Final 2026 NHL Awards Watch: Kucherov takes the lead for MVP

It’s the final week of the 2025-26 NHL regular season. The awards voters have their ballots and are sweating out their decisions in what are (with one exception) extremely close races this season.

Hence, this final NHL Awards Watch becomes the most illuminating. This where the wind is blowing in the final days of the season. These are players making late pushes or fading near the finish line. This could be what the finalists end up looking like.

Welcome to the NHL Awards Watch for April. We’ve polled a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously to get a sense of where the wind is blowing for the current leaders. We’ve made sure it’s a cross section from the entire league, trying to gain as many perspectives as possible.

Keep in mind that the PHWA votes for the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng finalists, broadcasters vote for the Jack Adams and general managers vote for the Vezina.

All stats are from Hockey-Reference.com, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

Jump ahead:
Ross | Richard | Hart
Norris | Selke | Vezina
Calder | Byng | Adams

Art Ross Trophy (points leader)

Click here for the updated point-scoring standings.

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Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy

Click here for the updated goal-scoring standings.

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Hart Trophy (MVP)

Leader: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Finalists: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers; Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

MacKinnon’s four-month reign atop the Hart Trophy race has ended at the most inopportune time.

Kucherov earned roughly 50% of the first-place votes in the final Awards Watch tally to lead the race in its final days. Entering Sunday’s action, Kucherov had 128 points in 74 games to lead the NHL with a 1.73 points-per-game average. He was 41 points ahead of the Lightning’s next highest scorer Jake Guentzel in six fewer games. Kucherov last won the Hart Trophy in 2019 and was a finalist last season.

He was tied with McDavid last month for the third-most first-place votes but takes the lead at the end of the regular season.

“In a year in which the Lightning have dealt with so many key injuries and absences, Kucherov has been the driving force to getting Tampa Bay into a playoff spot,” one Kucherov voter noted.

“The Lightning aren’t comfortably in a playoff spot with well upwards of 100 points without Nikita Kucherov,” another declared. “So that boldly checks the award’s definition box.”

“This is the tightest Hart race I’ve ever voted on. Felt all season this was Nathan MacKinnon’s to lose and, well, Kucherov and Connor McDavid have both passed him at this point. The ultimate photo finish here,” another voter explained.

McDavid was second in the voting this month with around 35% of the first-place votes. Since Leon Draisaitl saw his regular season end with a lower-body injury on March 15, McDavid had 10 goals and nine assists in 12 games to clinch a playoff spot for the Oilers for the seventh straight season.

Entering Sunday, McDavid had 133 points in 80 games, seeking to add a sixth scoring title to his career achievements. There’s now a gap of 36 points between McDavid and Draisaitl among Oilers scorers, with Connor also 12 goals ahead of him.

McDavid is seeking his fourth Hart Trophy, having last won in 2023.

“McDavid physically dragged Edmonton to the top of the Pacific without help from Draisaitl and reminded everyone he is the top dog,” a McDavid backer opined. “Edmonton is not in the playoffs without his performance down the stretch.”

“I lean to McDavid for his play without Draisaitl and Zach Hyman,” another revealed.

Could MacKinnon still pull this thing out? Nate Dogg earned the third-most first-place MVP votes in the final Awards Watch, having powered the Avalanche to clinching the Presidents’ Trophy with the league’s best regular-season record.

MacKinnon had 126 points in 78 games. His 52 goals were best in the NHL entering Sunday, although Montreal’s Cole Caufield was just one tally behind. The Avalanche star is seeking his second league MVP award, having last won the Hart in 2024.

“I just think if you take him off the Avs, they aren’t nearly the same team. He’s been otherworldly,” one MacKinnon voter beamed.

The only other player to receive a first-place vote was 19-year-old San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini. Our voters made it clear in last month’s Awards Watch: If the Sharks made the playoffs — or narrowly missed — many of them were ready to flip their votes over to Celebrini, with declarations such as: “It’s Celebrini if the Sharks somehow rally.”

As it stands, only two writers officially gave Celebrini first-place votes in the final Awards Watch, but he received plenty of love from the voters we surveyed.

