After the final day of the regular season has passed, the winners of three significant statistic-based awards for the 2023-24 season have been determined. Nikita Kucherov, the right wing for the Lightning, secured his second Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer. Meanwhile, Auston Matthews, the center for the Maple Leafs, claimed his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy by setting a new record for most goals in the salary cap era. Connor Hellebuyck, the goaltender for the Jets, earned his first William M. Jennings Trophy as Winnipeg allowed the fewest goals in the league.
Kucherov had a season that defined the franchise’s offensive performance. Setting a Lightning record with 144 points (44 goals, 100 assists) in 81 games, Kucherov outpaced Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon by four points. He now stands alongside Martin St. Louis as the only Tampa player to win the Art Ross Trophy multiple times and is the fourth active player to achieve this feat, along with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Connor McDavid.
The 30-year-old Russian played a crucial role in half of the Lightning’s 288 total goals and is considered the frontrunner in the hotly contested Hart Trophy race, where challengers like Crosby, MacKinnon, Matthews, and McDavid are expected to give him tough competition. He becomes the 12th player in NHL history to contribute to at least 50% of his team’s scoring in a single season.
Kucherov wrapped up his regular season on Wednesday in Toronto by becoming the fifth player ever to reach 100 assists in a single season, following McDavid who achieved this feat just two days prior. He earned points in 68 out of his 81 games, showcasing 41 multi-point games, 23 games with three or more points, and eight games with at least four points.
Matthews secures his third goal-scoring title in four years with an impressive display, not to be underestimated. His 69 goals in 81 games set a Maple Leafs’ record and stood as the highest in a single season since Mario Lemieux’s 1995-96 season with the Penguins. He outpaced Sam Reinhart, the second-place Panthers winger, by 12 goals. Matthews also became the second player in the modern era to achieve hat tricks in his first two games, and his 18 multi-goal performances were the most since Alexander Mogilny of the Sabres in the early ’90s.
Hellebuyck further enriches his collection of trophies before his upcoming seven-year, $59.5 million extension takes effect next season. The Jets were the sole team to allow fewer than 200 goals, largely due to the performance of the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist. Hellebuyck maintained a .921 save percentage, garnered five shutouts, and led the league with 33.1 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck. He held a substantial lead over Thatcher Demko of the Canucks, who had a GSAx of 22.0, while Panthers’ backup Anthony Stolarz secured a spot in the top three with 20.1 GSAx despite appearing in only 27 games. As the only Jets goaltender to play more than 25 games, he becomes the first sole recipient of the award since Jonathan Quick of the Kings in 2018. Throughout his 60 appearances, the 30-year-old limited opponents to three or fewer goals in 50 games
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