Ryan Hodges
Show Bio
The much anticipated NHL season is finally here and hockey fans are ready! The regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs last year brought plenty of excitement and fans everywhere are looking forward to another great season. We should get to enjoy a new generational talent in Chicago, an all-time goal record chase in D.C., and new teams making deep playoff runs. With so much talent in the league, there is a ton of futures betting value on the board and the game has never been better.
We’ll have NHL predictions for you for every day of the regular season, and if you want to give yourself a little something extra to root for this year, check out these futures picks I’ve selected below.
Hart Trophy
Several players have a legitimate chance to win the Hart Trophy, awarded to the Most Valuable Player in the NHL, this season. Here are a few who stand out in terms of betting value.
Contenders
Connor McDavid (+220): Any list of MVP award candidates for skaters always has to start with Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. McDavid won the Hart Trophy rather comfortably last year to collect his third overall and the second in 3 years. This guy is firmly in his prime and somehow keeps getting better and better. There is no telling what he will do from night to night.
Tage Thompson (+1500): Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson went from 14 points in a shortened 2020-21 season to 68 points in 2021-22, then made a big jump to 94 points in 78 games last season. With highlight-reel goals, a lethal power-play one-timer and a point-plus per game average, Thompson has fully announced himself as a star in this league. Look for him to take another step forward and lead the Sabres back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Hart Trophy Best Bet
Jack Hughes (+1800): The New Jersey Devils burst onto the scene last season, a year earlier in their rebuild than most people anticipated. Jack Hughes and his 99 points were a primary driver behind the Devils finishing 2nd in the Metropolitan Division by just 1 point and 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Hughes is just 22 years old and his career is still ascending. With a great team around him and another NHL season under his belt, Hughes should take the next step and he has generous odds to take this trophy home.
Vezina Trophy
Contenders
Ilya Sorokin (+400): Ilya Sorokin was arguably the reason the New York Islanders squeezed into the playoffs last year. They were largely an unremarkable team except for their impressive goaltender. Looking around the Metropolitan Division and at his own team, Sorokin will probably know he will have a lot of work to do again this season. If the Islanders make the playoffs again, it will likely be on the back of Sorokin, who likely would be in contention to lift the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top netminder.
Linus Ullmark (+1800): Linus Ullmark is the reigning Vezina and Jennings Trophy winner after contributing to the Boston Bruins’ historically good regular season last year. The Bruins have seen some roster turnover and do not project to get anywhere near the 135 points they had last year. Similar to Sorokin, Ullmark should be a key figure in any success his team has this year. If the Bruins contend for the Eastern Conference title again, there is a good chance Ullmark will have helped to lead them there.
Vezina Trophy Best Bet
Jake Oettinger (+1200): The Dallas Stars look very good this year. They got to the Western Conference Finals last year and were just 2 wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, there is a solid team in front of him, but Jake Oettinger has proved to be one of the most important parts of Dallas’s success. He finished 5th in Vezina Trophy voting last year and has got better each year. Oettinger will be a key piece in leading the Stars to a potential Central Division win and a deep playoff run which could be enough to lock up the Vezina.
Check out our Stanley Cup best bets for this season with picks at +1000 and +2800!
Art Ross Trophy
The Hart Trophy candidates will likely also be in the running for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the player who leads the league in points. In addition to McDavid, Thompson and Hughes, here are a few more great players who could take home the Art Ross Trophy. You may struggle to find odds on this award at the moment, but FanDuel Sportsbook is offering -205 odds on Connor McDavid and +162 for anyone else to win it.
Contenders
David Pastrnak: Similar to Ullmark, David Pastrnak was a huge part of the Bruins’ success last season. He tallied 113 points and finished runner-up in the Hart Trophy voting. Even though the Bruins lost a couple of stalwarts, Pasta still has great chemistry with his linemates. The opportunity will be there for him to follow up his best career season with an even better one. Talent and opportunity are not in question.
Matthew Tkachuk: Last year, Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk had a career-best season that resulted in 109 points and 3rd place in the Hart Trophy voting. It was his second consecutive season of 100-plus points, which he achieved with two different teams. Tkachuk’s trajectory continues to go up and now he has a full season with the Panthers under his belt. His team is good, the chemistry with his teammates is there, and I would not be surprised if Tkachuk finishes near the top of the NHL in points.
Art Ross Trophy Best Bet
Connor McDavid (-205): Connor McDavid has won the Art Ross in 5 of his 8 seasons. That means there have been 2 seasons when he won the Art Ross but did not win the Hart. The reason Jack Hughes may have a better Hart case is the team around him is arguably not as strong as the team around McDavid. Nonetheless, as it pertains to the Art Ross, McDavid finished last season with a ridiculous 153 points. Who knows what his encore will look like? I cannot wait to see. His points production looks untouchable at this point in his career.
We have NHL division winner best bets for every div, including a +650 under-the-radar pick
