The National Hockey League completed its awards distribution for the 2025-26 season with the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, with twelve IHLC holders representing four countries taking home trophies handed out over the past month.

With the Conn Smythe Trophy going to Carolina captain Jordan Staal, the final NHL award of the season was given out, after all other trophies were awarded throughout the Stanley Cup Conference playoffs, with the winner for the Hart shown on 11 June prior to Game 5 of the Finals.

The big winners this season came more in the form of teams than players, with the Presidents Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche seeing four members take home trophies, with Nathan MacKinnon winning the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals, Gabriel Landeskog winning both the Messier Award for leadership Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey, and the goaltending duo of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood winning the Jennings for lowest combined goals against.

The Tampa Bay Lightning saw three players win awards, with Nikita Kucherov winning his second Hart Trophy as league MVP, Andrei Vasilevski winning his second Vezina Trophy as top goaltender, and coach Jon Cooper winning his first Jack Adams Award as league’s top coach.

Outside of Landeskog, the only other multi-award winner was Edmonton phenom Connor McDavid, winning the Ted Lindsay Award as MVP voted by his peers, along with the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in scoring. It was McDavid’s fifth Lindsay Award, tying him with Wayne Gretzky for most all-time, while it was his sixth Art Ross, tying Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux for second all-time, trailing only Gretzky’s ten.

Only Kucherov, McDavid and Vasilevski were repeat award winners, while Landeskog and MacKinnon had won other awards previously. There were an astonishing eight players winning their first individual trophies, with Staal, Cooper, Blackwood, Wedgewood, Zach Werenski (Norris), Matthew Schaefer (Calder), Cole Caufield (Lady Byng), Nick Suzuki (Selke) and Marcus Foligno (Clancy) rounding out the awards.

As in previous seasons, the Jim Gregory Award for GM of the year will be announced at a later date.

The NHL Award winners and nominees for the 2025-26 season (with winners in bold and an asterisk denoting former IHLC holders) are as follows:

Hart Memorial Trophy (League MVP)
🇨🇦 Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)*
🇨🇦 Connor McDavid (Oilers)*
🇷🇺 Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)*

Ted Lindsay Award (MVP Voted By Players)
🇨🇦 Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)*
🇨🇦 Connor McDavid (Oilers)*
🇷🇺 Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)*

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender)
🇷🇺 Ilya Sorokin (Islanders)*
🇺🇸 Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)*
🇷🇺 Andrei Vasilevski (Lightning)*

James Norris Memorial Trophy (Top Defenceman)
🇸🇪 Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres)*
🇨🇦 Cale Makar (Avalanche)*
🇺🇸 Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)*

Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie Of The Year)
🇷🇺 Ivan Demidov (Canadiens)
🇨🇦 Matthew Schaefer (Islanders)
🇨🇦 Beckett Sennecke (Ducks)*

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Conduct)
🇺🇸 Cole Caufield (Canadiens)*
🇸🇮 Anže Kopitar (Kings)
🇺🇸 Jake Sanderson (Senators)*

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward)
🇨🇦 Anthony Cirelli (Lightning)*
🇺🇸 Brock Nelson (Avalanche)*
🇨🇦 Nick Suzuki (Canadiens)*

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance & Dedication)
🇸🇪 Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres)*
🇸🇪 Gabriel Landeskog (Avalanche)*
🇨🇦 Jonathan Toews (Jets)*

Jack Adams Award (Coach Of The Year)
🇨🇦 Jon Cooper (Lightning)*
🇺🇸 Dan Muse (Penguins)*
🇨🇦 Lindy Ruff (Sabres)*

Jim Gregory Award (General Manager Of The Year)
🇺🇸 Bill Guerin (Wild)*
🇺🇸 Chris MacFarland (Avalanche)
🇨🇦 Pat Verbeek (Ducks)*

Mark Messier Leadership Award (Top Leader)
🇸🇪 Gabriel Landeskog (Avalanche)*

King Clancy Memorial Trophy (On & Off-Ice Leadership)
🇨🇦 Marcus Foligno (Wild)*

A few trophies for the evening were already predetermined, whether based purely on seasonal statistics, or in the case of the Conn Smythe Trophy, being awarded at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final.

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points, Season)
🇨🇦 Connor McDavid (Oilers)*

Rocket Richard Trophy (Most Goals, Season)
🇨🇦 Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)*

William M. Jennings Trophy (Least Goals Against, Season)
🇨🇦 Mackenzie Blackwood (Avalanche)*
🇨🇦 Scott Wedgewood (Avalanche)

Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP)
🇨🇦 Jordan Staal (Hurricanes)*

Photo Credit: NHL – IIHF – HHOF – IOC