The Hart Memorial Trophy is the award that’s given out each year to the most valuable player in the NHL.
It’s decided by the members who make up the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, but who are the favorites to win it this year according to the odds on Bovada website?
Auston Matthews – The Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthews is regarded by many as the favorite to win the NHL MVP this season, which is why you can see him at odds of +125 at the time of writing. California-born Matthews made a huge splash in his first season in 2016-17, after joining the Toronto Maple Leafs as the first pick in the 2016 draft.
Auston became the first player in modern times to score four goals on his debut and grabbed 40 goals in his debut season. That sensational debut season earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. In 2020-21, he was the league’s top scorer and earned the Maurice “Rocket Richard Trophy, thanks to his 41 goals. This season, he’s leading the way with 46 goals so far and even a recent two-game suspension for cross-checking a rival doesn’t look like slowing him down any.
Igor Shesterkin – The New York Rangers
At odds of +300, Igor Shesterkin looks to be in with a solid chance of winning the Hart Memorial Trophy this season. He joined the New York Rangers in the 2014 draft and became the franchise’s second rookie goaltender to record consecutive shutouts.
Last year, the netminder signed a new four-year contract extension worth over $22 million. Not long afterward, he made 40 saves out of 41 shots in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which was the seventh time he had made 40 or more saves in a win. More recently, Igor stopped 28 of 29 shots in the 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning, to take his season’s figures to 30-8-3, 2.05 GAA, and .0938 save percentage.
Connor McDavid – The Edmonton Oilers
The winner of last year’s NHL MVP, Connor McDavid has been the favorite to win the MVP award for most of the season. However, he has slipped back to third place, at +350, lately. The captain of the Edmonton Oilers, he joined them as the first overall pick in the 2015 draft and entered the NHL All-Rookie Team despite an injury keeping him out for several months.
In his second season, Connor became the youngest captain in the history of the NHL. He became the youngest winner of the top goal scorer trophy when he got 100 points in the 2016-17 season. He’s won the Hart Trophy on two occasions already. In his most recent game, he carried on with his recent point-scoring form, although he failed to notch another goal to add to his current tally of 325 goals. McDavid leads the NHL charts with 91 points right now.
Leon Draisaitl – The Edmonton Oilers
Leon Draisaitl was born in Germany and was chosen as the second overall pick in the CHL Import Draft in 2012 when he joined the Prince Albert Raiders. He then joined the Edmonton Oilers in the 2014 NHL draft. Draisaitl was the first German hockey player to win the Hart Memorial, which he claimed in 2019-20 after a brilliant season on the ice. He’s also won the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award in the NHL.
Leon currently sits at +1000 to be named the MVP for the league this season, so he’s a fair distance behind the other players we’ve looked at and probably needs an incredible end to the season to be named MVP. Will he help the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup this year and raise his chances of being MVP at the same time? At the moment, his team isn’t among the favorites to lift this historic trophy, but they are showing signs of ending the season strongly.
Alex Ovechkin – The Washington Capitals
Also at +1000 in the MVP odds at the time of writing, Alex Ovechkin is the captain of the Washington Capitals and plays on the left-wing for them. He joined the NHL back in the 2004 draft, after a successful period in the Russian Superleague. His goal-scoring exploits since then have made him one of the NHL’s top all-time goal scorers and he is the leading power play scorer in the history of the league.
Alex’s first season with the Capitals saw him win the rookie of the year award, while he has been the top goalscorer a record-breaking nine times. He won the Stanley Cup in 2018 and has earned the Hart Memorial Trophy three times in his career, putting him in the pack of the NHL’s greatest players who sit behind nine-time winner Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin recently became the top-scoring left wing in NHL history, as he scored his 769th career goal against the Carolina Hurricanes.
