Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov Named 2019 Hart Trophy Finalists

The 2018-19 Hart Trophy will be awarded to one of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov, who were each named as finalist of the NHL's most valuable player award:

Each of these players were among the six in the league with at least 100 points on the season, with Kucherov leading the entire NHL with 128 for the Tampa Bay Lightning. McDavid finished second among all players with 116 for the Edmonton Oilers.

Crosby is the most experienced of the finalists, winning this award twice already in his career, most recently in 2014. However, he stepped up this season after a few relatively down years with 35 goals and 65 assists, giving him his most points in the past five seasons.

He also helped get the Penguins to the postseason for the 13th year in a row.

This is something McDavid can't say as the Oilers failed to reach the playoffs with just 79 points in 82 games. This makes the center just the sixth Hart finalist in NHL history from a non-playoff team, per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

Still, he had a fantastic individual year as he tries to win his second career Hart Trophy in three full seasons in the NHL.

Kucherov has the honor of claiming great individual and team honors, posting career highs with 41 goals and 87 assists while helping the best squad in the NHL this season. The Lightning won the Presidents' Trophy with 128 points this year, and the forward was a key reason for the success.

Despite the playoff disappointment, he has a good claim to the top individual award in the sport.