Connor Hellebuyck broke the mold when he won the Hart Trophy for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Not only did he become the first goaltender to win the award since Carey Price in 2015, but he was also the first true long shot to take home the honor since Taylor Hall did so in 2018.
It was refreshing to see a new, surprising winner in what had become a predictable race for years, and not only because we tipped Hellebuyck at 150/1 before the season started.
That said, bookmakers are expecting things to go back to normal for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.
Connor McDavid is the outright favorite at +200 (bet365), with Nathan MacKinnon (+450) and Nikita Kucherov (+800) right behind him.
Last year’s runner-up, Leon Draisaitl, and Kirill Kaprizov round out the top five at 10/1, while Auston Matthews could be a trendy buy-low option at 18/1.
It may seem like a fool’s errand to bet against the favorites, but the other way to look at it is that with the headliners sucking up so much value at the top of the board, a few names are bound to slip through the cracks, like Hellebuyck did last year.
Undoubtedly, one of the most important players in the NHL this season, Mitch Marner, heads to Vegas following the conclusion of his nine-year soap opera with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Given how things ended in the fishbowl that is Toronto, the pressure on Marner will be immense, and the media will be there to scrutinize every detail of his debut season in Sin City.
Putting that aside, this move has the potential to work out like gangbusters for Marner.
Not only is he joining a terrific team, but Marner won’t be playing second-fiddle to Auston Matthews anymore. He’ll have Jack Eichel along for the ride, but the former BU Terrier doesn’t carry the same weight as Matthews, which should allow Marner to shine through more than he did with the Leafs.
Marner posted 102 points with the Leafs in 2024-25, and he’s played at a 104-point pace over his last four campaigns.
Even a slight uptick from those numbers, and the polarizing Marner will land on plenty of ballots.
This could end up being my favorite futures bet for the new season, which is scary because it has been 25 years since a defenseman (Chris Pronger) won the Hart Trophy.
That said, there is a reasonable path for Zach Werenski to be named MVP.
The two-way rearguard was sensational in 2024-25, and almost willed the Columbus Blue Jackets to a shocking postseason berth.
Werenski finished the season with 82 points and averaged just under 27 minutes of ice time per game. He wound up seventh in MVP voting, which is impressive for a defenseman in this era.
The best part about Werenski’s case is that he’s the face of the Blue Jackets. There are some young, talented players on the roster, but Werenski is unquestionably the face of the franchise, and the team’s success is tied to his performance.
That means if Columbus makes the playoffs, Werenski will get a ton of credit, which should lead to plenty of votes for the 28-year-old.
Perhaps the most underrated player in the NHL, Point has averaged 46 goals and 89 points over the last three seasons.
He has every chance to push those numbers upward a bit playing between Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel, which would put him on the radar for the Hart.
Most players with Point’s resume are in the 50/1 range at the worst, so this is a terrific buying opportunity on a player with legitimate MVP upside.
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.