six first-place votes.
The Avalanche star keeps piling up the offense. He’s at 108 points, among the league leaders, even though Colorado’s power play has sputtered.
What really sets MacKinnon apart this year is his even-strength work. He already has 83 even-strength points and is closing in on his personal best of 92 from the 2023-2024 season.
Over the past 30 years, only Jaromir Jagr posted a better total — 95 even-strength points in 1995-1996.
Huge Impact on Colorado
MacKinnon’s influence goes way beyond raw numbers. When No. 29 is on the ice at even strength, the Avalanche steamroll opponents.
Colorado has scored 106 goals in those situations with him on the ice, and conceded just 39. That’s more than 73% of the goals scored in those circumstances when MacKinnon’s involved.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog says it’s simple: MacKinnon can score from everywhere and finds different ways to be dangerous when certain looks aren’t working.
Celebrini Shines at 19
Right behind him, Macklin Celebrini keeps turning heads. The Sharks’ wunderkind picked up 44 points in the panel vote and earned three first-place ballots.
At just 19, he’s already racked up 91 points this season, slotting him among the league’s top forwards.
Since his NHL debut, Celebrini has 154 points before turning 20 — a total that already sits alongside elite early-career seasons from the likes of Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman.
His poise showed at the Olympics too: 10 points in six games and a spot on the tournament all-star team.
McDavid Still a Major Contender
Connor McDavid is, as ever, right in the mix. The Oilers captain is third in the panel with 42 points and two first-place votes.
No. 97 still tops the league scoring chart with 110 points, 45 of which came on the power play.
He’s also the most-used forward in the NHL, averaging over 23 minutes a night.
Other Names Still in the Mix
Behind the big three, a handful of players picked up votes. Nikita Kucherov is fourth with 28 points and one first-place vote.
David Pastrnak, Zach Werenski, Quinn Hughes, Jason Robertson, Kirill Kaprizov and Cale Makar round out the rankings.
But at this stage, the Hart looks like a three-man fight: MacKinnon, Celebrini and McDavid.
With several weeks left to play, expect this to be decided in the final regular-season games.
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