Every player in the NHL would love to be compared to The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, any any given time. Being compared to Gretzky holds a lot of weight. For Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon, though he’s unlikely to be at the same level as No. 99’s, he’s still one of the best current players in the league. Everybody knows it; His peers know it, every head coach knows it.
MacKinnon is a long way from reaching the level of Gretzky, though not all of that is on him. For instance, it was a much different game back when Gretzky played from 1979-80 to 1998-99. Unfortunately, I never got to see Gretzky play, but I’ve heard stories about how great he truly was on the ice.
MacKinnon is on a quest to earn another Stanley Cup trophy with his Colorado Avalanche teammates. The Avalanche face a tough game on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, where a loss would officially send them home for the postseason. Surely, nothing more is on his mind than the upcoming game. With that being said, the NHL revealed the three finalists for one of the prestigious awards that is handed out to the league’s best players on a yearly basis.
The Hart trophy is a trophy that was first introduced in 1924–literally 101 years ago. Avalanche fans are familiar with it due to MacKinnon earning it last season, as well as two of the best players in team history in Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg each winning it once. Fans have argued that MacKinnon should have won it in 2022, but it was given to Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs that year. MacKinnon finished that year with 111 points while Matthews had 106.
From 1980 through 1987, the league saw a total of one player take home the Hart Memorial trophy. That player was none other than Wayne Gretzky. Yes, The Great One had been named the recipient of that trophy for eight-straight seasons and then for the last time in 1989 after Mario Lemieux won it in between.
It takes a lot of skill to put up all-star statistics year in and year out. MacKinnon had a home point streak going last season, but it ended at 35 games, five short of tying the record held by Gretzky.
It would take a horrific collapse by MacKinnon to not earn a couple more Hart trophies in his career. At 30 years old, he’s still atop his game. That being said, his streak officially is reset after being snubbed from the list this season. I would be surprised if MacKinnon didn’t play until his late-30s, and I fully anticipate him being at the top of his game every single year.
While Alexander Ovechkin took Gretzky’s all-time goal record away from him, it’s another example of the best of the best. I’m happy with the play of MacKinnon as it is a true honour to witness his elite performances, but some things are not going to change. Gretzky can keep his eight-in-a-row Hart trophies. The main quest is the Stanley Cup. Gretzky’s four rings are reachable, but it will take a lot of effort from everybody on the Avalanche.
It would be amazing to see MacKinnon prove me and the world wrong, though. He’ll never stop being Nate The Great to fans across the NHL, and even if he doesn’t win back-to-back (to-back-to-back etc.) Hart trophies, fans appreciate everything about MacKinnon and his team-first mentality. He doesn’t care about the personal accolades. All he cares about is winning. Whatever it takes, that’s the end goal.