David Pastrnak took his game to another level in 2025-26. While many will simply look at his goal numbers and assume it was a down season, this was actually one of the best seasons in Pastrnak’s career. He was dominant in a completely different way.
Pastrnak is still one of the best snipers in the league, but he failed to hit 30 goals for the first time since he became an NHL regular. He’s hit at least 40 goals in all non-COVID seasons since 2019. Even in the shortened 2019-20 season, he had 48 goals in 70 games. This season, he only had 29 goals.
While the shot wasn’t going in with the same consistency (his 11.1% shooting percentage was the lowest since his rookie year), it was clearly a change in philosophy as he was doing everything he could to make his teammates better. And it shows in the standings.
The belief was the Bruins would have trouble competing in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division this season, but thanks to Pastrnak’s performance, they got in as a Wild Card with 100 standings points.
When the awards voting came out, it wasn’t a surprise that Pastrnak wasn’t a finalist for the Hart Trophy. Everyone expected Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon to be in the top three, and Nikita Kucherov got there by leading the Eastern Conference in points. He had 130, which beats Pastrnak by 30 points. That’s a lot!
David Pastrnak deserved a better fate in Hart Trophy voting
However, we cannot pretend that all points are created equal. Of Pastrnak’s 100 points this season, 67 came at even strength. There’s one area where Pastrnak is clear and away the best player in the league, and it’s primary assists.
While Kucherov is putting up 86 assists for the full season, 35 of them were second assists. Pastrnak had just 14 secondary assists. That means Pastrnak was the direct result of goals 86 times. While that’s still nine behind Kucherov, the reason the Lightning star won the award was that he lifted his team up, along with scoring goals. He was offensive firepower in full force.
But we’ve gotten into the muck of the meaning of the Hart Trophy. Is Kucherov the “most valuable” player in the league? He plays on the same team as the league's top coach and top goalie. Pastrnak was the direct result of the Bruins’ playoff berth. The Lightning could make it there without Kucherov if other things go right. The Bruins are in the same breath as the Toronto Maple Leafs without Pastrnak.
Pastrnak is tied with Connor McDavid for total primary assists, and he leads all players in 5v5 primary assists. He made his teammates better. He lifted the entire ship in Boston Harbor to take them to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He’s one of the best players in this league, yet he’s still somehow underrated, as is shown by his sixth-place finish in Hart Trophy voting.
Should Pastrnak get the MVP over the likes of McDavid or MacKinnon? We believe that's a better argument.
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