TAMPA — Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov was named the NHL’s 2025-26 regular season MVP on Thursday, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy for the second time in his career and capping a dominant individual season that saw the franchise sweep three of the league’s top awards.
“It means a lot to me,” Kucherov said, adding that sustained success with the organization that drafted him makes the honor even more special. Kucherov beat out Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid, the other two finalists, for the award he also won in 2019. Martin St. Louis, who won in 2004, is the only other Lightning player to claim the Hart.
Kucherov’s 130 points in 2025-26 were 42 more than the next closest Lightning player. He led the NHL in points per game at 1.71, finished second in assists with 86 and second in even-strength points with 92. During one stretch, he recorded 104 points over 50 games — the most by any NHL player over a 50-game span since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. He also reached his 1,000th career point in October and sits just 14 points shy of passing Steven Stamkos as the franchise’s all-time scoring leader.
“One of the great things that makes Kuch Kuch is he’s never satisfied. He could have 50 goals one year. Well, he wants to get 51 next year. Could have 100 assists one year, he’ll want 110 the next year,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “But ultimately, he doesn’t put that above the team. He would trade that trophy for the Stanley Cup anytime. Those are the guys you want to have around.”
Tampa Bay opened the season with a 1-4-2 record through seven games before Kucherov led the club out of its early hole. He becomes the 20th player in NHL history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy multiple times and the fourth active player to hold that distinction, alongside Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. He is the fifth winger all-time to win the award more than once, joining Ovechkin, Bill Cowley, Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur.
Cooper surprised Kucherov with the trophy last week at the Lightning practice facility, staging an elaborate ruse involving a faked back injury and athletic trainers Tom Mulligan and Mike Poirier to lure the forward into the locker room. “Myself and our trainers, we had every exit cornered. It’s probably like the games, I don’t know how he gets through,” Cooper said with a laugh. “I think he thought it was a joke in the beginning.”
The Hart capped a remarkable awards haul for the Lightning, who also claimed the Jack Adams Award for Cooper as top coach and the Vezina Trophy for goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. “There’s some big-time players in this league, but Kuch is right there with them,” Cooper said. “You’re playing in the best league in the world, and then there’s still guys that rise above. You can’t argue right now that Kuch isn’t standing at the peak of that mountain.”
Cooper acknowledged the bittersweet timing of accepting individual honors while the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue without Tampa Bay. “It’s kind of a team over self mentality with this group. The frustrating part is you’re accepting this award while the Stanley Cup Playoffs are still going on, and you’re not in, and I think that’s the part that’s the stinger, but it’s also the motivational part to make sure that we come back next year and do it,” he said. Kucherov has already begun his offseason training regimen in preparation for 2026-27, typically returning to the ice after a single week off.