Alexandr Ovechkin
Ovechkin and two other Russians nominated for NHL’s MVP
Published 30 April, 2009, 13:57
Russians continue to prosper in the NHL, as three of them have been nominated for this year's MVP honors, with Alexandr Ovechkin hotly tipped to retain the Hart Trophy.
Aleksander the Gr8 posted an impressive total of 56 goals and 54 assists for the Washington Capitals in the regular season.
Also on the short-list are Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeny Malkin (35 goals, 78 assists) from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk (32 goals, 65 assists).
The Hart Trophy is awarded annually, since 1924. Each year, members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote to determine the player, who was the most valuable to his team during the regular season. They have to choose from three nominees.
The Trophy is named in honor of Canadian Dr. David Hart. Dr. Hart was the man who donated the original trophy to the NHL. He was the father of Cecil Hart, a former Coach and General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens hockey club.
Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky holds the all-time record as he won the award nine times during his career.
Russian Sergey Fedorov claimed the Hart Trophy in the 1993-1994 season, while Aleksander Ovechkin took it in 2007-2008.
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