The National Hockey League announced on Friday that New York Islanders forward John Tavares is a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team.

John Tavares. Photo by: Stacy Podelski

The winner will be announced during the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, and the NHL will release further details on the date and format at a later time.

Tavares, 22, led the Islanders in scoring for the fourth-straight season, recording 47 points (28g/19a) in 48 games. He finished third in the NHL in goal scoring with 28 goals, including a league-high 19 even-strength goals and a team leading five game-winning goals.

New York finished 15-6-2 when Tavares scored a goal and 20-7-2 when he recorded a point. He led the team in average time on ice per-game at 20:46.

A native of Mississauga, ON, Tavares posted 13 multi-point games this season, including three-point and four-point games.

Tavares posted the NHL’s second-longest goal streak of this regular season, finding the back of the cage in five straight games (seven goals) from February 7-16. He also had a five-game point streak (four goals, one assist) from March 21-28. He currently holds the team’s active iron man streak, having played 212 straight games (including postseason).

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals were also selected as finalist of the award.