Which NHL players stood out as MVP of their team in the 2024-25 season?

New York Times

11-04-2025

The NHL regular season is almost in the books, and every team from the top to the bottom of the standings had individual performances worth highlighting.
Before we get set to turn the page to the playoffs for some teams and the offseason for others at the end of next week, The Athletic asked its NHL staff for the player who provided the very best on a nightly basis on each team: our 2024-25 MVPs.
Here's who our writers picked.
At times this season — especially early on — Dostál won games for the Ducks that they didn't deserve. The 24-year-old has spent the rest of the year proving that he's a No. 1 goalie, with 23 wins and a .905 save percentage while making 18 more saves than expected before Thursday for a team that's still rough defensively. He's had five games of 40 saves or more. — Eric Stephens
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Pastrnak has had no help since the Bruins traded Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau. But the No. 1 right wing still hit the 40-goal mark for the fourth straight season and the 100-point mark for the third straight season. — Fluto Shinzawa
It's close between Tage Thompson and Dahlin, but Dahlin's all-around impact is tough to beat. During the Sabres' 13-game winless streak, they were without Dahlin for nine of those games. He has 62 points in 68 games and a 54 percent on-ice expected goal share at five-on-five before Thursday. — Matthew Fairburn
If it wasn't for Wolf, Calgary would be much further down the standings. Wolf carried one of the NHL's lowest-scoring teams virtually every game he played for the Flames this season. Wolf had only 11 appearances out of 50 where his team scored four goals or more. He's the Flames' undisputed MVP. — Julian McKenzie
The Wolf Man 🐺 pic.twitter.com/V7aQEPNI87
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 10, 2025
Jarvis has continued to grow into a star, a quest helped by his infectious personality. He's eclipsed 30 goals for the second straight season, is among the league leaders in short-handed goals on the NHL's best penalty kill, and was an effective role player on Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off gold medal team. — Cory Lavalette
Donato has had a career season with 29 goals heading into Thursday, smashing his previous best of 16. He's also tied for 15th in the league with 21 goals at five-on-five heading into Thursday. He was the Blackhawks' most consistent player and did so while playing up and down the lineup. — Scott Powers
Heading into Thursday, MacKinnon led the NHL with 116 points (32 goals and 84 assists) and has the third-best odds of winning the Hart Trophy. It would be tough to argue for anyone but the potential back-to-back league MVP as Colorado's most valuable player. MacKinnon's speed and playmaking fuel the Avs' high-octane attack in a way that perhaps no other player could. — Jesse Granger
The Blue Jackets' late-season nosedive and Werenski's late-season slump — he's gone 16 games without a goal through Tuesday — may have affected his shot at the Norris Trophy and even the Hart Trophy. But Werenski carried the Blue Jackets this season, leading them in points, assists, ice time, game-winning goals, etc. He has been irreplaceable. — Aaron Portzline
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The Stars' forward group is so balanced that it's difficult to pick one standout. But Harley has shouldered a heavy burden on the back end. As of Monday, the Stars were outscoring opponents by a whopping 78-48 at five-on-five with Harley on the ice. And since Miro Heiskanen was hurt in January, Harley has been a point-a-game player while averaging 25 minutes. — Mark Lazerus
DeBrincat has been Detroit's leading goal scorer and perhaps its most consistent forward, maintaining a steady rate of production while managing to regularly impact shifts regardless of whether he's putting the puck in the net. He's been tenacious, brought pace to his lines and put points on the board with his dangerous release. — Max Bultman
Most Oilers have underperformed this season, but Draisaitl sure isn't one of them. He'll win his first Rocket Richard Trophy and is a lock to be a Hart finalist. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch has been touting his Selke candidacy, too, and for good reason. Throw in his six overtime goals, an NHL record, and the choice here is obvious. — Daniel Nugent-Bowman
Oilers Leon Draisaitl
Sets NHL single-season record with 6 OT goals pic.twitter.com/Im3OabCC3g
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 30, 2025
With all due respect to the great Aleksander Barkov, Reinhart is going to lead the Panthers in goals and points while playing defense and staying healthy. He's a remarkable player. — Sean Gentille
The stellar play of Vladislav Gavrikov during Drew Doughty's injury absence through the first half of the season won't soon be forgotten, but Kuemper has been wondrous for Los Angeles, posting top-five numbers in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. At age 34, Kuemper might be having his finest season in a solid 206-win career before Thursday. — Eric Stephens
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In the first half, the only thing that was keeping Gustavsson from being the team MVP was the fact that Kirill Kaprizov was a legit Hart Trophy contender. Things have been tougher for Gustavsson in the second half, but that's mostly because he's had to be perfect with the Wild so depleted by injuries. If they make the playoffs despite Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek missing half the season, it's because of the goaltending Gustavsson has provided under immense pressure. He's won 30 games, with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. — Michael Russo
'He's just the best player on our team, there's no doubt about that. He's been unbelievable.' That is Cole Caufield describing Suzuki on Saturday night. And he is on the money. Suzuki has put up the best offensive performance by a Canadiens player in three decades, is a responsible defensive player and has thrived in difficult matchups. — Arpon Basu