“Can we have a situation like with MLB, where a player wins MVP on a team that doesn’t make the playoffs? Alex Rodriguez won the AL MVP in 2003 on a Texas Rangers team that finished dead last,” a voter pointed out. “Celebrini joins a short list of players recording 100 points as a teenager. The last to do it was Sidney Crosby.”

“Celebrini for sure if the Sharks make the playoffs,” another voter commented.

“There are three incredible candidates for the Hart, and four if Celebrini can get the Sharks in,” a non-Celebrini voter acknowledged.

“If San Jose gets in, I don’t see how it’s a discussion,” another argued.

“If my ballot were due right now, it’s Nikita Kucherov. However, Macklin Celebrini has a serious case,” another admitted.

Other players mentioned by our voters that didn’t receive first-place votes included Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski and Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak.

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Norris Trophy (top defenseman)

Leader: Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
Finalists: Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche

Werenski has been eating into Makar’s vote lead for the last few months until he tied the Avalanche star with 41% of the vote last month. In the final days of the Norris race, Werenski has taken the lead in the ballots we surveyed, even as his team has dropped in the standings.

Werenski earned around 53% of the first-place votes for the Norris. The Blue Jackets’ defenseman was voted second for the Norris last season, which Makar won. Werenski is seeking his first award as the NHL’s top defenseman.

Werenski had 22 goals and 59 points through 73 games, with his 81 points ranking second behind Bouchard among all defensemen. He was also second in average ice time (26:34) behind Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild, playing in all situations for Columbus. That’s one reason why Werenski isn’t just one of the NHL best on the blue line this season — he’s also easily Columbus’s MVP, 14 points better than their second-leading scorer Kirill Marchenko.

“Zach Werenski with the late surge, narrowly over Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar,” one voter declared.

“What, and where, is Columbus without Werenski? He isn’t working with the same depth of talent that Cale Makar has in Colorado,” another noted. “Werenski is exceptional at both ends of the ice, and Columbus wouldn’t be nearly where they are without him.”

“Werenski is also in the back end of Hart talk. It is time to give him his flowers,” another quipped.

Makar was second in the voting with around 24% of the first-place votes and has strong support as he seeks his second straight Norris and third win of his seven-season career. The Avalanche defenseman has 20 goals in 55 assists for 75 points through 73 games, skating 24:53 on average. He scored 16 of those goals at even strength.

“While Evan Bouchard and Werenski have more points than Makar, that doesn’t make up for what Makar brings to a team,” a Makar backer argued. “Just a dynamic game-changing ability from the backend. Still the best defenseman in the NHL.”

If there’s one defenseman making significant noise at the right time, it’s Bouchard. The Oilers star will lead all defensemen in scoring this season, having tallied 91 points in 80 games, becoming just the fifth defenseman to break 90 points in a season this millennium. He’s averaging 24:38 in ice time per game, playing in all situations.

“Bouchard isn’t getting the love he deserves, probably because he wasn’t at the Olympics — which I will remind everyone, doesn’t count for this award,” one voter pointed out. “He’s scoring, and has improved 5-on-5 numbers. Werenski has run out of steam of late.”

Bouchard collected the third-most first-place votes. The only other defensemen to be named first on out voters’ ballots were the Wild’s Hughes, who was a finalist for the Norris in the March Awards Watch, and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, last season’s rookie of the year.

“Lane Hutson is my No. 1 right now,” one voter revealed. “I feel an argument can be made for so many top blueliners this year. For me, I boiled it down to 5-on-5 production.”

Other defensemen mentioned down the ballot included Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars, Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings, Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres and Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders.

But don’t fret for Schaefer. He’ll get his hardware.

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Calder Trophy (top rookie)

Leader: Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders
Finalists: Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens; Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim Ducks

The intrigue isn’t whether Schaefer, the brilliant 18-year-old Islanders defenseman, will win the Calder Trophy as rookie of year. The intrigue is whether he’ll be a unanimous choice for the award.

It’s certainly not out of the question if our sample of the electorate is any indication. For the third straight month, Schaefer earned every first-place vote from the ballots we surveyed. The first overall pick in the 2025 draft, he scored 59 points in 80 games, and his 23 goals are second in the team. Schaefer is skating 24:39 per game on average, in all situations.

