NEW YORK -- Calgary Flames right wing Jarome Iginla, Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin have been nominated for the Hart Trophy, the NHL's most valuable player award.
The league announced the finalists, chosen by a vote of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season, on Tuesday. The winner will be announced Thursday, June 12, during the 2008 NHL awards show in Toronto.
Ovechkin, the league's points and goal-scoring leader with 112 points on 65 goals and 47 assists, led the Capitals in a late rush to the Southeast Division title and a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He set the single-season NHL record for goals by a left wing and scored the most goals in a season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.
Iginla, a three-time Hart Trophy finalist, had his second career 50-goal season in the NHL, scoring a career-best 98 points (50 goals, 48 assists). He also became the Flames' all-time goal-scoring leader during the season, in which the Flames reached the first round of the playoffs.
Malkin, who led the Penguins in scoring with 106 points on 47 goals and 59 assists, picked up the slack while teammate Sidney Crosby was out with an ankle injury. During the 28 games Crosby missed, Malkin had 46 points on 20 goals and 28 assists.