Taylor Hall wins Hart Trophy as NHL’s MVP

New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall won the Hart Trophy on Wednesday night as the NHL’s most valuable player.

The 26-year-old beat out fellow first-time finalists Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for the award.

Hall, who is the first New Jersey player to win the Hart Trophy, finished sixth in the NHL with 93 points for the Devils.

In other awards presented at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas, Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie, beating out Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, and Kopitar was awarded his second Selke Trophy as best defensive forward.

Last year’s Hart Trophy winner, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player in a vote held by members of the NHL Players Association.

And the hometown Vegas Golden Knights took home several awards for their historic inaugural season.

George McPhee was named the NHL’s general manager of the year, Gerard Gallant won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach, forward William Karlsson won the Lady Byng Trophy for the player best combining sportsmanship and ability, and defenseman Deryk Engelland took home the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.