Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov capped off his phenomenal regular season Wednesday night by winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL MVP.
Kucherov scored a career-high 41 goals during the 2018-19 season and led the league in assists (87) and points (128). He was a major factor in the Lightning tying the NHL record with a 62-win campaign, though the season ended in a disappointing first-round sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
His point total was the highest the league has seen since 1995-96 and he needed only 62 games to reach the 100-point plateau, becoming the fastest player hit the century mark since Mario Lemieux in 1996-97.
Kucherov's mammoth season earned him 164 first-place votes, well ahead of Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid in second and third-ranked Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby:
Hart Trophy winner @86Kucherov led the NHL with 128 points – the most by any player since 1995-96 – and helped the @TBLightning tie the NHL record for wins in one season (62).
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 20, 2019
Full Results: https://t.co/I34nC919Ei #NHLAwards #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/8z0GqyIq1B
Kucherov was a busy man at the award show in Las Vegas, also claiming the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point-getter and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL's most outstanding player as voted by his peers.
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