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.
In the end, Kucherov captured 50 first place votes and finished second by a convincing margin over Connor McDavid. Kudos to the one voter who dropped a first place vote on Connor Hellebuyck (don’t feel said for Connor, he won the Vezina Trophy). It was a respectable season for Kucherov, and honestly, it was always going to be a close race between the big three of Kucherov, McDavid, and MacKinnon.
Kucherov set a franchise record with 144 points and became the first winger in NHL history to record 100 assists in a single season. We all know that without his play, the Lightning don’t even sniff a playoff berth, but it just wasn’t enough in the eyes of the voters to boost him over MacKinnon. It was the defensive play (or lack thereof) that was the difference in the eyes of the voters. Both had really, really, really good seasons offensively, but MacKinnon had the edge defensively.
MacKinnon won the Hart, as well as the Ted Lindsey Award, with a really strong season. He put up 51 goals and added 89 assists for 140 points while posting 22:49 of ice time per night. While it’s disappointing that Kucherov lost, it’s not as if MacKinnon’s win was out of left field. He had a Hart-caliber season and was the better player in the eyes of the voters.
Will Kucherov take this as a slight and comeback even stronger next season? Possibly. He wouldn’t admit it out loud that it bothered him, and has long expressed a lack of concern about individual awards in lieu of another Stanley Cup. Still, he is a prideful man and usually takes out any revenge on the ice.
He is also not someone who is willing to play along with a bad comedy bit.
Kucherov did receive a small honor as he was named to the NHL first all-star team.
As for the other awards, no Lightning players finished in the voting for the Calder or Vezina Trophies while Victor Hedman finished sixth in Norris Trophy.
