Hart Trophy winner to be announced Tuesday

Winners of the five remaining NHL awards will be announced at the 2022 NHL Awards in Tampa on June 21 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).

One of the five awards presented that night will be the Hart Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL player voted most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Here is a look at the three finalists, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid and Igor Shesterkin:
Matthews led the NHL in goals (60), the most ever in a season by a Toronto Maple Leafs player and most by a United-States born player in a season. The center was the first to score that many since Steven Stamkos scored 60 for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011-12.
Matthews tied Stamkos for sixth in the NHL with 106 points (46 assists) in 73 games, was first with 348 shots on goal and was fifth in game-winning goals (10). He scored 16 power-play goals and was plus-20 averaging 20:37 of ice time per game. Matthews has scored at least 34 goals in each of his six NHL seasons, leading the League in each of the past two (41 goals in 52 games last season).
"It's a big honor, obviously, to be there in the same sentence as some of the guys nominated," Matthews said. "It feels good to be nominated, to be acknowledged for something like that. It's not something I take lightly or take for granted. There are a lot of amazing players that have had really great years, so to be nominated as one of the three means a lot."
Finalists: [Calder Trophy | Norris Trophy | Vezina Trophy]
Matthews this season helped Toronto (54-21-7) to the most wins and points (115) in its history and qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season. A two-time finalist, Matthews was runner-up to McDavid last season. He would be the third Maple Leafs player to win the award and first since Ted Kenney in 1954-55. Babe Pratt won the Hart with Toronto in 1943-44.
"We've spoken about it a lot and for good reason," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's been such a significant contributor in so many areas for our team and the other part is it's been so consistent. I mean, the goal scoring has been so consistent, at a pace higher than anybody else. 5-on-5 scoring in particular, which is the hardest thing to do in our game, scoring at even strength. He does that at a rate that nobody in the game has been able to keep up with for the last few years.
"Then the intangibles of his game too. He plays so many minutes for us and he still plays hard, he still plays well defensively, physically ... all the different things he does for us. It's tremendous for him to have this honor and tremendous for the Leafs, I know it's been a long time to have a player to be honored like that. Obviously when it comes at this point there are other things on everybody's mind, but it is certainly a well-deserved recognition."
McDavid led the NHL in scoring for the second straight season with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) in 80 games for the Edmonton Oilers. The center was first in power-play points (44; 10 goals, 34 assists), was tied with seven players for sixth with nine game-winning goals and was plus-28 averaging 22:04 of ice time per game. McDavid has led the NHL in scoring in four of the past six seasons and finished second in the other two.
"It's always nice," McDavid said. "Special to be in that category of player."
McDavid, who helped Edmonton (49-27-6) qualify for the playoffs this season, is a two-time Hart winner and four-time finalist. He won the award last season and in 2016-17, and would be the third straight Oilers player to win it (Leon Draisaitl, 2019-20). McDavid can become first player to win the Hart in back-to-back seasons since Alex Ovechkin (2007-08, 2008-09), and the ninth player to win the award at least three times; Wayne Gretzky won it a record nine times, including eight straight seasons from 1979-87.
"To me it's quite clear who the best player in the world is, who has the biggest impact and everyone else that is up for that award, and the other two nominees for that award have all had fantastic seasons," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "But if you're asking me who the best player in the world is, I'm glad that I get a front-row seat to coach him every night."
Shesterkin, who on Tuesday was announced as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, given to the goalie voted the best in the NHL, was 36-13-4 in 52 games for the New York Rangers, leading the NHL in goals-against average (2.07) and save percentage (.935) and finishing third in shutouts (six). He had a save percentage of at least .900 in 40 games, including at least .950 in 24 games, and allowed two or fewer goals in 33 games. Shesterkin was second in save percentage when his team was shorthanded (.929), behind James Reimer of the San Jose Sharks (.930), to help the Rangers finish second in goals against per game (2.49) behind the Carolina Hurricanes (2.44) and seventh in penalty-killing percentage (82.3 percent).
"He's been our best player all year," Rangers forward Chris Kreider said. "We're certainly not in the position that we're in now without him. He kept us in games, he singlehandily won games. He's got my vote if that counts for anything. It's, I guess, a wealth of riches [because] over the course of my time here we've been lucky enough to have pretty dominant goaltending. It's kind of what I'm used to at this point, but this season has been otherworldly. He's been amazing as a teammate, as a competitor, as a person. We're really, really lucky to have him."
A first-time finalist, Shesterkin helped New York (52-24-6) qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2017. He would be the fifth Rangers player to win the award and first since Mark Messier in 1991-92. Shesterkin would be the eighth goalie to win the award and first since Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens in 2014-15.
"Obviously, he's had an outstanding season and it was great to see that he got that honor today as one of the three candidates," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Just keep doing it, keep playing well and working hard. They're all great, but he wants to win playoff games right now. That's the biggest thing on his agenda. But it's an outstanding season. We're all very proud of him and it's well-deserved for him."
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen, staff writer Tim Campbell and independent correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report