With the calendar flipped to January 2025, we are approaching the midway point of the 2024-25 NHL season. It's a good time to examine the 10 players we consider the leading candidates for the Hart Memorial Trophy.

This trophy is awarded to the player deemed the most valuable to their team at the end of the regular season as determined by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers Association in all 32 NHL cities.

We took a way-too-early look at our top contenders for the Hart just after the regular season began and revisited our listing a month into the campaign. At midseason, several notable players who appeared on both lists, like 2023-24 winner Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, remain in the chase.

Where do MacKinnon and McDavid sit in our midseason ranking? Which new players can be considered potential Hart nominees? Read on to find out and let us know if you agree or disagree in the app comments below.

10. Martin Nečas, Carolina Hurricanes

Trade rumors surrounded Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Nečas leading up to last season's trade deadline and into the offseason, with the 25-year-old forward topping our June and July NHL Trade Block Big Boards.

However, the trade chatter ended when he signed a two-year contract with the Hurricanes on July 29.

Nečas spent most of the first half of this season playing like he had something to prove to his team and the rest of the league. With 14 goals and 31 assists in 37 games, he lead his club in scoring and sat among the league's top 15 scorers entering the New Year.

With stars like Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov struggling offensively earlier in the season, Nečas offset their drop in production until they regained their form. His efforts kept Carolina in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Necas' production has declined since Dec. 17 with one point in seven games entering the Jan. 2 game against the Florida Panthers. Nevertheless, he has been the Hurricanes' most valuable player through most of the first half of this season.

9. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers

Last season was a career year for Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers.

The 29-year-old led the club with a career-high 57 goals and 94 points and tallied 10 goals and 16 points in 24 playoff games, including the winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Panthers rewarded Reinhart's efforts with an eight-year, $69 million contract. However, the forward wasn't expected to regain the heights of last season's performance. Some observers assumed he'd return to the 30-goal form he displayed in his previous two seasons with the team.

However, his performance through the first half of this season has confounded the experts. He leads the Panthers with 22 goals and 45 points in 38 games and sits second tied for second in plus/minus with Dimitri Kulikov (plus-nine). He's again among the league's top-10 goal scorers.

Through those 38 games, Reinhart has been held off the scoresheet only nine times. He's been Florida's most consistent and reliable scorer throughout the first half and is a worthy candidate for the Hart Trophy.

8. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

Now in his 10th NHL season, Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel is taking his game to another level.

With 48 points in 37 games, the 28-year-old is on pace to exceed his career high of 82 points with the Buffalo Sabres in 2018-19. His performance has been a significant reason why the Golden Knights are jockeying for first overall in the standings.

The 28-year-old is also among the NHL's top-10 scorers this season, a spot he was last in during that career-best performance seven seasons ago. Injuries have limited his production, though he's at nearly a point-per-game pace (0.98) for his career. This season, however, he's avoided the injury bug.

On Dec. 16, The Athletic's Jesse Granger noted Eichel had performed well at both ends of the rink. He cited his strong defensive play, his role as the focal point for their special teams and being on pace for the best season by any player in franchise history with 111 points.

Eichel could be a long shot to win the Hart Trophy given the other notables among our ranking. Nevertheless, his performance this season is worthy of merit, becoming the player the Sabres hoped he'd be when they drafted him second overall in 2015.

7. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

The 2023-24 season was a banner year for Quinn Hughes. Named captain of the Vancouver Canucks in Sept. 2023, the young defenseman took his game to a higher level with a career-best 92-point performance, leading all blueliners in scoring and earning the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the first time, becoming the first Canuck to be so honored.

Hughes' play last season played a big role in the Canucks enjoying the third-best season in franchise history (109 points), reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The 25-year-old rearguard faced a big challenge this season to meet heightened expectations.

The Canucks struggled through the first half with key players like Thatcher Demko, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Filip Hronek sidelined. Hughes was the glue that kept his team competitive. He leads his club with 42 points, jockeying with Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche for the scoring lead among defensemen.

Hughes has more than proven his worth as the most valuable player to the Canucks. He's currently sidelined week-to-week with an undisclosed injury and will be keenly missed by his teammates.

6. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are no longer the dominant club that reached four Stanley Cup Finals, won back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021, plus the Presidents' Trophy in 2018-19.

Former captain and franchise scoring leader Steven Stamkos departed as a free agent to the Nashville Predators last July.

Nevertheless, the Lightning remain a playoff contender partly because of Nikita Kucherov's play. His team is in transition, but the 31-year-old remains at the peak of his powers among the league's top offensive superstars.

Winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award in 2018-19, Kucherov took home his second Art Ross last season with a career-high 144 points. He was runner-up for the Hart and the Lindsay Award last season.

Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring by a wide margin with 37 assists and 54 points. That puts him among the top five NHL scorers in both categories this season. It wouldn't be shocking if he won his third Art Ross, putting him in line for his second Hart Trophy.

5. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

One-half of the greatest one-two scoring punch in Oilers history since Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, Leon Draisaitl is sometimes considered the club's other superstar next to captain Connor McDavid.

That does the 29-year-old center a disservice as he's a former winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and the Art Ross Trophy in 2019-20.

Playing through rib and hand injuries, Drasaitl played a key role in the Oilers' march to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. He and his teammates got off to another slow start to this season, but they have since risen in the standing into third place in the Pacific Division.

The German has been on a tear for much of the first half. He leads the league with 27 goals and is second in points with 56, putting him ahead of McDavid in both categories. The pair remain a dangerous scoring tandem, with Draisaitl a worthwhile candidate for the Hart.

On Sept. 3, he signed an eight-year, $112-million contract extension that begins on July 1, 2025, making him the NHL's highest-paid player starting next season. His performance this season makes the case that he's worth that hefty contract and is quite valuable to the Oilers.

4. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild

Expectations were low for the Minnesota Wild entering this season. They struggled through 2023-24 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19. Salary-cap constraints also hampered management's efforts to improve the roster.

Nevertheless, the Wild have exceeded expectations thus far, sitting third in the Western Conference standings with 50 points as of Jan. 2. They struggled in the second half of December but being in that position in the standings was a notable improvement.

The Wild's performance through the first half was a team effort led by winger Kirill Kaprizov. The 27-year-old was already their biggest star and leading scorer thanks to his three straight 40-plus goal seasons. In 2024-25, though, he's taken his game to a higher level.

Kaprizov sits among the NHL's top-10 scorers entering midseason with 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points. He's well ahead of everyone else among Wild scorers and the biggest reason they've done so well through the first half.

Minnesota has felt his absence as he's currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Dominant goaltenders in the NHL appear to be a fading breed as goals-against averages rise and save percentages decline while scoring percentages rise.

Carey Price was the last netminder to win the Hart, in 2014-15. Sergei Bobrovsky was a finalist with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016-17 while the New York Rangers' Igor Shesterkin was a finalist in 2021-22.

A notable exception is Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. He and Bobrovsky are the only active goaltenders to win the Vezina Trophy twice, with Hellebuyck winning his first in 2019-20 and his second in 2023-24.

The Jets got off to a blazing start this season, winning 15 of their first 16 games through Nov. 12. They've since returned to earth with a record of 12 wins, 10 losses and an overtime loss (as of Jan. 2) but remain in first place in the overall standings.

Hellebuyck's performance between the pipes played a big role in the Jets' strong first half. He leads all goaltenders in wins (24), save percentage (.930), goals-against average (2.00) and shutouts (five). That kind of dominant play could qualify him as the most valuable player to his team.

2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid continues to play his way into the ranks of the NHL's all-time greats.

On Nov.14, the 27-year-old became the fourth-fastest player to reach the 1,000-point plateau, accomplishing the feat in 659 games.

McDavid is a three-time winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, taking home the prize in 2016-17, 2020-21 and 2022-23. He was also a finalist in 2018-19, 2021-22 and 2023-24. A slow start to last season doomed his chances of winning his fourth Hart, but he still finished third in scoring with 132 points.

The Oilers and McDavid got off to another slow start coming off a shortened offseason following their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. However, he and his teammates rallied quicker than they did through their early slump the previous season. They're in the thick of the playoff chase while McDavid sits among the top-five scorers with 54 points.

After their heartbreaking loss to the Florida Panthers in last season's Stanley Cup Final, McDavid and his teammates are determined to get another shot at winning hockey's holy grail. They'll have a great shot at doing so with their captain in Hart Trophy form again.

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

A career-high performance by Nathan MacKinnon earned the Colorado Avalanche center his first Hart Memorial Trophy.

The 29-year-old finished second among NHL scorers with 140 points and third in assists with 89 as he led the Avalanche to a fourth-overall finish in the Western Conference with 107 points.

MacKinnon has picked up where he left off last season. He leads the scoring race with 61 points and is also the league leader with 47 assists. The center is playing at the peak of his abilities, proving his performance last season was not a one-off.

The Avalanche have needed MacKinnon at his best this season. They've been wracked by injuries throughout the first half, including the ongoing absence of team captain Gabriel Landeskog as he tries to resume his playing career after missing the last two seasons due to knee injuries.

MacKinnon has taken over the leadership role in Landeskog's absence. His offensive prowess is a big reason why the injury-depleted Avs remain in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race.

Trophy info, stats, and standings (as of Jan. 2, 2025) via NHL.com, with additional information via Hockey Reference.