In a season loaded with individual disappointments, Forsberg took a big step back from last season's career highs of 48 goals and 94 points, but he was still the Predators' best player. And production of nearly a point a game is pretty good for an off year. — Joe Rexrode
Jesper Bratt would have been a worthy winner here, as well as Jack Hughes had he not gotten hurt. Hischier, though, feels most deserving. He is in the midst of a career-best goal-scoring season (35 in 72 games) while averaging more than 20 minutes a game and playing a strong two-way game. Sheldon Keefe relies on him in all situations. — Peter Baugh
No one (obviously) rescued the Islanders this season, but Horvat had a pretty consistent 2024-25, which puts him atop this list. He leads the team in points heading into Thursday (54), leads the forwards in ice time and is among the league leaders in faceoff percentage. The Islanders need a lot more from everyone, but Horvat gave a decent amount. — Arthur Staple
Shesterkin's surface numbers might not seem remarkable — he entered Thursday with a .903 save percentage — but that's because of the number of difficult chances the Rangers allow. Through Wednesday, he was sixth in the NHL in goals saved above expected, according to Evolving-Hockey. He is among the league leaders in starts, too. — Peter Baugh
The Sens have a few candidates for team MVP this season. But we're picking the goaltender whose performances have helped solidify Ottawa's case as a dark horse for the playoffs. Sens fans know all about how goaltenders have crippled their seasons in years past. — Julian McKenzie
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Konecny endured a pretty miserable slump in March, but he was still the team's most consistent scorer throughout the course of the season. He's already reached a new career high in points, which is particularly encouraging in that his eight-year contract extension doesn't begin until next season. — Kevin Kurz
He's still one of the world's greatest hockey players and has been especially spectacular in the season's second half. He just keeps going and going. The Penguins would be a candidate for the NHL's worst team without him. — Josh Yohe
If the 18-year-old Celebrini isn't already the Sharks' best player, he will be shortly. His great rookie season may not win him the Calder Trophy, but he's finishing with a flourish with his first hat trick Wednesday in Minnesota as part of a five-point game. Before Thursday, Celebrini is tied for first among first-year players in goals (24) and is second in points (62). — Eric Stephens
Macklin Celebrini's got his first career hat trick! 🤩
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/PEsAj5dWyl
— NHL (@NHL) April 10, 2025
McCann has led the Kraken in scoring every season of their existence, and did so again this year. The Kraken controlled play exceptionally well with him on the ice at five-on-five and outscored their opposition by a wide margin (plus-14), with him doing a lot of the neutral zone driving to help achieve those results. — Thomas Drance
If Thomas hadn't missed 12 games with an injury, we could be talking about his first 100-point season. He has 78 points in 68 games (a 94-point pace), has been one of the NHL's top defensive centers and is winning a career-high 54.9 percent of his faceoffs. The Blues were 4-7-1 without Thomas; they are 39-23-6 with him. — Jeremy Rutherford
Kucherov is having another Hart-caliber season. He is a dangerous shooter and a slick puck-mover. But what separates this year from years past is that Kucherov's two-way game is actually on the rise; the Lightning have allowed less in his minutes at five-on-five, and it hasn't come at the expense of his offense. — Shayna Goldman
There's a case to be made for William Nylander. He's been the team's most reliable goal scorer in the wake of Auston Matthews' injury-plagued down season and isn't far off Marner in terms of primary points. Yet, Marner is the far superior defensive player while still driving home a whack of offense, even amid Matthews' scoring drop-off. — Jonas Siegel
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Keller is the obvious pick. As the face of the franchise, he took another step this season into the top 15 in NHL scoring, despite Utah's offensive issues. The Utah captain, 26, is closing in on the 90-point mark for the first time and mentored youngsters Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther through ups and downs. Karel Vejmelka is the other worthy choice. — James Mirtle
Hughes might be more valuable to his team than any other player in the NHL is to theirs. With Hughes on the ice at five-on-five this season, Vancouver outscored its opponents at a similar rate to what the Panthers did. In non-Hughes five-on-five minutes, only the Sharks, Predators and Blackhawks were outscored by a wider margin than Vancouver. — Thomas Drance
Eichel has been everything for the Golden Knights this season. He shattered his career high and Vegas' franchise record for points in a season, racking up 27 goals and 66 assists before Thursday. He's the team's time on ice leader at even strength, as well as both on the power play and the penalty kill. — Jesse Granger
Not an easy call here; Dylan Strome led the Caps in points, Aliaksei Protas broke out and some other guy broke an obscure record. Thompson wasn't perfect either, but the work he put in from October to February (.924 save percentage, 27.06 goals saved above expected) helped Washington build a big-time lead in the Eastern Conference. — Sean Gentille
Hellebuyck may be the most valuable player to any team this season. He's the runaway favorite for his second straight Vezina Trophy and should finish in the top five in Hart Trophy voting: Hellebuyck leads all starters in wins, shutouts, save percentage, goals saved above expected, and promises to do the 'Gangnam Style' dance on the ice. — Murat Ates
I would be -delighted- if this Connor Hellebuyck prophecy came true: https://t.co/Ov7Gulhkh5
— Murat Ates (@WPGMurat) March 29, 2025
(Top photos of Connor Hellebuyck and Nathan MacKinnon: Claus Andersen and Sam Hodde / Getty Images)