When the Boston Bruins skated off the ice on April 15, 5-4 overtime losers to the New Jersey Devils in their season finale, it ended a season that was one of the more frustrating ones in a long time. Boston finished last in the Atlantic Division and tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for last place in the Eastern Conference.
Despite a bad season that saw Jim Montgomery fired in November and interim coach Joe Sacco being let go after the season during the Bruins' coaching search before he caught on with the New York Rangers as an assistant on Mike Sullivan's staff, one Boston player played out of his mind again. David Pastrnak played in all 82 games, and despite the Black and Gold's record, he never complained about anything. His season was eye-opening, but apparently not eye-opening enough in some voters' minds.
Media disrespects David Pastrnak with Hart Trophy voting
Pastrnak finished the season with 43 goals, which was nine behind the leader, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, and he finished seventh in assists with 63. Those were good enough for 106 points on a team that severely underachieved. Despite those numbers, Pastrnak finished 11th in the Hart Trophy voting with 24 points. He received one second-place vote, two fourth-place votes, and 11 fifth-place votes. Connor Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg Jets goalie, beat out Draisaitl for the trophy.
Full voting table for the Hart Memorial Trophy, won by #GoJetsGo goalie Connor Hellebuyck. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/jltHtWypFM
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) June 12, 2025
Look, I'm not saying that Pastrnak should have won the award, but his not being in the Top 10 is absurd. If it wasn't for him, it is scary to think where the Bruins would have ended up in the standings if Pastrnak didn't come close to having the season he had. They might have challenged for the No. 1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft later this month.
A player playing on a team that finished where the Bruins did is only going to get so many votes, but the media is throwing some disrespect at Pastrnak by only getting the votes he did. There is no reason why he should not have finished a lot higher in the voting, regardless of the season Boston had.