With the NHL odds heating up post-All Star Game and with the NFL season over, it’s a great time to hop back on the ice. The NHL season is driving into its final third, and NHL awards odds have left enough time for things to change but enough knowledge to separate pretenders from true contenders.
Below, we’ll look at current NHL awards odds, and with the help of BetMGM hockey betting data, see who the public is betting. The data is as of Feb. 15. Let’s see if there’s any money to be made on NHL awards futures.
Hart Trophy Odds (NHL Regular Season MVP)
BetMGM Hart Trophy Data
- Highest Ticket%: Connor McDavid 30.2%
- Highest Handle%: Connor McDavid 61.5%
- Biggest Liabilities: Connor McDavid
- Odds Leader: Connor McDavid -800
Trying to make a case against Connor McDavid seems daunting, because anyone else winning this would be a travesty. McDavid is leading the league in goals, assists and points. He’s got a 19 point lead in the points race, and he’s the odds-on favorite to win the Rocket after years of being dismissed in the goal scorer conversation.
If McDavid didn’t play another game, he would have numbers that in many recent seasons would be Hart contention over a full 82 games. He is the clear, definitive best player in the league, doing this both with Leon Draisaitl and without him on his wing. The only way he doesn’t win this award is if the NHL writers want to go down as stupid as the people who gave Karl Malone a MVP during Michael Jordan’s run.
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Vezina Trophy Odds (NHL Top Goalie)
BetMGM Vezina Trophy Data
- Highest Ticket%: Linus Ullmark 25.1%
- Highest Handle%: Linus Ullmark 59.9%
- Biggest Liabilities: Linus Ullmark
- Odds Leader: Linus Ullmark -175
Best goalie on the best team is usually a good enough ticket to winning the Vezina, and with Linus Ullmark this year, that’s the case. Ullmark’s .937 Save% is 11 points higher than anyone else’s. His record of 27-4-1 is unimpeachable, and he’s on the team that’s on cruise control to the Presidents’ Trophy.
The only case you can make against him is he might not end up playing that much more than half the games, if Boston chooses to save him for the playoffs. But best goalie in the league statistically on the best team in the league wins the Vezina. That’s just how this works.
James Norris Trophy Odds (NHL Top Defenseman)
BetMGM Norris Trophy Data
- Highest Ticket%: Erik Karlsson 36.7%
- Highest Handle%: Erik Karlsson 59.6%
- Biggest Liabilities: Erik Karlsson
- Odds Leader: Erik Karlsson -190
This is tough, because by the statistical case, this should be Erik Karlsson’s in a walk. A 15-point lead on next most in the league amongst defensemen and 22 points on next-favorite Adam Fox should make him insurmountable.
The problem is Karlsson isn’t a defender – he’s a glorified fourth forward. The Sharks are terrible in large part because Karlsson has entirely forgotten how to defend, and we know NHL writers hate Karlsson. Him not winning in 2016 as a point per game player in defense, on an otherwise mediocre Ottawa team that played no defense, is relevant here. They’ve robbed him before, and that year he finished fifth in total league scoring. As a defenseman. And lost.
Given his history with this award, I’ve bet Adam Fox +450, who is a plus/minus darling which matters to voters and has helped the Rangers surge in recent weeks. His current best available odds are:
Calder Trophy Odds (NHL Rookie Of The Year)
BetMGM Calder Trophy Data
- Highest Ticket%: Matty Beniers 29.5%
- Highest Handle%: Matty Beniers 64.4%
- Biggest Liabilities: Matty Beniers
- Odds Leader: Matty Beniers -210
Matty Beniers has two advantages in this race – he’s the rookie leader in both goals (17) and points (36), but more importantly he’s doing it on a team that’s likely to make the playoffs. After a horrible opening season, the Seattle Kraken have been the Cinderellas of this season, in part led by Beniers.
With none of the 2022 Draft Class making an impact and Mason McTavish playing okay, but doing so on a terrible Anaheim team, Beniers has taken this race by storm. Statistical leader on a good team beating expectations? Calder incoming.
Rocket Richard Trophy Odds (NHL Top Goal Scorer)
BetMGM Richard Trophy Data
- Highest Ticket%: Connor McDavid 25.9%
- Highest Handle%: Connor McDavid 43.6%
- Biggest Liabilities: Connor McDavid
- Odds Leader: Connor McDavid -250
A three-goal lead isn’t insurmountable in the abstract, especially when David Pastrnak has two games in hand on McDavid, but the problem with betting Pastanak here is simple – his team is too good. The Bruins have such a lead on their two divisional foes and are cruise control for the Presidents’ Trophy, which means increased chances of either resting games down the stretch or a more conservative approach to him playing every night. If he has a nagging injury he could be playing through, he’ll be able to sit.
On the other side, McDavid has two advantages – his team is in the tightly packed west, where a good week or bad one could move you to either a division lead or out of the playoffs, and the Oilers don’t have great defense, forcing them into high scoring games. McDavid wants this, and the Oilers will give him every opportunity to get it.
Best of luck betting NHL awards odds.
