Sidney Crosby was announced as a finalist for the 2019 Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP (he was second on my ballot!) after a pretty fantastic season that saw him, at times, carry the Pittsburgh Penguins toward a playoff spot. Was it his best season? No, it was not, but it was still a damn good one that further drove home the point that even as he progresses into his 30s he is still on the very, very, very short list of best players in the world (like, top-three at worst).
I also don’t think he got enough votes to win the award as Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov seems to be the runaway winner for his bonkers regular season performance.