Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Panarin voted Hart Trophy finalists

Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers are the 2019-20 finalists for the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, the NHL announced Tuesday.

All three players were also recently nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given to the most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association.

Draisaitl is up for the award for the first time after leading the NHL with 110 points in 71 games and ranking fourth with 43 goals. The 24-year-old became the first German-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy. He also led all forwards in ice time, logging 22:37 per contest. He proved his value to the Oilers with exceptional play in the injury absences of Edmonton captain Connor McDavid, helping the club qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

MacKinnon is a Hart finalist for the second time after a runner-up finish in 2018. The Avs center was fifth in league scoring with 93 points across 69 contests and carried Colorado to the second-best record in the Western Conference. MacKinnon's dominant season saw him lead the Avalanche in scoring by a whopping 43-point margin as the club dealt with injuries to key players.

Panarin is a first-time Hart finalist following a brilliant debut campaign with the Rangers. The 28-year-old was fourth in league scoring after registering a career-high 95 points, 20 clear of the second-highest-scoring New York skater. He led the league with 71 even-strength points and was instrumental in the Rangers' success. In the 16 games that Panarin failed to record a point, New York went 3-12-1, compared to 34-16-4 when he found the scoresheet at least once.

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