Why David Pastrnak Should’ve Been In The Hart Conversation

The three finalists for the 2024-2025 NHL Hart Trophy have been named. The Hart Trophy is awarded to one player after every season deemed the most valuable player to their team. The three finalists include Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck (G), Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl (C), and Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov (RW).

Connor Hellebuyck led all goalies in wins with 47, goals against average with 2.00, and shutouts with 8. Nikita Kucherov led the NHL in points this season with 121 and Leon Draisaitl led the league in goals with 52.

Although all three of these players are deserving of winning the Hart Trophy, there is one player that may have been overlooked. Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak had a stellar season and was the heart of the Bruins’ offense all year long. In terms of value to the team, Pastrnak proved himself to be irreplaceable. 

David Pastrnak finished the season with 106 points, tied for third best in the league. His 43 goals were fifth most this season and he was seventh in assists with 63. Pastrnak led Boston in all of these categories. 

The Bruins finished the season with 222 goals scored. With his 106 points between goals and assists, Pastrnak had a hand in 106 out of 222 Bruins goals. This means he was a factor in almost 48% of the goals scored by the Bruins all season. To put this into perspective, Kucherov and Draisaitl were both factors in 41% of their teams goals for the season.

Adding to his case, David Pastrnak finished the season with more goals than Kucherov and more assists than Draisaitl. Being a part of nearly half of your team’s offense for an entire season both proves value to an organization and shows that Pastrnak deserved to be a finalist for the Hart Trophy.