NHL.com’s Trophy Tracker lists San Jose Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini as the early favorite for the Hart Trophy, built around the rankings below. Celebrini topped the site’s poll with 67 voting points, eight ahead of Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, after a 2024-25 season in which he finished fourth in the league with 115 points on 45 goals and 70 assists. The method here follows NHL.com‘s own panel results and adds the statistical and situational factors shaping each candidate’s case so far this season.
1. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks (67 Voting Points)
Celebrini drew first-place votes from eight of the 16 voters in NHL.com’s poll, enough to put him atop the early Hart Trophy odds. He backed that standing with five assists in San Jose’s first two games, both overtime wins over the Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings, including the helper on Igor Chernyshov’s winner Saturday that put the Sharks at 2-0.
The case took a hit when Celebrini sat out a 5-0 loss to the Dallas Stars with a lower-body injury, and the Sharks managed just 13 shots on goal without him. San Jose later won 3-2 in overtime against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, still without its captain, a result detailed in Total Apex Sports’ recap of that game. Celebrini is listed as day to day, and his absence against Dallas showed how much the offense depends on him, a theme covered in Total Apex Sports’ report on the injury.
San Jose improved by 34 points last season, finishing with 86 after Celebrini posted 63 points in 73 games as a rookie. The Sharks missed the playoffs by four points but are projected to qualify this season if Celebrini avoids an extended absence, according to NHL.com. He signed a five-year, $94 million extension over the summer, cementing his role as the franchise’s centerpiece.
At 20 years old, a Hart win would make him the fourth-youngest recipient in league history. He turns 20 years and 301 days old on April 10, the final day of the regular season, which would place him behind only Wayne Gretzky (19 years, 71 days in 1979-80), Sidney Crosby (19 years, 244 days in 2006-07) and McDavid (20 years, 86 days in 2016-17).
Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield, quoted by NHL.com’s Trophy Tracker, pointed to Celebrini’s conditioning as a separator. “It’s crazy to see what he’s done, and playing against him is, I mean, it’s not fun,” Caufield said. “Like, he’s so good and I think what makes him so special is his work ethic.
Yeah, he’s got all the talent in the world, but if you watch his shifts, it seems like he never gets tired. He’s always hunting down the next thing and I think that’s contagious for their team.”
2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (59 Voting Points)
McDavid sits eight points behind Celebrini in NHL.com’s early tally, placing him second in the Hart Trophy race. He remains the most recent player to win the award before turning 21, having claimed it at 20 years and 86 days during the 2016-17 season, a benchmark Celebrini would need to beat by a matter of months to match historically.
3. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (54 Voting Points)
MacKinnon landed third with 54 voting points. The gap between him and the top two shows voters still view Celebrini and McDavid as the clearer frontrunners this early in the season.
4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning (28 Voting Points)
Kucherov, last season’s Hart Trophy winner, trails well behind the leaders with 28 voting points. The drop from MacKinnon’s total to Kucherov’s suggests voters are not yet treating the reigning MVP as a lock to repeat.
What To Watch
San Jose’s overtime success has been a defining thread early on. The Sharks have an NHL-leading 13 overtime wins dating back to last season, and all three of their wins this season have come in overtime, including results detailed in Total Apex Sports’ coverage of the Kings game and the win over the Panthers. Celebrini’s next step in the Hart Trophy race depends on his recovery from the lower-body injury and whether San Jose can sustain its offense in his absence, as it failed to do against Dallas. NHL.com has not set a timetable for his return.
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