AWARDS: McDavid wins Hart Memorial Trophy

NASHVILLE, TN - Call it a clean sweep for Connor McDavid.

The Oilers captain has won the Hart Memorial Trophy for the third time in his career, the league announced on Monday night during the NHL Awards in Nashville.

The Hart Trophy is awarded to "the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team," as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Earlier in the evening, McDavid picked up his fourth nod as the Ted Lindsay Award winner as the league's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by members of the NHLPA. McDavid notched a league-best 153 points (64G, 89A) in 82 games during the regular season, crowning him as both the Art Ross Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy winner for 2022-23 as well.

The 26-year-old became only the fifth player in the history of the NHL to claim the Hart, Lindsay, Art Ross and lead the league in goals in the same season, joining Alexander Ovechkin (2008), Mario Lemieux (1996), Wayne Gretzky (1982, 1983,1984, 1985, 1987), and Phil Esposito (1974) -- with the Rocket Richard introduced in 1999.

"On behalf of the Oilers and the entire OEG organization, we would like to congratulate Connor McDavid on winning the Hart and Ted Lindsay awards, in addition to the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies, for another special season," said Oilers owner Daryl Katz.

"Connor is not only this year's NHL MVP, he's an exceptional captain and inspired leader, a great teammate, and the undisputed best hockey player on the planet. He is an exceptional person both on and off the ice, and we congratulate him on another outstanding season."

McDavid has not been shy about stating how his desire for more individual awards is far below that of winning a Stanley Cup, but the forward was willing to put tonight's historic wins in perspective.

"It's not lost on me what these trophies mean in the grand scheme of our game and to do it a number of times, it means a lot to me," McDavid said. "Obviously, it's not the motivating factor, but it's special still. I know the five-year-old me would be pissed if I was taking it for granted or something like that, because I'm not. It's special."

McDavid's 2022-23 season was the most prolific of the 21st century, with his 153 points being the most by a player since Lemieux recorded 161 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96. McDavid recorded 71 points with the man advantage -- the most in NHL history by a player not named Lemieux -- propelling the Oilers to an NHL record for power-play efficiency at 32.4 per cent.

With the win, McDavid is now the fifth player to take home the Hart Trophy at least three times within his first eight NHL seasons after Gretzky (8), Bobby Clarke (3), Bobby Orr (3) and Ovechkin (3).