An already Bruins-stacked 2023 NHL Awards in Nashville will also include a Bruins presence in the top individual award to be presented, as Bruins winger David Pastrnak has been named a finalist for the 2023 Hart Trophy.

Pastrnak will be joined by the Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk as the finalists for the award, which is awarded annually to the player judged to be the most valuable player to their team, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.

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• Word of Pastrnak being a finalist for the Hart Trophy came just a day after it was announced that Pastrnak was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is the most valuable player award as voted on by the NHLPA.

  In what was his best NHL season to date, the 26-year-old Pastrnak put up a career-high 61 goals, and finished just three behind McDavid for the league lead for what would’ve been Pastrnak’s second Rocket Richard Trophy win.

  With 61 goals, Pastrnak also became just the second player in the century-long history of the Bruins to score at least 60 goals in a season, joining a list that up until this past season featured just Phil Esposito.

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  Jan 2, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) skates during warmups before a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023 Winter Classic ice hockey game at Fenway Park. (Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports)

• Pastrnak also finished the year with 113 points, which was the third-most in the National Hockey League behind the Oilers’ one-two punch of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Pastrnak’s 113 points were also the most by any Bruin since Adam Oates put up 112 points during the 1993-94 season.

  This was also Pastrnak breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling of a Hart Trophy finalist nomination, so to speak, as he finished fourth in the voting for the Hart Trophy during the 2019-20 season.

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  Nov 23, 2022; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates a goal by center Aleksander Barkov (not pictured) during the second period against the Boston Bruins at FLA Live Arena. (Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports)

• Tkachuk, meanwhile, earned a nomination into a top-three finish in the voting behind what was an absolutely torrid stretch of production down the stretch. Tkachuk by all means willed the once-dead Panthers into the postseason, really, with a staggering 23 goals and 66 points over the final 45 games of the regular season. Only three players — the Oilers’ one-two of McDavid and Draisaitl, and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon — had more points over that span.

  It’s also worth noting that ballots had to be submitted before the first game of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, meaning that his postseason run, which has pushed the Panthers over the Bruins and Maple Leafs and into a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, was not factored into the equation upon voting.

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  DENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 11: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers sklates in the overtime period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on April 11, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

• But Pastrnak and Tkachuk are by all means fighting for who will finish second behind McDavid, really, as McDavid appears to be a lock for what should be the second unanimous Hart Trophy win of his career, and his third overall.

  Edmonton’s captain, McDavid led the league in goals (64), assists (89), and points (153), and in doing so became the first player to accomplish that feat since the Penguins’ Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. McDavid also became the first player to hit the 150-point mark in a season since Lemieux in 1995-96, and is just the sixth player in league history to record at least 150 points in a season. The other players to hit that milestone: Phil Esposito (1970-71), Wayne Gretzky (nine times), Bernie Nicholls (1988-89), Steve Yzerman (1988-89), and Lemieux (four times).

  The man is basically a video game character come to life.

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  Feb 27, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Bruins forward David Pastrnak (88) and Oilers defensemen Brett Kulak (27) look for a loose puck in front of goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the second period at Rogers Place. (Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports)

• And for those keeping track at home, Pastrnak’s nomination means that the Bruins have a rep in the top three of the Selke Trophy (Patrice Bergeron), Vezina Trophy (Linus Ullmark), Lindsay Award (Pastrnak), and the Jack Adams (Jim Montgomery). Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman already won the William M. Jennings Trophy as the league’s top goaltending tandem in 2022-23, too, as they allowed the fewest goals in the league in the regular season.

  Pastrnak is also the first Bruin to land in a top-three voting spot for the Hart Trophy since Ray Bourque finished second in the voting behind the Oilers’ Mark Messier during the 1989-90 season. (Note: If you want to get technical, Joe Thornton in 2005-06 could qualify, but he only began his season with the Bruins, and really made his Hart Trophy push upon his early, in-season trade from Boston to San Jose.)

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