The NHL is on hiatus as the Four Nations Faceoff is taking place as sort of an All-Star break for the league. As such, now is a good time to take a look at the futures market at BetMGM, and where the money and tickets are going for the numerous award races. Our friend Drew O’Dell of BetMGM, shared this information with us so we could inform our readers of the most recent betting splits.
Narrowing in on the Vezina Trophy here, there is an overwhelming favorite at this point to take home the award. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is starting to run away with this one, as he is now a massive -5000 favorite at BetMGM. As you may know, this award goes to the league’s top netminder every year, and it is pretty clear who that is. However, is Hellebuyck the biggest liability for the sportsbook?
Right now, there isn’t another player that has more money and more tickets to win the award than Hellebuyck. He’s generating 11.7% of the total ticket count in this market, and a gigantic 46% of the total cash is on him to win. Despite all of those tickets and dollars backing him, he actually is NOT the biggest liability at BetMGM as we stand to win the Vezina. That honor goes to Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz, who at this point is a fairly sizable longshot with how likely Hellebuyck is to win.
Oddly enough, there is actually a market where Hellebuyck is the biggest liability, but it isn’t for the Vezina. He has played so well this season for the Winnipeg Jets that he is starting to receive a lot of attention to win the Hart Memorial Trophy. This award is given to the NHL’s best overall player each season, essentially the MVP award. He is 3/1 right now to win it, sitting behind Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who is the current favorite at -115.
Toronto’s Auston Matthews has the most tickets in the market to win the Hart Trophy, with 20.8% of the action. When it comes to actual dollars, Draisaitl leads there with a huge 19.4% of the cash. But once again, neither guy leading in tickets or total money is the biggest problem for the sportsbook. Hellebuyck is currently the dude that MGM would rather not see hoisting the Hart when the awards are given out. This is due to his 3/1 odds compared to Draisaitl’s -115, so even with more money on the latter, the payout isn’t as big.
With Hellebuyck performing well in the net for Team USA in the Four Nations Faceoff, his interest has only grown for bettors at MGM. Obviously, at -5000, you probably are not going to be investing in him to win the Vezina unless you have millions of dollars to spare to make it worth it. Although, since he isn’t the biggest liability, I don’t expect him to fall off from those odds. I would stay away from Hellebuyck in the Hart market with his liability for the book to win that one.
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