The National Hockey League announced tonight that Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche has been chosen as the recipient of both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for the 2023-24 season. These accolades recognize the most valuable player in the NHL and the NHLPA’s Most Outstanding Player, respectively. The Hart Trophy winner is determined by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA), while the NHLPA votes for the Ted Lindsay Award at the conclusion of the 2023-24 regular season. MacKinnon secured 137 of the 194 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy.
In 2023-24, the same player won both the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for the sixth consecutive season. 28-year-old MacKinnon finished second in League scoring with 140 points (51g/89a) in 82 games, surpassing the single-season franchise scoring record of 139 points set by Peter Stastny in 1981-82. Achieving the 50-goal milestone for the first time in his career, MacKinnon’s 87 assists also represented a personal best and the most in a season since the Avalanche relocated. His 51g/89a scoring line made him just the second NHL player in the last 25 years to reach 50-plus goals and 85-plus assists in a season, following Connor McDavid in 2022-23 (64g/89a).
MacKinnon’s remarkable performance in the 2023-24 season secured him a position on the NHL’s Postseason First All-Star Team. This achievement marks the first time since Cale Makar in 2021-22 and the first time for a forward since Joe Sakic in 2003-04 that an Avalanche player has been honored with First All-Star Team recognition. This is MacKinnon’s fourth time being named to a Postseason All-Star Team, having previously received nods for the Second All-Star Team in 2019-20 and 2017-18, as well as being chosen for the All-Rookie Team in 2013-14.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native surpassed Peter Stastny’s franchise record of 42 multi-point games set in 1981-82 by achieving a league-leading 44 such games. He topped the NHL in even-strength points with 92, establishing a new franchise record and marking the highest total by an NHL player since Jaromir Jagr’s 95 points for the 1995-96 Penguins. MacKinnon also set a franchise record with 89 points on home ice, the most by an NHL player in his own rink since Mario Lemieux’s 104 points in 1995-96. During the start of his home games at Ball Arena, MacKinnon recorded points in 35 consecutive contests, ranking as the second-longest home point streak in NHL history, only behind Wayne Gretzky’s
In the 2023-24 season, MacKinnon achieved two 19-game point streaks, the longest in the NHL during that season. This accomplishment made him the first player in NHL history to have two separate point streaks of at least 19 games in the same season. Notably, this marked the first instance since Robert Lang in 2003-04 that a player concluded a season with the top two point streaks. MacKinnon’s impressive performances during these streaks led to him being honored as the NHL Star of the Month on multiple occasions. He was awarded the First Star for December and January, becoming the first Avalanche player to receive this recognition in consecutive months, and also earned the Second Star for March. Furthermore, MacKinnon was recognized with a weekly award from the League, being named the NHL’s First Star of the Week on December 17 and again on March 10.
In the 2024 NHL All-Star Game held on February 3 in Toronto, Ontario, MacKinnon served as a Team Captain. This marked his seventh All-Star Game selection, which places him in the company of Joe Sakic (13 times) and Peter Forsberg as one of the few players to be chosen for an All-Star Game seven times while being part of the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise. It’s worth noting that all of MacKinnon’s selections occurred consecutively, placing him second only to Sakic (eight) for the most consecutive selections in franchise history.
A finalist for the Hart Trophy on four occasions, MacKinnon scored four goals in two separate games (Dec. 21 against Ottawa and Jan. 24 against Washington), making him the first NHL player to achieve two such feats in a season since Alex Ovechkin in 2007-08. His performance on Dec. 21 marked the first instance, after the franchise relocated to Denver, of an Avalanche player scoring four goals in a game, during which he also notched his 300th career goal. In December, MacKinnon led the league with a franchise-record 29 points, followed by another league-best 26 points in January. His back-to-back monthly achievements made him the second Avalanche player to lead the league in scoring in consecutive months and the third NHL player in the last 10 seasons to do so (following Connor McDavid in February/March 2023 and Patrick Kane (three straight) in November 2015 through January 2016).
During the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, MacKinnon contributed 14 points (4g/10a) in 11 games, placing him tied for second on the Avalanche in points. As a centerman, he led the team in assists, was tied for fourth in goals, and ranked second in power-play points with a total of seven throughout Colorado’s postseason run. MacKinnon commenced the playoffs by recording points in each of his first six games, including an assist in each of them, and delivering multiple-point performances in five of the six showings. His six-game assist streak at the start of the playoffs equaled the third-longest streak in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and in the history of the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise. Notably, MacKinnon’s goal in Game 1 of the First Round marked his 1,000th career point in the regular season and playoffs combined. His 14 points in the playoffs elevated his career playoff point total to 114 (48g/66a) in 88 games, yielding an average of 1.30 points per game, ranking third in NHL history among players with at least 75 games played.
In the 2023-24 season, MacKinnon’s combined regular season and playoff points (55g/99a) totaled 154, equaling the second-highest single-season point total in franchise history. This achievement matched Joe Sakic’s 154 points in 1995-96, with Peter Stastny holding the franchise record of 157 in 1981-82. Since 1997-98, only McDavid (2021-24) and Nikita Kucherov (2023-24) have surpassed 150 combined regular season and playoff points in a single campaign, aside from MacKinnon.
As the first overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon was also a finalist for the Hart Trophy in 2018 (second), 2020 (second), and 2021 (third). He secured the 2020 Lady Byng Award and the 2014 Calder Trophy while finishing fifth in Hart Trophy voting last season. After completing his 11th NHL season, MacKinnon has amassed 899 points (335g/564a) in 791 regular-season games, positioning him fourth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list. At 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, he stands as one of four players in Avalanche/Nordiques history to rank in the top-5 in goals, assists, and points with the franchise, alongside Sakic, Peter Stastny, and Michel Goulet.
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