The NHL season is getting to its midway point, with most teams having played close to 40 games now, and we are beginning to see who is starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. This not only applies to teams in the standings, but also players when it comes to their chances of winning some major awards in the league. The biggest of these awards is undoubtedly the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is essentially the NHL’s MVP award that goes to the best player in the league each year.
Now that we are around that halfway point, we can start seeing if there are any wagers that are worth investing in right now that could pay off at the end of the year. One of those wagers could be betting on Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who once again finds himself leading on the oddsboard to win the Hart Trophy yet again.
McDavid and the Oilers started the year out slowly, and his odds to win fell as low as 6/1 in some places earlier this season. If you decided to bet that when it was available, you made quite the smart move, as he is now a +275 favorite to take home the Hart Trophy at most places. I have said many times in my hockey articles that the Oilers have always been a team that starts out slow, so it was no shock to see it happen again. This presented us with a good number to bet on McDavid, so I hope you did just that.
Once again, the Oilers star is putting up unreal numbers. In 36 games played this season, he has already registered 54 points, which is sixth-most in the NHL to this point. He has 15 goals and 39 assists with a +12 rating, just doing what he does best, which is to dominate every shift he is on. This is also with him missing three games, which isn’t uncommon for him. He could miss a month of play, and I still wouldn’t put it past him to win the Hart.
Still, he has some competition that he needs to pull away from before he is locked in to win the award again. The usual suspects are up there again to give him a challenge Here are the top five players on the odds board right now to do so: Connor McDavid +275, Nathan MacKinnon +300, Kirill Kaprizov +400, Nikita Kucherov +600, Connor Hellebuyck +800.
MacKinnon is basically McDavid’s biggest rival, consistently giving him the biggest challenge for best player in hockey. Kaprizov has been known as one of the better players in the league for a bit, but he has never been this high before in the Hart standings, and is having a career year for the Minnesota Wild. Nikita Kucherov is also a familiar name, and the Tampa Bay Lightning forward is no stranger to being on this list nearly every season. It isn’t often that a goalie is this high on the Hart list, as it is very difficult for them to win the award, but Hellebuyck has earned his place with his incredible play in the net for the Jets.
I gave out Kaprizov in the preseason at 22/1 odds, all documented on site, so that is what I am really sweating out now. Obviously, McDavid is going to be extremely difficult to beat out, but we are in a good position right now with that one. I’ll stand pat at this juncture with that ticket, but I also won’t be shocked when McDavid wins again.
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