Close Menu
    Trending
    Subscribe
    Sports

    Fans react as Oilers star loses out on Hart Trophy to Nikita Kucherov by 10 points

    AdminBy No Comments3 Mins Read0 Views


    Fans on social media reacted after Nikita Kucherov edged out Connor McDavid for the Hart Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

    The Hart Memorial Trophy is one of the NHL’s most prestigious awards, given annually to the league’s most valuable player. Nikita Kucherov defeated the Oilers captain by just 10 points, receiving 1,436 voting points to McDavid’s 1,426, with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon placing third.

    McDavid topped the league with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists), while Kucherov placed second with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists). This is the third major award won by the Lightning this season after Andrei Vasilevskiy took home the Vezina Trophy and head coach Jon Cooper claimed the Jack Adams Award.

    Here’s how fans on X (formerly called Twitter) reacted. One tweeted:

    “McDavid getting the LeBron treatment. Unfortunate.”

    @PuckReportNHL McDavid getting the LeBron treatment. Unfortunate

    Another chimed in:

    “Jon cooper had the Vezina winner and the hart winner and still won the Jack Adam’s over ruff. Ridiculous.”

    Here are some of the other top reactions on X:

    “So we changed the name of the awards this year to the Tampa Bay Lightning Awards, right?” a third fan wrote.

    “Kucherov deserved in 2024 over Mackinnon, not this one,” one X user opined.

    “As a writer you may have thought that McDavid wasnt the best player this season, you may have thought he wasnt the 2nd best but the 12 writers who voted him 4th and 5th best need to have their credentials checked. They are either biased or lack any reasonable hockey IQ,” another chimed in.

    “Kucherov should be fourth. Least deserving winner in a generation,” added another.

    Lightning HC Jon Cooper praises Nikita Kucherov after Hart win

    Kucherov skates with puck during a game - Source: Imagn
    Kucherov skates with puck during a game – Source: Imagn

    Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, who surprised star winger Nikita Kucherov by presenting him with the Hart Memorial Trophy, shared his thoughts on the Russian forward’s character following Kucherov’s second career MVP honor.

    “One of the great things that makes ‘Kuch’ Kuch is he’s never satisfied,” Cooper said via NHL.com. “He could have 50 goals one year, well, he wants 51 the next year. He could have a hundred assists one year. He might want 110 the next year. I think really that’s the growth of Kuch — he doesn’t put that above the team.”

    In addition to claiming his second Hart Memorial Trophy, Nikita Kucherov was also named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the league’s most outstanding player. Notably, it was won by Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid.