BREAKING: Nathan MacKinnon wins first career Hart Trophy

The Dogg is on top.

Finally.

At his fourth time of asking, Nathan MacKinnon won the Hart Trophy on Thursday night for the first time in his career. The Hart will go nicely alongside his Stanley Cup, Lady Byng Trophy, and Calder Trophy, which was one gaping hole on his shelf.

MacKinnon beat Nikita Kucherov from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Connor McDavid from the Edmonton Oilers for the honor. MacKinnon’s dominance in the regular season was vital, even if he finished behind Kucherov in the final point tally. His dominance was shown in the final vote. It’s a good thing the playoffs weren’t considered for this award for McDavid, either.

The Dogg finished the year with 51 goals and 89 assists after playing in all 82 games this regular season. He finished with a record 140 points on the year, breaking numerous records along the way.

This included breaking the franchise record for most points in a season over Peter Stastny in 1981-82. He scored points in 40 of the 41 games at Ball Arena. He also recorded the first four-goal games in franchise history, which he completed twice in what has now been dubbed as a “Mack Trick.”

MacKinnon also took home the Ted Lindsay Award, recognized by his fellow players as the best player in the league. It seemed likely he would win one or the other, and it’s a pleasant surprise he took home both honors.

Cale Makar finished third in the vote for the Norris Trophy, with the winner, as expected, being Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. However, both Makar and MacKinnon are represented in the first two all-teams in the NHL.

MacKinnon is the third member of the organization to win the Hart Trophy. It’s simply remarkable from one of the best in Avalanche history. He also joins the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic to make the city of Denver home to both MVPs.

Congratulations to the Avs’ No. 29 for this incredible honor!