Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was the big winner at Thursday’s NHL awards show, taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player as decided by the NHL Players Association.
MacKinnon, who helped lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup championship two years ago and was a finalist for the Hart for the fourth time and the second time for the Lindsay, had never won either award.
Three other major awards were handed out earlier Thursday.
Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was selected as the league’s top rookie, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie, and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks was named winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman.