Article content Almost certainly, Auston Matthews will be a finalist for the Hart Trophy, as the NHL’s most valuable player. Barring some kind of drastic change with Connor McDavid, Matthews won’t win the award but is likely to end up in the top three, which will put him in a place few Maple Leafs of the modern era have ever known. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or SIMMONS: Candidate for four awards, Matthews is going where no Leaf has gone before Back to video Doug Gilmour finished second to Mario Lemieux for the Hart in 1993, then a year later placed fourth behind winner, Sergei Fedorov. Darryl Sittler finished third once in Hart voting. Guy Lafleur won the award that year, in 1978. Mats Sundin never finished higher than eighth on the Hart ballot and Wendel Clark never did receive a Hart vote.