Well, that’s not quite what we wanted to see. After a disappointing season for the Tampa Bay Lightning in which they were bounced from the playoffs in the first round by in-state rivals, and eventual Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers, there was at least the hope of individual glory as Nikita Kucherov had a better than average chance of capturing the Hart Trophy as the MVP of the league in 2023-24. In the end, even that hope was dashed as Kucherov finished second to Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.
Nathan MacKinnon wins the first Hart Trophy of his career as the player most valuable to his team.