Way-Too-Early 2027 Hart Memorial Trophy Rankings for NHL MVP
A slight breeze is in the air, training camp rosters are set and a new NHL season is just around the corner.
This was an offseason equal parts dramatic and quiet. Some of the biggest stars in the league like Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin have requested trades away from their career-long teams, and yet radio silence has followed these requests.
Big names up for extensions such as Cale Makar and Macklin Celebrini broke NHL payday records which was exciting in itself, but the free market in general was lackluster as most of these big names ended up staying with their original teams.
As the season gets closer, we're starting to envisage the possibilities for star players all around the league.
Let's kick things off with our first Hart Trophy rankings of the 2026-27 season.
10. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
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Cale Makar's record-setting eight-year, $163.2 million extension reflects his standing among the NHL's elite defensemen.
The 27-year-old has been one of the league's premier blue-liners throughout his seven NHL seasons and has won the Norris Trophy twice.
After signing the extension last month, Makar enters the final season of his current contract with Colorado positioned to contend for another Stanley Cup.
We'll do the obvious disclaimer: Defensemen winning the Hart is extremely rare. Chris Pronger was the last to do it in 2000, when Makar was one year old.
Makar also has the best "problem" in the world working against him: Nathan MacKinnon happens to be his teammate. It's tough to win most valuable player on your team with MacKinnon in the fold.
Still, with the evolution of the defenseman position, more are at least popping up on Hart ballots these days. Makar has already reached 90 points twice, and he's got a Conn Smythe to his name.
He would probably have to outperform MacKinnon, but the thought of Makar making a Hart Trophy splash this season doesn't feel totally unreasonable.
9. Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights
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Once Mitch Marner adjusted to life as a Golden Knight last season, there was no turning back.
He enjoyed a historic postseason breakout, leading the entire league in scoring with 29 points in 22 games. He scored a natural hat trick in Game 3 of the SCF, and it was the fastest playoff hat trick in finals history at six minutes and 10 seconds.
Where will Marner go from here? Without Pavel Dorofeyev in the fold, Vegas' top dogs will have to contribute even more.
With a year of acclimation and a stellar postseason under his belt, Marner could make some noise in the Hart Trophy race next season.
8. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
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The only thing worse for a player's Hart Trophy hopes than Nathan MacKinnon as a teammate? Connor McDavid as a teammate.
Despite playing alongside Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl has previously won the Hart Trophy. If the Oilers are to return to the Stanley Cup Final this season, they will likely need him to approach his peak form again.
Draisaitl has scored more than 100 points in four of his last five NHL seasons, with last season a "down year" featuring 97 points due to injury. If he can remain healthy, he knows the role he has to play in such a monumental year for the Oilers.
7. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets (For Now)
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It's looking like Connor Hellebuyck will not end up on the Jets by the end of the season, as he requested a trade a few weeks ago.
No matter where he ends up, the official trade request was a gutsy move. Hellebuyck is betting on himself after years of disappointing playoff losses in Winnipeg gave way to a signature performance in Team USA's Olympic win.
While it's rare for a goalie to win the Hart, Hellebuyck did it two seasons ago. He's only one season removed from that historic regular-season performance, and he's got some big-game catharsis after his Olympic run.
Add in a new team with more support around the net, and there's a good chance Hellebuyck reenters the Hart conversation.
6. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
5 of 10
Is this the year everything truly comes together for the Wild? They've got some questions to answer, no doubt: There's the Quinn Hughes extension that's yet to be signed, and there's that pesky lingering need for a true first-line center.
Beyond these problems for the front office to solve, the expectation is that star winger Kirill Kaprizov will make the jump to the 50 goal, 100-plus point mark. He eclipsed 100 points in 2021-22 with 47 goals and 108 points in his healthiest season logging 81 games.
He came close to returning to that form last season, recording 45 goals and 89 points in 78 games. With Quinn Hughes set to quarterback the power play for a full season and Matt Boldy continuing his breakout, Kaprizov has the supporting cast to reach those marks again.
GM Bill Guerin's got some work to do if the Wild as a whole are to take the next step, but if Kaprizov does his job he'll put them in a good spot -- and he'll put himself back into the Hart conversation.
5. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
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Nick Suzuki had been a great, classic-type center since entering the league, but the way he's improved all aspects of his game each season has truly been a sight to behold.
He snagged the Selke last season, and ended ranked fifth in the Hart race as he captained the Canadiens to the ECF. In the process, he became just the third player in NHL history to win the Selke Trophy and score 100 or more points in the same season.
Meanwhile, Suzuki is just 27 and the team around him is bursting at the seams with even younger talent. The Hart Trophy competition is stiff as ever, but it's only up from here for Suzuki and the Habs.
4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
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Every year we wonder if we've seen the last of Nikita Kucherov's underrated skill, and every year we are wrong.
The reigning Hart Trophy winner is 33 years old and hungry for more as he and his Lightning refuse to fade into the darkness.
Kucherov remains one of the NHL's most dynamic offensive players, combining elite playmaking with a consistently dangerous shot. That blend of creativity and finishing makes him a centerpiece of the Tampa Bay attack.
He only seems to be getting better with age, scoring over 100 points in each of his last four seasons, with a career-high 44 goals and career-high +43 rating last season to boot.
Again, people get picky when it comes to Kucherov. But does it really matter if you're scoring points on the power play or at even strength if the points keep being scored and the games keep being won? Exactly.
3. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
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Largely regarded as one of the most complete and competitive players in the game, Nathan MacKinnon has finished as a Hart finalist in five of his past nine seasons, winning the award in 2023-24.
He prides himself on a health and fitness regimen that has helped extend his prime and enabled him to miss just five games over the past three seasons.
The Avalanche had an incredible regular season last year in which MacKinnon led the league in goals, but it ended on a bitter note as the Golden Knights swept them in the Conference Finals.
With Makar's extension and the "now-or-never" state of the franchise, MacKinnon is going to be extra motivated to lift this core to one more Cup.
2. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
9 of 10
Macklin Celebrini's sophomore season was a revelation in so many ways. The Sharks center exceeded our very high expectations, jumping from 25 goals, 63 points, and a -31 rating in year one to 45 goals, 115 points, and a +8 rating in year two.
He led the Sharks into the playoff conversation ahead of schedule, even if they ultimately fell short. The then-19-year-old was a standout on Team Canada at the Olympics, which was extra impressive considering Canada's veteran presence.
In his first taste of the biggest stage, he lead the entire tournament in goals with five and came in just behind McDavid in overall points with 10 in six games.
Celebrini is already a bona fide star, and his ceiling remains extraordinarily high. A first playoff berth would mark the next step in his development, giving him a chance to show how far he can take the ascending Sharks in his third NHL season.
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
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If there is any year Connor McDavid would like to reprise his recurring role of "Hart Trophy winner," this would be the one.
The best hockey player in the world is entering the final year of his contract as the Oilers look to turn two unsuccessful Stanley Cup Final appearances into a third trip—and, perhaps, their long-awaited breakthrough.
McDavid finished second to Kucherov in last season's Hart Trophy voting despite leading the NHL in scoring while Draisaitl missed significant time. The result could reflect the depth of Kucherov's case, rather than any perceived voter fatigue.
In any event, McDavid's got three Harts, five Ted Lindsay awards, and zero Cups to his name headed into his 12th NHL season. That last number is clearly the most important to him, but on an offensively weaker Oilers team, he'll probably have to win his fourth Hart on the way to his first Cup.
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