2025-26 NHL Hart Trophy Award Odds and Predictions

Connor Hellebuyck is the defending Hart Trophy winner, but this market is not setting up for a repeat. What looked like Nathan MacKinnon’s race for most of the season has turned into a late two-man battle, with Nikita Kucherov moving into favorite status at BetMGM while the rest of the board has drifted into longer-shot range.

For bettors, that is the key starting point. The Hart Trophy is the NHL MVP market, and the question now is not just who has the strongest résumé, but which price still offers real value. Let’s break down the latest odds, compare the top contenders, and find the best current bet.

What Is The Hart Trophy?

The Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team, which is why it is effectively the NHL MVP award. The Professional Hockey Writers Association handles the voting, so this is always a market where production, team success, and overall value all matter.

If you’re betting the Hart Trophy market now, it helps to compare this futures board with the latest NHL odds and keep tracking how nightly results are shaping the MVP race. Bettors looking for more day-to-day context can also check the NHL picks and previews hub to follow injuries, form, and matchup trends that can influence award perception.

NHL Hart Trophy Odds

Here is the current Hart Trophy board from the primary odds set provided.

The biggest move on the board is Kucherov overtaking MacKinnon late. MacKinnon opened near the top and spent much of the year there, but the market flipped in the final stretch, while McDavid drifted from +200 all the way to +2200.

This board is top-heavy now. Kucherov and MacKinnon are the only names with true win equity based on the pricing, while Celebrini looks more like a headline longshot and Werenski is simply a deep outsider worth noting before moving into the real contender discussion.

Hart Trophy Contenders

This race is mostly about the top of the board, with one fun longshot and one extreme outsider worth a quick mention.

Nikita Kucherov (-185)

Kucherov has the profile you expect from a Hart favorite late in the season. He is driving a Tampa Bay team that has paired elite individual production with real contender status, and that matters in this market because voters are not just choosing the best player in a vacuum.

The numbers are strong enough to support the move. Kucherov sits at 40 goals, 81 assists, and 121 points with a plus-42 rating, and Tampa Bay’s 46-22-6 record gives him the kind of team backdrop that plays well in MVP voting. That is the clean case for the favorite.

The price is where things get tricky. Kucherov can absolutely win, but at -185 you are paying for a lot of that late steam already. He is the most likely winner on this board, but the number is no longer forgiving.

Kucherov’s case gets even stronger when you compare this award race with the broader Stanley Cup odds and predictions picture. If Tampa Bay still profiles as a real contender, that only adds more weight to the argument that Kucherov is driving one of the league’s most dangerous teams while carrying the profile of the current Hart favorite.

Nathan MacKinnon (+155)

MacKinnon is still the most interesting bet at the top of the market. He has a fully credible MVP résumé, he plays for one of the best teams in hockey, and the price has finally become more playable after he spent much of the season sitting in favorite territory.

His statistical case is not lacking at all. MacKinnon has 50 goals, 71 assists, 121 points, and a league-best plus-55, while Colorado’s 49-15-10 record gives him the strongest team-success case among the serious contenders. If voters lean toward the best player on the best regular-season team, this path remains very live.

That is why the number matters. Kucherov may be the market leader now, but MacKinnon is still right there in both production and team context, and +155 is a much better risk-reward spot than laying a heavy price on the favorite.

MacKinnon remains the most interesting betting alternative at the top of the board, and his case makes even more sense when you zoom out to the wider NHL conference odds and predictions. If Colorado continues to look like one of the West’s strongest teams, that team context can keep his MVP path very live at a more playable number.

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Connor McDavid (+2200)

McDavid is the easiest player on the board to overthink. On raw production, he still looks like an MVP candidate with 43 goals, 82 assists, and 125 points, and he remains the league’s most recognizable elite player.

The problem is that this market has already made a strong statement. Moving from +200 to +2200 tells you bettors no longer see him in the same class as Kucherov and MacKinnon for this specific award, and Edmonton’s 38-28-9 record does not give him the same team-strength argument as the top two.

That leaves McDavid in a strange range. The number is bigger, but it is not automatically value just because it is bigger. He is still realistic in theory, but the market is telling you the path is much narrower than the points lead suggests.

McDavid is still the easiest name on the board to overrate, which is why it helps to compare this market with the latest NHL scores and odds. Bettors can use that page to track whether Edmonton has enough late-season momentum to make his longer price feel more realistic than the market currently suggests.

Macklin Celebrini (+3000)

Celebrini is the fun name in this market. At age 19, he has forced his way onto the board with 40 goals, 65 assists, and 105 points, which is more than enough to deserve attention from bettors looking for a fresh angle.

There is also a real value-to-team argument here. San Jose’s improvement and Celebrini’s central role in it give him a narrative that is easy to understand, and that is part of why he remains visible at +3000 instead of disappearing into true longshot territory.

Still, this is probably where the case ends. The Sharks’ 35-31-7 record is not the usual foundation for a Hart winner, so while Celebrini is worth mentioning as a live longshot, he is much easier to admire than to bet.

Celebrini is the fun longshot in this field, but longshot value only matters if there is a bigger path behind it. That is why it helps to compare his candidacy with the NHL Calder Trophy odds and predictions, where bettors can better frame how much of his case is rookie-story momentum versus true Hart-level win equity.

Zach Werenski (+40000)

Werenski is not a realistic primary wager, but he is a fair name to include at the bottom of the board. Defensemen always need a special case in this market, and his 21 goals, 57 assists, and 78 points at least give him an argument for being more than a random throw-in.

Columbus being in the playoff mix helps a little, but not enough to turn this into a serious ticket. At +40000, Werenski is a mention, not a recommendation.

Werenski is more of a deep-board mention than a serious betting recommendation, but his name still fits naturally next to the NHL Vezina Trophy odds and predictions. That gives readers another useful award-market comparison tied to defensive and team-value conversations rather than pure scoring.

Hart Trophy Predictions

This is a two-player race, and the board reflects that clearly. Kucherov looks like the most likely winner, MacKinnon looks like the best alternative, and everyone else is priced more like a secondary or narrative play than a true co-favorite.

Hart Trophy betting makes more sense when you compare it with the rest of the NHL awards board. Looking at the NHL Calder Trophy odds and predictions and the NHL Vezina Trophy odds and predictions helps show how this MVP race stacks up against the league’s other major futures markets.

That makes the betting decision pretty simple. If you want the most likely winner, Kucherov has earned that status with elite production and strong team success. But if you want the better betting number, MacKinnon’s case is too strong to ignore at plus money, especially with Colorado carrying the best team profile among the serious contenders.

That is the edge in this market right now. MacKinnon has a legitimate path to winning, his résumé remains every bit good enough for the award, and the current price gives bettors a better return than the favorite’s shorter number.

Bet: Nathan MacKinnon (+155)

Hart Trophy Winners

If you want to extend this handicap beyond one award, it also makes sense to review the guide to betting on NHL awards futures and the Stanley Cup odds and predictions. That gives bettors a cleaner way to connect the MVP market with the league’s broader futures picture.

Here are the 10 most recent Hart Trophy winners.