Nikita Kucherov is the 2026 Hart Trophy winner, and honestly, this might be one of the closest Hart races we’ve seen in a long time.

The Tampa Bay Lightning superstar narrowly edged out Connor McDavid for the award, finishing with 1,436 voting points compared to McDavid’s 1,426. That is a 10-point difference for the league’s most valuable player award. Ten points. In a vote this big, that is basically a photo finish.

Kucherov received 72 first-place votes, while McDavid had 68. Nathan MacKinnon was right there too with 52 first-place votes and 1,297 points, making this a legitimate three-man race instead of the usual “one guy runs away with it” type of year.

And that’s what made this vote so interesting.

According to NHL PR, this was the first time since the current points system began in 1995-96 that all three Hart finalists received at least 25 percent of the first-place votes. That tells you everything you need to know. This wasn’t a weak field. This wasn’t a sympathy vote. This was three elite players all having seasons worthy of being called the most valuable player in hockey.

But in the end, Kucherov got the nod.

For Tampa Bay, this is another reminder of just how ridiculous Kucherov’s career has become. He has been one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NHL for years, but sometimes it still feels like he does not get talked about with the same daily obsession as McDavid, MacKinnon, or some of the other superstars around the league.

Maybe that changes now.

With this win, Kucherov joins Sidney Crosby as the only active NHL players with exactly two Hart Trophy wins. That is not just a cool stat. That is legacy stuff. When your name is being mentioned beside Crosby in any award conversation, you are in rare air.

And for Kucherov, it adds another major piece to an already stacked resume. Stanley Cups, playoff dominance, Art Ross-level production, and now another Hart Trophy. At some point, the conversation has to shift from “Kucherov is underrated” to “Kucherov is one of the greatest players of this era.”

The McDavid side of this is also fascinating. Any time Connor McDavid loses a Hart vote, people are going to debate it. That is just reality. He is the most explosive player in the world, and for a lot of fans, the default answer for “most valuable” starts with him. The fact he lost by only 10 points shows how split voters really were.

You could make a strong case for McDavid. You could make a strong case for MacKinnon. But clearly, enough voters believed Kucherov meant the most to Tampa Bay this season.

And that’s what the Hart Trophy is supposed to be about.

Not just the best player. Not just the biggest name. The player judged most valuable to his team.

This year, that player was Nikita Kucherov.

Whether fans agree or not, the vote shows how close the gap was between three absolute monsters of the game. Kucherov, McDavid, and MacKinnon all had enough support to win in a normal year. But in 2026, Kucherov came out on top by the smallest of margins.

A 10-point win. A historic three-player race. A second Hart Trophy.

Not a bad night for No. 86.