2022 NHL MVP Betting Odds

It’s no secret that almost every player dreams of winning the Hart Memorial Trophy.

The award, which is given to the MVP of the regular season, is the highest individual honor that a player can win and has been awarded since 1926.

Only a select crop of players have ever won the Hart Memorial Trophy, so being included in the list of legendary winners is a great achievement for any player.

This season, Connor McDavid is the undisputed favorite for the award after he won it last season, but there are a few other contenders who could surprise the rest of the league.

Here’s our 2022 NHL MVP betting preview.

How Is The NHL MVP Decided?

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association vote on who is going to win the Hart Memorial Trophy.

The voting is done at the end of the regular season, and the award is then given to the winner during the awards ceremony after the playoffs have concluded.

2022 NHL MVP Futures Report

The NHL Hart Trophy Award is the MVP Award for the NHL and has been handed out 92 times to a total of 56 different players.

The player awarded the Hart Trophy each season is deemed to have been the most valuable player to his team. 

No surprise to hockey fans that Wayne Gretzky has the most Hart Trophy awards all time, with nine. Gretzky actually won the award in eight consecutive seasons during the 1980s.

Gretzky and his former Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers teammate Mark Messier, are the only two players to have won the award with more than one team. 

Before this season started, Connor McDavid was the undisputed favorite for the award after McDavid won his second Hart Trophy last year in a unanimous decision.

This season, McDavid is definitely once again in the MVP conversation, but he has tough competition from all across the league.

Let’s have a look at the NHL Hart Trophy favorites, contenders, and longshots to win the award.

The Favorites

Connor McDavid – Connor McDavid was the league’s MVP last season. He also made history by becoming the second player after Wayne Gretzky to win the Hart Trophy unanimously.

This season, he’ll be hoping to win the award for the third time. Only eight players in the award’s 97-year history have won the Hart Trophy three or more times.

At just 25-years-old, it feels like a question of when the Oilers superstar will win his third Hart Trophy and not if.

Auston Matthews – Auston Matthews is still a young talent and a lot is expected of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ center. The EA Sports NHL cover athlete scored 41 times last season while leading the league in goals. 

Past the halfway point of this season, the American-born star is leading the league in goals once again and finds himself near the top of the scoring race as well.

Alex Ovechkin – At the age of 36, Alex Ovechkin continues to do what he has done as well as anyone in NHL history and that is score goals. Barring a late-season injury, the Russian winger is on pace for yet another 40 goal season.

This would mark the fourth time in his last five seasons Ovechkin has reached the 40 goal plateau and he continues to chase down Gretzky as the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history.

The Contenders

Leon Draisaitl – Just two seasons ago, it was Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and not his teammate Connor McDavid who was named the NHL’s MVP. 

During that 2019-’20 season, it was Draisaitl who led the league in assists and points, while last year the German-born star finished second in the league in scoring, behind his talented teammate.

Almost two-thirds through this year and once again Draisaitl is batting his teammate for the league lead in total points and those two may be in a battle for the Hart Trophy as well, assuming Edmonton can find their way into the playoffs.

Igor Shesterkin – Last season the New York Rangers goaltending started turning heads in his first year as an NHL starting goaltender. However, when this season started the Russian-born goalie was not on anyone’s radar for Hart Trophy consideration.

All Shesterkin has done this year is lead all starting goalies in Goals Saved Above Expected and Save Percentage Above Expected, while putting together a spectacular win/loss record.

New York is on pace to be a playoff team this year, thanks in large part to their sensational goalie.

Jonathan Huberdeau – At the beginning of this season, if you had taken a poll of NHL fans, I don’t think Jonathan Huberdeau would have been voted the best player on his team, let alone NHL MVP.

This year, Huberdeau has emerged from the shadow of teammate Aleksander Barkov and finds himself battling the two Edmonton stars for the overall league lead in points.

The Florida Panthers are proving to be one of the best teams in hockey, if the French-Canadian-born star can win the scoring title, he might just pick up his first Hart Trophy as well.

The Longshots

Nazem Kadri – On a team that boasts Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and Gabriel Landeskog, it is Nazem Kadri who leads the Colorado Avalanche in scoring this year. Something nobody would have predicted before the season started.

Kadri has always been an excellent shutdown forward, often matching up against the other team’s top scoring line.

The Canadian-born center continues to be an elite defensive forward, candidate for the Veniza Trophy, for the Avs this year, when you combine that with his offensive production, it might just be enough for Kadri to earn his first Hart Trophy.

Johnny Gaudreau – After recording 99 points in the 2019-’20 season, Johnny Gaudreau failed to average a point a game in his next two years. A lot of hockey fans may have written Gaudreau off as a very good player, but no longer a great player.

Those who did write him off appear to have been wrong, very wrong. Gaudreau is not only a top 5 scorer across the league, but he is a +41 almost two-thirds of the way through this year.

The top line in Calgary has the best goal differential of any line in all of hockey and is the biggest reason why the Flames are on pace to win the Pacific Division title.

MVP Futures Betting

Instead of betting on the MVP award towards the end of the regular season, it’s best to place this bet as early as you can, especially if you want to capitalize on any potential value.

For example, Connor McDavid’s odds opened at +400 and his odds have continually decreased since they were first released.

At the time of writing, his odds are currently +150, and this is a huge loss of value compared to the center’s opening odds. And such odds will just continue to decrease as the season progresses.

Where Can You Bet On NHL MVP Futures?

Online sports betting is now legal in many states, so the best option is to place a bet using a legal and regulated sportsbook. Examples of such sportsbooks include DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, etc.

You can place an NHL MVP futures wager on such sportsbooks, and you can also place a wide variety of other NHL bets.

How To Bet NHL MVP Futures

To place an NHL MVP futures bet, here are the steps that you need to follow:

1. Choose a sportsbook and log in or create a sports betting account.
2. Click on NHL betting.
3. Go to the “awards” section. This can also be under “Futures” or “Player Futures”.
4. Click on the “Hart Trophy” market.
5. Select the player that you think will win the MVP award.
6. Enter your wager amount.
7. Confirm and place your bet.

NHL MVP History

Here is a list of some players who’ve recently won the Hart Memorial Trophy:

Season	NHL MVP	Team
2020-21	Connor McDavid	Edmonton Oilers
2019-20	Leon Draisaitl	Edmonton Oilers
2018-19	Nikita Kucherov	Tampa Bay Lightning
2017-18	Taylor Hall	New Jersey Devils
2016-17	Connor McDavid	Edmonton Oilers
2015-16	Patrick Kane	Chicago Blackhawks
2014-15	Carey Price	Montreal Canadiens
2013-14	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins
2012-13	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals
2011-12	Evgeni Malkin	Pittsburgh Penguins

All-Time Hart Trophy Leaders

Wayne Gretzky – 9

Gordie Howe – 6

Eddie Shore – 4

Howie Morenz – 3

Bobby Orr – 3

Bobby Clarke – 3

Mario Lemieux – 3

Alexander Ovechkin – 3