The NHL is currently on a bit of a hiatus, as the Four Nations Faceoff is underway. It’s pretty much a replacement for the All-Star break, which lost a ton of interest and popularity over the last 10 years. While the teams are all on a break, now is the time to take a look at the futures market, specifically where the most money and tickets are going right now in some of these award races.
Our friend Drew O’Dell, who works in data at BetMGM Sportsbook, shared some of his latest information on the betting splits for these wagers that are pretty important to know for any handicapping.
For this article, we’re honing in on the James Norris trophy, which is awarded every year to the NHL’s best defenseman. Unlike some of these award races that have pretty much already been decided halfway through the season, the Norris trophy is a pretty wide open bet right now. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is the current favorite in the market at -130 odds, but Vancouver Canucks D-man Quinn Hughes is right on his tail at +160 right now over at BetMGM. After those two, there is a slight drop off to Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski at +550.
So, where is all the money going? And who is the public betting to win the award? O’Dell provided us with those answers, and they probably are as obvious as you might expect. Right now, Makar is getting an overwhelming amount of action at BetMGM. A notable 25.9% of all tickets in this market have been placed on him, and 59.1% of total money is also on the Avalanche star to take it home. He’s getting so much love to win that you would think he is a -5000 favorite to cash this bet.
Sometimes, despite the majority of the money and tickets being on one guy, the liability for the sportsbook could be on someone else due to odds. However, that is not the case here. Makar is such a favorite that even with -130 odds, he is still the largest liability to win the James Norris trophy at MGM. The book would certainly love to see Hughes have a big second half of the season that launches him ahead of Makar to hoist this trophy at the end of the year.
Because of how popular he is, you might want to throw a little something on Hughes or Werenski right now. It is pretty rare that the book actually pays out their biggest liability, so having some value on the guys just below him seems like a good way to invest right now in this market. Makar is great, to be sure, but he is just four points ahead of Hughes right now. There is no shot that he should be such a popular bet here, and Hughes certainly can overtake him.
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