SportsLine.com staff

The Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to "the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team" as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Vote were cast after the conclusion of the regular season and prior to the start of the playoffs.

Other awards | All-time MVPs

The winner

Joe Sakic, C, Avalanche: He was the best player wire-to-wire on the team that was the league's best wire-to-wire. Sakic was among the leaders in scoring, plus-minus and game-winning goals. He won more than half of his faceoffs while blocking more shots than any other forward on the team. More important, he has been a leader on and off the ice for the Avs, a team that came into the season, and ended up meeting very high expectations.

Other finalists
	Mario Lemieux, C, Penguins: As part of his remarkable comeback, Lemieux became a Hart finalist for the seventh time. He has won the award three times. Lemieux returned December 27 after nearly four years of retirement and scored 35 goals and 76 points in 43 games. He was a plus-15 and had the league's best points-per-game ratio, and sold out every game he played in -- at home and away.
	Jaromir Jagr , RW, Penguins : Jagr earned his fifth Hart nomination after winning his fifth scoring title and the fourth in a row. He scored 52 goals and 69 assists for 121 points in 81 games and had a 16-game scoring streak from January 9 to February 16.

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