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Is Avalanche’s MacKinnon a shoo-in for the Hart Trophy?

Hunter Crowther
Hunter Crowther(HunterCrowther)
Apr 2, 2026, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 2, 2026, 12:39 EDT
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon
Credit: Apr 21, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) in action during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche in game two of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Nathan MacKinnon continues to dominate on the ice. In his last five games, the Colorado Avalanche forward has five goals and two assists, including his 50th goal of the season in the Avalanche’s 8-6 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night.

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals with 50 and is one shy of tying a career-high 51 he recorded in 2023-24. His 121 points are tied with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for second in the NHL and are just four back of Edmonton Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid for the most in the league.

However, what may be most impressive is how MacKinnon has led the Avalanche to a 49-15-10 record with 108 points, ranked first in the Central Division, the Western Conference and the entire NHL. At this pace, Colorado will face the team in the second Wildcard spot in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss MacKinnon’s dominance and if him winning the Hart Trophy is a lock at this point.

Tyler Yaremchuk: MacKinnon recorded his second-career 50-goal season and he is a -110 favorite to win the Hart Trophy. It’s basically MacKinnon or the field.

What’re your thoughts on MacKinnon hitting 50 and if you had a first-place vote, would it be Nate?

Carter Hutton: I think it’s been a push in post-Olympics. If you think about how things went for him and Canada at the Olympics, this guy has been an absolute dog. He’s got a great hockey team in front of him.

As for the Hart race, I don’t know if it’s all him. I still think Nikita Kucherov is in the hunt, even though there’s so little runway left. It’s been that battle back and forth with MacKinnon and Kucherov. I still think Connor McDavid has a little runway.

I think -110 is fair for MacKinnon to win the Hart, but that being said … if Colorado is in a safe spot where they don’t need their stars to play, or if Edmonton is still trying to win the division, maybe you see more McDavid.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…

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