"Everyone has his own definition of what constitutes "most valuable." It may not always be the player who scored the most goals or recorded the greatest number of points, but in the case of this year's nominees for the Hart Trophy, the National Hockey League's MVP award, it's hard to argue what they meant to their respective clubs.

Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning were named as finalists Thursday. The trio occupied the top three spots on the scoring list and were instrumental in their teams' accomplishments.

The Hart Trophy will be presented on June 22 at the 2011 NHL Awards in Las Vegas."