The finalist for the HART Trophy is the NHL MVP on the team, featuring two former champions and a rare goalkeeper.

Goalkeepers usually don't win the HART trophy because they have their own award, Vezina Trophy. Winnipeg Jets goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck won both finalists this season after recording 47 wins and ranked second in league history.

The league-leading goalkeepers Edmonton Oilers Center Leon Draisaitl and Tampa Bay lightning strike winger Nikita Kucherov led the league for the second straight season, and they are other finalists.

The NHL has announced Vezina, Norris Trophy (Defensive Player) and the finalists of the Ted Lindsay Awards (Excellent Player in the Peer Voting). Final finalists (Masterton Trophy) (Perseverance), Selke Trophy (Defensive Forward), Jack Adams Award (Coach) and Byng Trophy (Sportsermanship) will be announced on Friday.

The Hart Trophy is voted on by the Association of Professional Hockey Writers. Here are the three finalists (listed in alphabetical order):

Draisaitl leads the league with 52 goals despite missing 11 games. He set a single-season NHL record with six overtime goals, sharing first place in win-win goals (11) and multi-goal performances (10), second in even goals (36) and second in strong goals (16). He won the award in 2020.

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jet

Hellebuyck leads the NHL with 47 wins, second only to the league record. His nine-win advantage over second-place Andrei Vasilevskiy is the biggest gap since 1990-91. Hellebuyck gave up two or fewer goals in 40 of 63 appearances. He aims at average goals (2.00) and closed-door (8) (minimum 25 games), ranked second (62) in percent savings (.925), and fourth (.845) in saves (1,539) and high-range savings percentage (.845). He is the first goalkeeper finalist since Igor Shesterkin in 2021-22 and hopes to be the fourth Netminder in the expansion era, after Dominik Hasek (twice), Jose Theodore and Carey Price.

Nikita Kayerov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning

Kucherov scored 121 points for the second time, 31 more than closest teammate Brandon Hagel, and took over his second and third consecutive overall Arts Rose Trophy as scoring leader. He finished third with scores per game (1.55), strong assists (38) and strong match scores (46) and third place (75). He won the award in 2019 and is the only HART finalist and the finalist of the TED Lindsay Award this season.