EDMONTON – Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl is the 2019-20 recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Draisaitl, the top choice on 91 of the 170 ballots cast, accumulated 1,309 voting points, edging second place Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (1,162 points). MacKinnon garnered 48 first-place votes. Third-place Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers received 24 first-place votes and 889 points.
Draisaitl (43-67—110 in 71 GP) – who became the first German-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award – topped the NHL with 110 points, 13 more than the next-closest player (Connor McDavid: 97). He registered at least one point in 56 of his 71 appearances, the highest such percentage in the League (78.9%) ahead of Panarin (78.3%) and Patrick Kane (77.1%). Draisaitl also recorded a League-best 33 multi-point performances, four more than MacKinnon and David Pastrnak (29), and led NHL forwards in both total (1,605:24) and average time on ice (22:37). Draisaitl, who reached the 100-point milestone for the second consecutive season (50‑55—105 in 2018-19), paced all 2019-20 players in assists (67), power-play points (44) and game-winning goals (t-10) while also ranking among the top five in power-play goals (2nd; 16), power-play assists (2nd; 28), shooting percentage (3rd; 19.7%) and goals (4th; 43).
The 24-year-old Cologne native is the first German-born player to win the Hart Trophy and the fourth player in franchise history, following Wayne Gretzky (8x as an Oiler, most recently 1986-87), Mark Messier (1989-90) and McDavid (2016-17).
For more on the Hart Trophy, including a list of past winners, click here.
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