The NHL season is about a month old, which means it’s the perfect time to place a futures bet.
There are still elite odds to be had, but there’s a clearer picture about who is likely to be in the mix.
Here’s a look at the race for the 2023 Hart Trophy, which is annually given to the NHL’s most valuable player.
NHL MVP Hart Trophy Odds 2023
Here are the betting favorites to win the 2023 Hart Trophy as of Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. (Odds courtesy of )
- Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers (+140)
- Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs (+600)
- Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers (+1000)
- Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche (+1000)
- Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche (+1200)
- Kirill Kaprizov, RW, Minnesota Wild (+1200)
- Matthew Tkachuk, LW, Florida Panthers (+1700)
- Artemi Panarin, LW, New York Rangers (+1800)
- Mikko Rantanen, LW, Colorado Avalanche (+1800)
- Aleksander Barkov C, Florida Panthers (+2000)
- David Pastrňák, RW, Boston Bruins (+2000)
- Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers (+2000)
- Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, Calgary Flames (+2000)
- Mika Zibanejad, C, New York Rangers (+2000)
- Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning (+2000)
Connor McDavid was the preseason favorite and is off to a blistering start, as expected. The Oilers captain is now the favorite to win the Hart and Rocket Richard Trophy, annually given to the NHL’s top goal scorer, the latter of which he’s never won before.
Auston Matthews won the Hart in 2022, but his odds took a hit due to a slow start. Leon Draisaitl, the 2020 winner, is off to almost as fast a start as McDavid. Nathan MacKinnon, a three-time finalist who has yet to win the award, is also off to a hot start and is a great value play based on his status as the best to never win the award.
- Read our NHL best bets.
MacKinnon’s teammate, Cale Makar, follows them along with Kirill Kaprizov, who is the Wild’s best player.
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2023 NHL MVP Futures Prediction
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche (+1000)
Value, value, value. It’s hard to believe MacKinnon has not yet earned this hardware — though he probably should’ve won it in 2018, when he finished second to Taylor Hall, then of the New Jersey Devils, for the first of his two runner-up finishes for the award.
Thus, MacKinnon, in the voters’ eyes, is due for recognition. Voters love the story of a long-suffering, near-miss candidate who is “due," especially when he’s Canadian. It’s what propelled Drew Doughty to his Norris Trophy win over Erik Karlsson in 2016, and there are other examples of voters choosing the most due candidate over better options.
But what makes MacKinnon a great bet is the fact he’s compiling points without scoring goals yet. He shot just 5 percent through the season’s first month — MacKinnon has a 10 career shooting percentage and never shot less than 6.3 over a full season — but still racked up almost two points per game.
Teammate Makar may siphon off some of the votes since he’s widely acknowledged as one of the best players and defensemen in the game. But given the odds — a $100 wager will fetch $1,000 in profit — MacKinnon is sure worth betting on.
2023 Hart Trophy Favorites
Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers (+140)
If McDavid is healthy over the full season, he will at least be a finalist. The Oilers center had 14 goals in the team’s first 14 games and is lapping the field in points.
There’s reason to pause before throwing your money on McDavid. The odds aren’t super-favorable, and voters seem inclined to spread the wealth around, especially if Edmonton somehow falls out of a playoff spot.
But given McDavid’s smoldering start, the Oilers captain is as good a bet as ever to win the MVP Award.
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs (+600)
Matthews still stands to get a boost from playing in Toronto, and he took off after a slow start scoring goals, but the Maple Leafs center has his work cut out for him to surpass McDavid, MacKinnon, and others.
Still, if Matthews somehow gets to 60 goals, he’ll be hard to beat.
Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers (+1000)
Draisaitl, like McDavid, is annually atop the NHL’s points list, which makes him a Hart candidate each season. The Oilers forward, who won the MVP trophy in 2020, is likely to be on the short list of candidates when voting gets done in the spring, especially given his super-hot start.
2023 Hart Trophy Sleepers
Jack Eichel, C, Vegas Golden Knights (+3000)
Vegas started as one of the best teams in hockey, and Jack Eichel is off to a splendid start. Thus, the Golden Knights center’s odds went from +6000 in the preseason to +3000 in one month.
Eichel has been a pariah since he forced his way out of Buffalo last fall but could be a sympathetic redemption figure if he stays atop the Golden Knights’ scoring list and if they remain among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
John Tavares, C, Toronto Maple Leafs (+10000)
Matthews is listed as the favorite, but John Tavares has started great by carrying Toronto’s offense through the season’s first month.
Given the star-studded supporting cast, and the fact Tavares has never surpassed 47 goals or 88 points in a single season, his stance as Toronto’s leading man may not last. But if Tavares leads the Leafs over a full season, and they make the playoffs, a lot of pundits will start talking about his candidacy.
Carter Hart, G, Philadelphia Flyers (Not Listed)
Carter Hart isn’t even on the board at any sportsbook, but the lists are absolutely worth continuing to monitor given his unbelievable start. The Flyers goalie played like 2022 Igor Shesterkin through one month, almost single handedly keeping the tanking Flyers in the playoff hunt.
Shesterkin was +6000 to win the Hart in December 2021 but ended up as one of the award’s three finalists. If Hart continues to keep his team in the race by playing this well, and if he keeps facing this volume of shots, he’ll be a finalist too.
