Top Contenders to Win the 2021-22 Hart Trophy Award

With the NHL season coming up quickly, it is time to look at the odds and contenders for the Hart Trophy Award for the 2021-22 season.

The award goes to be best player in the NHL, and some of the league’s most talented hockey stars have taken home the hardware.

Recent winners include 2021’s Connor McDavid, 2020’s Leon Draisaitl, and 2019’s Nikita Kucherov. The front runner coming into the season is last year’s winner, Connor McDavid.

Should bettors just target McDavid to repeat as the league MVP, or does another contender make sense? It’s early, but it could be worth it to explore this market.

Here’s a look at the latest odds for who will win the Hart Trophy this year, as well as a look at some of the top options for 2021-22.

With the odds released at the top NHL betting sites, we don’t have a heavy favorite, so there’s a chance to make some good money here. Be sure to get your favorite pick while you can.

At the moment, Connor McDavid is an obvious favorite at +200. Nathan MacKinnon pulls into second with +600 odds, and nobody else has Hart Trophy odds better than +1100.

That’s not all that surprising when you look at who the top two threats are, but when looking at an individual player award, it may be.

Now could be the time to jump on superior value elsewhere, of course. To see where your money may be best spent when betting on the 2021-22 Hart Trophy, let’s go over some of the top contenders.

It is no surprise to see McDavid come into the season as the favorite to win the 2021-22 Hart Trophy. He was last year’s winner and he will be trying to repeat his success in the upcoming 2021-22 season.

Quite truly, he’s been on an absolute tear.

Connor McDavid’s first 6 seasons.

2 Hart Trophies (MVP)
3 Lindsay Awards (Outstanding Player)
3 Scoring Titles
574 Points (1st)
1.4 Points Per Game (1st)
195 Goals (6th)
5 yrs, $58M remaininghttps://t.co/y4tkSYFA9I

— Spotrac (@spotrac) June 30, 2021

Last season, he scored 105 points (33 goals, 72 assists) and he was a big reason for the Oilers success. The Oilers finished second in the Scotia North division, with a record of 35-19.

McDavid led the league in points (21 more than 2nd place), assists (19 more than 2nd place), goals created (37.1), hat tricks (3), total goals on ice for (121), point shares (13.0) and offensive point shares (10.7). McDavid led the Oilers to the 9th most Goals For (183) in the NHL

Here are some of his highlights from his MVP season.

McDavid dominated in a lot of categories last season, so it is no surprise to see him as the early favorite for the Hart Trophy award in 2021-22.

He is looking to be the first repeat winner of the award since Alex Ovechkin (2008 and 2009) and third Oiler in a row (2021 McDavid, 2020 Draisaitl).

The last team to have a three-year hold on the award was none other than the Oilers again with the great Wayne Gretzky winning it eight years in a row (1980 to 1987).

Besides McDavid, there are some other talented players who can be in the mix for this award in the upcoming season.

If McDavid’s play were to scale in the wrong direction, or if another player’s play significantly improves, it is fair game for the Hart Trophy.

The other recent winners find themselves on this list again, as Leon Draisaitl (+1600) and Nikita Kucherov (+1100) are within the top 10 odds for this year as well.

Auston Matthews was last year’s leader in the Goals Scored category, but he only had 25 total assists.

He is entering his age 24 season and has a very bright future in the NHL.

Could he parlay his youth and talent into a Hart Trophy win? It certainly can’t be ruled out this early in the game.

Leon Draisaitl had a great season again in 2021, and some may recall he took home this award in 2020.

ＭＶＰ!

Congratulations to Leon Draisaitl of the @EdmontonOilers on winning the 2019-20 Hart Memorial Trophy. #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/MF8Wm31OdI

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) September 21, 2020

He scored the fourth most goals (41) in the league, while having the second most assists (53).

Draisaitl should be able to stay near the top of both of those categories again in the upcoming season. He is a reliable player and comes at some great odds at (+1600).

Another player who you should keep an eye out for is Artemi Panarin. The Rangers Left Wing missed 14 games in 2020-21, but still had an impressive number of assists.

His 41 assists were tied for eighth most in the league, which is impressive considering his games missed. If Panarin were to play a full 56 games and stay at that pace, that total would be at 54.

If he had 54 assists, that would have been second to only Connor McDavid. Panarin’s Goals Created per Game was 0.48, sixth best in the league. He comes at some profitable odds as well at (+1600).

Betting on the MVP in any league is very fun. The NHL’s Hart Trophy award is no different. With so many talented players in the league, this award could go to anyone.

With how dominant Connor McDavid has been, he could very well win it again in 2021-22, but anything can happen.

He is my favorite pick for the upcoming season, and isn’t in negative odds. I think (+200) is solid odds for McDavid and is a great bet for the upcoming season.