As the voters told us:

“Is there really any discussion needed?”

“It’s a bad year to be a rookie not named Matthew Schaefer.”

“The fact that sportsbooks are no longer offering odds on this award loudly speaks to the rookie defender’s grip on it.”

“A rookie defenseman playing almost 25 minutes a night and he’s plus-16? Perhaps a flawed stat but whatever. Lock this one in. Next.”

“Schaefer has separated himself as the clear winner, despite strong competition.”

While they’re not going to win the Calder, Ducks forward Sennecke and Canadiens forward Demidov were the clear other options.

Heading into Sunday, Demidov (61 points) had the rookie scoring lead by one point over Senneke (60), with Schaefer right behind them (59). Senneke and Schaefer were tied for the rookie lead in goals (23), one ahead of Pittsburgh’s Oliver Kapanen (22).

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Vezina Trophy (top goaltender)

Note: The NHL’s general managers vote for this award.

Leader: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Finalists: Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders; Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

Will the league’s general managers be aligned with the writers on this award? Because the voters have made Vasilevskiy their choice for Vezina winner over Sorokin.

This is the third straight Awards Watch with Vasilevskiy earning the most first-place votes. His margin has shrunk: After earning 53% of the first-place votes last month, Vasilevskiy earned around 43% of them this month. Sorokin was right behind him with 33% of the first-place votes.

Vasilevskiy won the Vezina in 2019. Sorokin finished second for the award in 2023.

Entering Sunday’s games, Vasilevskiy leads the NHL with 38 wins in 57 appearances. He had the third-best save percentage (.913) and second-best goals-against average (2.30) among goalies with at least 30 appearances.

“His entire season has been a masterclass in perseverance,” one voter beamed. “No matter what the Lightning have faced, Vasilevskiy is their proverbial port in a storm.”

Sorokin’s traditional stats (29 wins, .907 save percentage, 2.65 goals-against average) aren’t up to those standards, but he has had the stronger analytic case than Vasilevskiy this season. Entering Sunday, he led the NHL in goals saved above expected with 26.7, just ahead of Thompson (26.6).

“This is Sorokin’s trophy to lose,” another voter declared. “Though Thompson and Vasilevskiy are making up ground. But you can’t deny the goals saved above expectations for Sorokin.”

“I just think he’s had to do a lot for his team and save them but Vasy is close behind,” another voter explained.

Thompson earned around 14% of the first-place votes, and has a strong case both analytically and via traditional stats. He placed fourth for the Vezina last season.

Other goalies receiving first-place votes included Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins and Scott Wedgewood of the Colorado Avalanche.

“Swayman has some really good numbers when you account for what Boston gives up,” one voter relayed. “He’s been a difference-maker for them and makes key saves every night.”

One other goalie mentioned down the ballot: Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

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Selke Trophy (best defensive forward)

Leader: Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Finalists: Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche; Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes

If there needed to be any more evidence that it’s simply Suzuki’s “turn” to win the award for best defensive forward, here it is: Suzuki has now led the Awards Watch race for the Selke for five straight months.

Not only that, but his vote share has increased month over month for the last three editions. In February, it was at 53%. In this final edition of the season, the Canadiens center earned around 67% of the first-place votes.

Suzuki had 99 points in his first 80 games this season, skating to a plus-36. The Canadiens have a 1.99 goals against per 60 minutes when Suzuki is on the ice at 5-on-5. If there’s a knock on his Selke candidacy, it’s that Suzuki doesn’t average the short-handed time (0:43 per game) that Nelson (1:52) and Staal (2:14) do.

“His two-way play has been fantastic this year,” one voter commented. “Elite on both sides of the puck. He’s just off my Hart ballot.”

“I have been lukewarm on contenders for this one. But Suzuki has separated himself from the pack in a meaningful way,” another remarked. “He deserves now to have his name etched near to idol Patrice Bergeron.”

But for some voters, there might still be wiggle room.

“If I had to vote right now, it’s Nick Suzuki, but I’m still sorting through everything over the final week of the season,” another voter admitted.

