The Hart Trophy is second only to the Stanley Cup in prestige. The award, voted on annually by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, is given to the NHL player deemed most valuable to his team during the regular season.

Here are the three front-runners for the Hart heading into the 2016-17 NHL season.

1. Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby, the 29-year-old captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, will look to join Mario Lemieux as the only Penguins player to win the Hart three times. Crosby won the award in 2007 and 2014.

Crosby finished a very distant second to Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks last season, and the reason for that was Crosby's slow start last season, when he scored 15 points (5G, 10 A) in his first 23 games. Crosby picked things up in December, finishing the season with 85 points (36G, 49A).

With Crosby and the Penguins gelling in the second half of the season, there's a good chance that he and the team will avoid the slow start they suffered last year. Look for another season of dominance from Crosby.

2. Carey Price - Montreal Canadiens

Price, the winner of the 2015 Hart Trophy looked like he was going to put his name back on that award last season as the first back-to-back winner since Alex Ovechkin in 2008 and 2009, leading the Canadiens to a 9-0 start. However, a knee injury knocked the netminder from the roster after just 12 starts and he never returned to the lineup. The Canadiens subsequently faltered and missed the playoffs, finishing the season 38-38-6.

In the games that Price did play last year, his numbers were close to what they were in 2014-15; in fact his save percentage of .934 was a tiny bit better than his 2014 SP of .933.

If Price remains healthy this season, he'll be in the hunt for the Hart as well as the Vezina Trophy.

3. Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay Lightning

It's hard to believe, but Stamkos has already played 569 NHL games at the age of 26. It's also hard to believe that he's only been a Hart finalist on one occasion, finishing second in 2012 when he scored 97 points while leading the league with 60 goals.

Last season Stamkos didn't receive a single vote for the Hart; expect that to change in a big way in 2016-17 now that the constant talk of his contract and free agency is off the table. Stamkos, a potential free agent at the end of last season, re-signed with the Lightning for eight years and $68 million.

Stamkos is one of the best snipers in the game; he should once again contend for the NHL lead in goals as he attempts to captain the Lightning back to the Stanley Cup finals.

By Trent Reinsmith