Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby Both Won Hart Trophy At 19 Years of Age

Published on July 20th, 2024 2:55 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Two players in the history of the NHL - Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby - have been named the NHL's Most Valuable Player (Hart Trophy) while still being teenagers.

In his first full year in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky showed just how dominant he could be, putting up 51 goals and 86 assists while still being a literal teenager.

Gretzky managed to pull a very bad Edmonton Oilers team (in its first full year in the NHL as well) to the playoffs, where they were swept by the Philadelphia Flyers in 3 games.

The Oilers, however, were clearly on the upswing, led by the teenaged superstar, Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky's Hart Trophy in the 1979-80 season would start a reign of terror for the "Great One", as he would win an incredible EIGHT MVPs in a row.

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Sidney Crosby would become the second player to win the Hart Trophy as a teenager during the 2006-07 season.

After notching 102 points in his first season in the NHL, Crosby would do even better in Year 2, as he put up 36 goals and 84 assists for a total of 120 points.

While the Penguins were distracted by off-ice issues during the 2006-07 season, Sidney Crosby excelled, leading the team to a record of 47-24-11, while finishing in second place in the Atlantic Division.

With young stars like Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins seemed to be a future dynasty, and Crosby would win the first MVP award of his career that season.

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The MVP award has been handed out SEVEN times to players 21 years of age and younger.

This includes Wayne Gretzky (x3), Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Eric Lindros and Bobby Orr.

Mario Lemieux, Bryan Trottier and Alex Ovechkin all won the Hart Trophy for the first time at the age of 22 years old.