Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov Headline NHL's 1st All-Star Team for 2025-26 Season

The Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov are both first-team All-Stars after a tightly contested race to be named MVP of the 2025-26 NHL season.

Reigning Hart Trophy winner Kucherov and runner-up McDavid headlined the All-Star teams announced Friday by the NHL.

The Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, who finished third in Hart Trophy voting, was named to the Second All-Star Team.

This year's Hart Trophy vote marked the first time in NHL history three players received at least 25 percent of the first-place votes.

Kucherov, who eclipsed 80 assists and 120 points for a third straight season, narrowly beat out McDavid to take home MVP honors before receiving his fifth selection to the First All-Star Team.

McDavid led the NHL with 138 points before earning his sixth First All-Star Team nod at center, tying Jean Beliveau, Phil Esposito and Stan Mikita for the second-most of all time.

Two more First All-Star Team nominations will allow McDavid to tie Wayne Gretzky for the all-time lead.

MacKinnon, who paced the NHL with 53 goals, finished behind McDavid in positional voting to receive the third Second All-Star Team nod of his career.

The Avalanche's Cale Makar received his fourth First All-Star Team nod, the second-most among active defensemen, after posting a third straight 20-goal campaign.

The Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy tied Connor Hellebuyck for the most All-Star Team nods among active goaltenders with his third nomination after leading all netminders with 39 wins last season.

The Dallas Stars' Jason Robertson, who tied for fourth in the NHL with 45 goals, and the Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski, who ranked second among defensemen with 81 points, are second-time First All-Star Team members.

This marks the second NHL honor of the offseason for Werenski and Vasilevskiy, who also took home the Norris Trophy and Vezina Award, respectively.

The Second All-Star Team featured four first-time honorees in the Montreal Canadiens' Cole Caufield, Buffalo Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin, Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard and Washington Capitals' Logan Thompson.

Dahlin and Bouchard earned the honor after putting up career-high totals of 94 points and 95 points, respectively.

Caufield ranked second to MacKinnon for the NHL goalscoring lead with 51 goals, while Thompson tied for third among goaltenders with at least 30 starts by posting a .912 save percentage.

Boston Bruins winger David Pastrňák, who recorded a fourth straight 100-point season, joined MacKinnon as multiple-time nominees on the Second All-Star Team.

San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini finished as first runner-up for the All-Star Team at center. The Avalanche's Martin Nečas and Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov were runners-up on the wing.

The Canadiens' Lane Hutson, Wild's Quinn Hughes and Red Wings' Moritz Seider finished just outside the All-Star Team on defense, while the New York Islanders' Ilya Sorokin was a close runner-up to Thompson in net.