MacKinnon gaining ground to be first back-to-back MVP since 2009

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon is having another MVP-type season.

MacKinnon won the Hart Trophy for the first time in his career last year, and could do it again in 2024-25. It’d make him the NHL’s first back-to-back MVP since future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin did it in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski released his latest awards watch on Tuesday, and MacKinnon is on the verge of tracking down Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov. Wyshynski “polled a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously to get a sense of where the wind is blowing for the current leaders.”

Last month, Kaprizov earned 88 percent of first-place votes. But after MacKinnon was the NHL’s First Star of the Month in December, that number is down to just 37 percent. Wyshynski says MacKinnon is “right behind him” with 26 percent of the first-place votes.

“MacKinnon won the Hart last year with 51 goals and 140 points. He’s nowhere near that goal pace, but his points-per-game pace (1.63) isn’t far off from his pace in his MVP season (1.71),” Wyshynski notes.

Indeed, the Avalanche’s best player is leading the league in points and it’s not particularly close. Entering Tuesday night’s game, MacKinnon paced the NHL with 66 points. Behind him is Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl with 59. Mack’s linemate, Mikko Rantanen, is third with 58 points. For persepctive, Kaprizov is in ninth place with 50 points, although he’s missed a few games recently due to injury.

Elsewhere, stud Colorado defenseman Cale Makar is still on pace to win the Norris Trophy. Makar earned 58 percent of the first-place votes this month, a healthy lead over Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes who received 26 percent.

Awards are fun, but Stanley Cups mean more to both MacKinnon and Makar. Still, it’s another reminder the Avalanche have two of the best five hockey players on Earth. And that makes it a special time to be a fan in Colorado.

To read the full awards watch, click here.