Nikita Kucherov's Second Hart Trophy Win Was A Long Time Coming

Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov is a Hart Memorial Trophy winner for the second time in his NHL career.

That's right – Kucherov's only won the Hart Trophy twice.

Given that the last time Kucherov won the Hart was back in 2018-19, it feels like it's almost been too long since he was given the honor as the league's most valuable player. Remember that particular verbiage, because it's important.

The Lightning consistently remain a playoff team in no small part because of the value Kucherov provides to them each and every season.

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Kucherov can take comfort knowing he's already done something only three other players have done in the Salary Cap Era – and that's winning multiple Harts. The other three are McDavid, Pittsburgh Penguins icon Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals star winger Alexander Ovechkin. Now that's heady company.

Thus, Kucherov probably should've won at least one more Hart Trophy by now, but when he retires and likely becomes a first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer, he can point to his resume and let his multiple Hart wins and slew of other individual and team accomplishments speak for themselves.

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 5:55 PM.