The Hart Trophy is awarded annually to the player deemed to be most valuable to his team and is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Auston Matthews is the defending Hart Trophy winner; he’s one of 61 players to win the award, which has been presented 98 times. So how do the odds stack up leading into this season? Let’s find out.
Connor McDavid
- Team: Edmonton Oilers
- NHL Odds: +275
Widely considered to be the best player in the game, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see Connor McDavid at the top of the Hart Memorial Trophy odds list. McDavid already has two Hart wins to his name, taking home the honors in 2017 and 2021.
Since entering the NHL in 2015-16, McDavid ranks fourth among all skaters in goals (239), and first in assists (458) and points (697).
No other player has more than 400 assists in that span, and only two others have eclipsed the 600-point mark: Chicago’s Patrick Kane has 623, and McDavid’s teammate Leon Draisaitl has 607.
McDavid at the Prime of His Career
McDavid is 25 years old and is just entering the prime of his career. If he continues to produce similar numbers to his pace over the past few seasons, and if Edmonton can finish at the top of the Pacific Division (which is entirely possible, given the Pacific is rather weak overall), McDavid could run away with the Hart voting this year.
Auston Matthews
Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Odds: +425
Matthews was an obvious choice for the 2022 Hart Trophy after leading the league with 60 goals. He was the first player to hit the 60-goal mark in a season since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12 and led the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 54-21-7 record (which was second-best in the division and fourth-best league-wide).
He beat out McDavid, and New York Rangers goaltender Ilya Shesterkin, for the award, receiving 119 of 195 first-place votes.
Matthews NHL Debut
While McDavid’s game involves being more of a set-up man, Matthews is a bonafide sniper. He leads the league in goals since he made his NHL debut during the 2016-17 season, lighting the lamp 259 times to begin his career.
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is second on the list at 255 goals in that timeframe, but Ovechkin has played in 28 more games than Matthews.
The Maple Leafs won’t have to wait very long for a matchup with Ovechkin, as the Capitals will visit Toronto for the Leafs’ home opener in the second game of the season.
However, we won’t get a McDavid-Matthews showdown on the NHL schedule until March 1.
Leon Draisaitl
Team: Edmonton Oilers
NHL Odds: +650
Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Wayne Gretzky had Jarri Kurri. And Connor McDavid has Leon Draisaitl.
The pairing of McDavid and Draisaitl is nearly as dominant as it gets in the NHL today. The dynamic duo accounted for 99 goals last season alone, nearly 35% of the team total, and they were the highest-scoring pair of teammates in the league with a combined 233 points.
Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk were second on that list with 219 points in the NHL team stats, but the Flames traded Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, and Johnny Gaudreau left the team in free agency.
Draisaitl is often considered the “sidekick” to McDavid, and his Hart Memorial Trophy odds take a hit as a result. However, his play, while isolated from McDavid, is still just as strong.
Draisaitl Winning the Hart Trophy
Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy in 2020 in large part due to the way he carried the Oilers, while McDavid missed time due to injury.
He led the league that season with 67 assists and 110 points. In 49 career games without McDavid, Draisaitl has 16 goals and 49 points.
Like McDavid, Draisaitl’s rank in the voting will largely be tied to where Edmonton Oilers ends up in the standings, but make no mistake – barring any injuries, Draisaitl should absolutely be in the conversation at the end of the year.
Nathan MacKinnon
- Team: Colorado Avalanche
- NHL Odds: +1000
Fresh off a Stanley Cup win and in a contract year, Nathan MacKinnon has a chance to shake things up at the top of the leaderboard for the Hart Memorial Trophy odds.
MacKinnon, the first overall pick in the 2013 draft, has been one of the league’s best performers over the past few seasons and has widely been considered to be the NHL’s most underpaid player, given his relatively small cap hit compared to his production.
Seventh-best in the League
MacKinnon finished second on the Avs in points in 2022 with 88; however, because he missed time due to injury, his points per game rate (1.35) led the team and was seventh-best in the league.
He exceeded the 90-point mark in three consecutive seasons from 2017-2020 and has exceeded a point per game pace each of the past five campaigns.
With Colorado Avalanche hungry to go back-to-back and repeat as champions, expect MacKinnon in the mix once again when all is said and done.
Others in the Conversation
- Kirill Kaprizov, LW, Minnesota Wild +1400
- Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche +1600
- Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning +2000
- Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers +2000
- Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche +2200
- Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers +2800
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