Suzuki is seeking his first Selke in a seven-year career. Staal is seeking his first win in a 20-year NHL career. The veteran Hurricanes center has been considered one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL for over a decade but has been a Selke finalist just twice, the last time in 2023-24. As usual, he’s crushing it in the faceoff circle, winning 55.5% of his draws. Nelson and Suzuki were both at 50.2% entering Sunday’s action.

Nelson is a new addition to the top three. The Avalanche average 2.1 goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 when he’s on the ice. Please note that Nelson’s teammate Nathan MacKinnon, who surprisingly made the top three for this award last month, did not receive a first-place vote this month. Such is nature of the Selke.

The other players to receive first-place votes for the Selke were a trio of Tampa Bay Lightning forwards: Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde and Brandon Hagel.

Among the numerous players getting support down the ballot for the Selke: Noah Cates (Philadelphia), Jack Eichel (Vegas), Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota), Nico Hischier (New Jersey), Parker Kelly (Colorado), former Selke winner Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles), Dylan Larkin (Detroit), Mitch Marner (Vegas), Ryan McLeod (Buffalo), Shane Pinto (Ottawa) and Alex Tuch (Buffalo).

“Don’t sleep on Alex Tuch,” one voter warned. “He’s played a lot of short-handed minutes and is often one of the top guys on late to protect a lead for Buffalo.”

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Lady Byng Trophy (gentlemanly play)

This is the part where I mention that the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play should be voted on by the league’s on-ice officials or by the NHL Players’ Association instead of the PHWA. Traditionally, this award goes to a player with a top-20 point total and the lowest penalty minutes among those players.

Cole Caufield has 51 goals and just 14 PIM through 79 games. Maybe it’s him?

Shoutout to the voter we surveyed who answered “Brad Marchand.” In fairness, his 38 PIM would be the second fewest of his career.

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Jack Adams Award (best coach)

Note: The NHL Broadcasters’ Association votes on this award.

Leader: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
Finalists: Dan Muse, Pittsburgh Penguins; Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres

Does Cooper finally get his Jack Adams Award?

The Lightning coach has two Stanley Cup wins and four conference titles since taking over the team in 2012-13. He has never been named coach of the year. This season, he has guided Tampa Bay through injuries and other absences to its best points percentage (.650) since its last trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2022.

“With the amount of injuries and change he’s dealt with to put his team in this position for the playoffs is remarkable,” one voter declared. “It is shocking he’s never won the Jack Adams.”

“There are two right answers here — Cooper and Lindy Ruff. Tie goes to the runner because it’s an atrocity that Cooper hasn’t won this award yet,” one voter argued. “It’s like when Leo DiCaprio got his Oscar for ‘The Revenant’ — not his actual best performance but you could simply not deny the man any longer.”

Cooper earned just over 33% of the first-place votes. Ruff was one vote behind him among our panelists.

“It’s Lindy Ruff, especially if the Sabres close things out right and win the Atlantic,” one voter commented.

“It’s Lindy Ruff for snapping the playoff drought,” another voter explained.

“The Sabres are too good of a story and no one on the roster is likely going to challenge for any hardware,” another pointed out. “So let’s give the Jack Adams to the guy that has this merry and productive collective very unexpectedly in the postseason.”

But when it comes to teams overcoming preseason prognostications to secure surprising playoff berths, has Muse market-corrected Ruff in the late stages of the Jack Adams race?

The Penguins have clinched a playoff spot and will finish with their best points percentage in four seasons in Muse’s first as their bench boss, which is also his first NHL head coaching gig.

“What Dan Muse has done with a Penguins team that wasn’t supposed to be in the playoffs is remarkable,” one voter stated. “Cooper deserves it, too, but who had the Penguins in this spot?”

Muse earned 24% of the first-place votes. The only other coach to receive a first-place vote was Rick Tocchet, who has the Philadelphia Flyers primed for a playoff berth in his first season as the team’s head coach.

Other coaches mentioned down the ballot include Jared Bednar (Colorado), Travis Green (Ottawa), Joel Quenneville (Anaheim), Martin St. Louis (Montreal), Marco Sturm (Boston) and Ryan Warsofsky (San Jose).

This is what the voters we surveyed thought in the final Awards Watch. Now, we wait to see if it’s what they ended up writing into their final ballots.