NHL Hart Trophy: Oilers' Bouchard, Senators' Stutzle Lead Early Rankings
The 2026-27 NHL regular season is officially a week old, and every team has played multiple games, according to thehockeynews.com. Andre Leal of thehockeynews.com presents the first top five Hart Trophy candidates of the season, with Tim Stutzle at No. 5 and Evan Bouchard at No. 4.
The Hart Trophy is awarded "to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team," per the source. Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov was last year's winner, but the early front-runners this season are Bouchard and Stutzle.
Bouchard, a defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers, has scored four goals and eight points in three games, placing him second in league scoring, according to thehockeynews.com. That production kicked off with a hat trick and five-point outing in the team's season opener.
The full top five beyond the two players mentioned is not in the source, leaving the rest of the early ballot unconfirmed.
STUTZLE STEPS UP FOR SENATORS
The Ottawa Senators have played only two games so far this season, with their first coming Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to thehockeynews.com. That puts them behind most of the league, which started play last Tuesday.
Tim Stutzle made a quiet start with one assist in that opener. On Monday against the Boston Bruins, he exploded for two goals and three points in a 4-1 win, per the source.
That gives Stutzle four points in two games, helping the Senators to a 2-0-0 record to start the season. The early production carries extra weight in Ottawa, which lost captain Brady Tkachuk and needs several players to step up. Stutzle is the first player the team will look to this season, according to thehockeynews.com.
The nature and extent of Tkachuk's absence is not specified in the source.
BetMGM lists Stutzle's Hart Trophy odds at 151.00/+15000, per thehockeynews.com. For a player on a team that has played fewer games than nearly everyone else, that early body of work has him inside the top five of the first weekly rankings.
BOUCHARD'S HISTORIC START
Evan Bouchard, a defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers, has scored four goals and eight points in the team's first three games, placing him second in league scoring, according to thehockeynews.com. His season kicked off with a hat trick and five-point outing in the team's season opener, per the source. The opponent in that opener is not named in the source.
The offensive outburst is remarkable for any player, let alone a blue-liner. Bouchard's production has him sitting behind only the league's scoring leader, and the Oilers have four players inside the top 10 of NHL scoring, according to thehockeynews.com.
That context makes his individual numbers even more striking. With teammates also piling up points, Bouchard is not merely the beneficiary of a hot line — he is driving the offense from the back end.
The source notes that Bouchard's offensive prowess has been ignored over the past few seasons, hindered by his defensive lapses, and he hasn't been viewed as an upper-echelon player. His eight points in three games, the article's subline emphasizes, are forcing a re-evaluation.
The Oilers' depth creates a tricky dynamic for Hart voters, as the source acknowledges it's challenging to put multiple Edmonton players on the list. But Bouchard's early production is impossible to overlook.
OILERS' MVP DILEMMA
That's the crux of the dilemma for Hart voters: with four Oilers sitting in the top 10 of NHL scoring, Bouchard's individual value is part of a larger offensive machine in Edmonton, according to thehockeynews.com. The source notes it's challenging to put multiple Oilers on the list because several players contribute offensively, making it hard to say one player's production ranks them as most important to the team.
Bouchard's ranking at No. 4 reflects that his offensive production is now being recognized, despite past defensive criticisms, per the source. His eight points in three games are forcing a re-evaluation of a player long viewed as flawed.
For the Senators, the calculus is different. Stutzle's early production is crucial as they cope with the loss of captain Brady Tkachuk, according to thehockeynews.com. With four points in two games and a 2-0-0 record, Stutzle is the first player Ottawa will look to this season.
The exact impact of Tkachuk's absence on the Senators is not detailed in the source, but the need for others to step up is clear. Stutzle has answered that call so far.
Both players are early front-runners in the most prestigious individual NHL award race, per the source. One is driving a deep, star-studded offense from the back end; the other is carrying a team through an early identity shift. Different circumstances, same early case for Hart consideration.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
This is the first of a weekly award rankings series for the 2026-27 season, according to thehockeynews.com. Published Oct. 6, 2026, the piece arrives with the season exactly one week old, per the source.
The Senators have played only two games while other teams have stacked up more, so Ottawa's schedule will catch up, according to thehockeynews.com. That means Stutzle's early four-point pace will be tested across a heavier workload in the weeks ahead.
Bouchard and the Oilers will continue their season with the defenseman aiming to maintain his scoring pace, per the source. He sits second in league scoring with eight points in three games, a historic start for a player at his position.
What the source does not specify is what comes next on the calendar. Upcoming games, dates, or opponents for either the Oilers or the Senators are not in the article, so those details remain unconfirmed.
What is clear is that the Hart race now has a measuring stick. The weekly rankings series will track how these early front-runners hold up, with Stutzle carrying Ottawa through Tkachuk's absence and Bouchard trying to stay atop the scoring chart from the back end.
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