The 2024-25 Hart Trophy odds have made Kirill Kaprizov the favorite with +165 odds, but three-time winner Connor McDavid is hot on Kirill the Thrill's heels with +260 odds. With all due respect to McDavid, this is Kirill's award to lose.
Let's dive into who's got the best chance to win the NHL's MVP award in 2024-25, why Kaprizov is an excellent candidate to win, and why you shouldn't sleep on Connor Hellebuyck's chances.
2024-25 Hart Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Kirill Kaprizov | +165 |
| Connor McDavid | +260 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | +500 |
| Nikita Kucherov | +550 |
| Leon Draisaitl | +1300 |
| Jack Eichel | +2500 |
| Connor Hellebuyck | +2500 |
| Sam Reinhart | +4000 |
| Martin Necas | +4500 |
| Cale Makar | +6000 |
Odds as of December 30 at BET99
2024-25 Hart Trophy Odds Favorite: Kirill Kaprizov
Kaprizov's 50 points in 34 games put him on pace for an incredible 121 points on the season. But more importantly for the Hart Trophy, Kaprizov's Herculean production is 19 points better than the next-best player on his team (Matt Boldy). With Kirill's current scoring pace, he'll end the year with an insane 52-point cushion over his teammates.
Kirill's efforts are reminiscent of Taylor Hall's MVP trophy win in 2018 when he scored 93 points, 41 more points than his next-most productive teammate. While Kirill might not lead the league in scoring now or by the end of the year, he will be among the most productive players in the league and will be leaps and bounds better than his teammates, as Hall proved, that's a sure-fire way to win a Hart Trophy.
2024-25 Hart Trophy Odds Value Pick: Connor Hellebuyck
A goalie hasn't won the Hart Trophy since Carey Price in 2014-15 when the now-retired goalie picked up 44 wins on the year and averaged an incredible 1.96 goals against average and 0.933 save percentage. Hellebuyck is very close to those numbers.
Through 29 games played the two-time Vezina winner already has 23 wins and could easily eclipse the 44 wins Price put up 10 years ago. Assuming he plays 60-66 games (as he's done the last three years), he's on pace to rack up 45-52 wins and is already averaging a 2.06 goals against average and 0.928 save percentage.
Should Hellebuyck keep up what he's done so far he's got a good chance of winning the Hart Trophy.
Previous 10 Hart Trophy Winners
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche |
| 2023 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2022 | Auston Matthews | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 2021 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2020 | Leon Draisaitl | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2019 | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 2018 | Taylor Hall | New Jersey Devils |
| 2017 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2016 | Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2015 | Carey Price | Montreal Canadiens |
Connor McDavid’s entrance into the NHL brought an era of playmaking ability to the Edmonton Oilers that continues to leave its mark across multiple awards, with the Oilers taking home 4/10 of the last Hart trophies.
Oh yeah, you probably recognize some of those other guys too – they’re pretty good. The odd one out on this list is Carey Price, the first goaltender to win the Hart since Jose Theodore brought it home for the Montreal Canadiens in 2001. They know how to tend the net in MTL.
who has won the Most Hart Trophies?
| Players | Hart Trophies | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | 9 | 1980-1987*, 1989 |
| Gordie Howe | 6 | 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963 |
| Eddie Shore | 4 | 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938 |
| Howie Morenz | 3 | 1928, 1931, 1932 |
| Bobby Orr | 3 | 1970, 1971, 1972 |
| Mario Lemieux | 3 | 1988, 1933, 1996 |
| Alexander Ovechkin | 3 | 2008, 2009, 2013 |
| Connor McDavid | 3 | 2017, 2021, 2023 |
*Won it every year between 1980 and 1987.
No surprises at the top of this list – with eight consecutive wins, the Great One has the most back-to-back Hart Trophies of any player in NHL history. With legends like Gordie Howe and Eddie Shore trailing at six and four wins, it’s a collection of the best skaters to ever lace them up.
Ovechkin and McDavid are the only players on this list still active in the NHL, and while Ovi is nearing the end of his career, McDavid should only climb higher on the Hart trophy wall.
NHL Teams with the most hart trophy winners
| Team | # Hart Trophies Won | Most Recent Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 17 | Carey Price (G) - 2015 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 13 | Connor McDavid (C) - 2023 |
| Boston Bruins | 12 | Joe Thornton (C) - 2006 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 9 | Sergei Fedorov (C) - 1994 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 7 | Patrick Kane (RW) - 2016 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 7 | Sidney Crosby (C) - 2014 |
| New York Rangers | 4 | Mark Messier (C) - 1992 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 4 | Eric Lindros (C) - 1995 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 3 | Nathan MacKinnon (C) - 2024 |
The Canadiens take the record for most Hart Trophies through their domination of the league during the 20s and 30s. The Edmonton Oilers stand in second place with 12 trophies coming from Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid combined -- the Boston Bruins round out the standings at an impressive 12.
NHL Teams that have never had a player win the Hart Trophy
Twelve teams have never had a Hart winner on their roster – with the trophy tending to go to elite players year-over-year, it’s understandable a decent number of teams with incredible players of their own would be skipped over.
NHL Hart Trophy Betting Trends
Choosing the MVP in the NHL is a tad easier for sports bettors, as we know it tends to go to the flashy, high-scoring players who have earned points year after year.
Here are a few trends from past years that can help you analyze the board and pick a smart future for the Hart Trophy:
- Carey Price is the only goaltender to win the Hart in the past ten years – before him, it was Jose Theodore in 2001.
- Centers have been favorites in recent years, winning six of the last ten trophies.
- Defensemen, on the other hand, are a tougher sell – the last D-man to win the Hart was Chris Pronger in 2000.
- Repeats aren’t as common as you’d think, with the last one being Ovechkin in 2008 and 2009 – McDavid’s trends might make this stat look different in the years to come though.
- The last Hart Trophy winner to miss the playoffs was Mario Lemieux in 1988. Don't bet on an elite player on a team destined to miss the postseason.
