WASHINGTON -- To review, Evgeni Malkin was not one of the NHL's 100 best players of all time, according to last year's "blue ribbon panel comprised of distinguished members of the hockey community."
In a recent vote of his NHLPA union brothers, he was neither among the league's toughest players to play against nor its most underrated.
And now Malkin is not even one of the three finalists for the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player in 2017-18, according to a vote of members of the Pro Hockey Writers Association announced on Friday.
Despite finishing fourth in both points (98) and goals (42), the only player to finish in the top five in both categories, Malkin was passed up in favor of New Jersey's Taylor Hall, Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon and Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar.
Malkin enjoyed his best statistical season since 2011-12, when he last won the Hart. Though he's missed the Penguins' last two playoff games with a knee injury, Malkin played in 78 games this season, the first time he's played in 70-plus games since his only MVP season six years ago.
Hall ranked sixth in the NHL with 93 points, setting career highs in goals and assists, while leading the Devils to their first playoff berth since 2011-12.
MacKinnon finished second in the NHL with 1.31 points per game while leading the Avalanche to a 47-point improvement in the standings.
Kopitar finished seventh in scoring with 92 points, while scoring 35 goals, nearly tripling his goal total and doubling his point total from last season, as the Kings qualified for postseason play for the seventh time in nine years.
The winner will be announced June 20, during the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.