Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils won the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player at the 2018 NHL Awards Presented by Hulu at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old forward ranked sixth in the NHL with a career high 93 points (39 goals, 54 assists) in 76 games to help the Devils to a 27-point improvement in the standings and their first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance since 2012.
"It's not something that I really ever had a goal in mind [to win]," Hall said. "It's always been playoffs and Stanley Cup. As the season went on, you know it might be a possibility and it's really out of your hands, to be honest. … In saying that, I'm very proud to be standing up here with the trophy."
Hall is the first Devils player to win the Hart Trophy; goaltender Martin Brodeur finished third in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
Hall had 41 more points than his next closest teammate (Nico Hischier, 52), the highest differential by a team's top two scorers since 2007-08 (Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin, 112, and Nicklas Backstrom, 69). Hall had a personal 26-game point streak from Jan. 2-March 6 (18 goals, 20 assists, 38 points), a New Jersey record. He set a Devils record with a 19-game point streak during that span, from Jan. 30-March 6 (13 goals, 13 assists, 26 points).
"I was a good player for a long time," Hall said. "I feel what really brought me to the next level was being in Jersey, playing with my teammates, drafting Nico [Hischier] No. 1 overall, getting to play with him as a centerman all season long," Hall said. "Probably the biggest reason I'm up here today is No. 13 on my team and the trust that [general manager] Ray Shero and [coach] John Hynes have put in me. Honored to represent them as a group."
