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Reviews of Online Gambling Sites NHL Hart Trophy Odds: Who Will Win MVP in 2025-26?
We’re officially past the midway mark of the 2025-26 NHL season and the Hart Trophy race has started to crystallize.
Nathan MacKinnon remains the betting favorite, but perennial contender Connor McDavid has closed the gap in the NHL points leaderboard thanks to a scorching hot 17-game point streak, while sophomore star Macklin Celebrini also remains in the thick of the Hart Trophy race as he’s helped his San Jose Sharks hang onto a playoff position.
I’ll break down the 2025-26 NHL Hart Trophy odds and provide my predictions and picks below.
2025-26 Hart Trophy Odds
Below are the updated Hart Trophy odds via BetUS:
| Player | Hart Trophy Odds | Player | Hart Trophy Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan MacKinnon | -330 | Macklin Celebrini | +425 |
| Connor McDavid | +475 | Kirill Kaprizov | +800 |
| Nikita Kucherov | +10000 | Connor Bedard | +30000 |
The order of the 2025-26 NHL Hart Trophy race has largely remained unchanged for the past few months, with Nathan MacKinnon leading the way, followed by Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini.
MacKinnon was -210 in December, but saw his betting edge jump to -330 as we cross the midway point of the NHL season. The Colorado Avalanche superstar leads the league with 36 goals – seven more than the next-closest player – and has powered his team to first place in the NHL standings by a wide margin.
McDavid saw his Hart Trophy odds fall from +290 to +475 in recent weeks, but that doesn’t really reflect his level of play. The Edmonton Oilers captain has amassed an incredible 41 points in 18 games since the start of December – seven points more than MacKinnon over that span.
Celebrini has also maintained his consistent production while helping the rebuilding San Jose Sharks hang onto a Wild Card spot in the West. The 19-year-old sensation is third in league scoring with 67 points in 43 games and is riding a 12-game point streak as of January 8. Celebrini was trading at +1600 last month, but has surpassed to McDavid now at +425.
The odds really fall off after the top three, with Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov (+800) and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov (+10000) standing as the only players with odds shorter than +20000.
Connor Bedard was my darkhorse pick last month, but the Chicago Blackhawks forward has been out of action since mid-December due to a shoulder injury, pushing his odds way down to +30000.
Nathan MacKinnon (-330)
It’s been a steady rise in Hart Trophy odds for MacKinnon, who was actually the plus-money betting favorite at +225 in November. That number jumped to -210 in December and he’s now trading at -300 in the new year.
MacKinnon’s production has maintained steady throughout the first half of the season, but it’s his goal scoring that’s really caught on fire. The Avs forward has scored 36 goals in 43 games, with 19 of those tallies coming in his last 21 contests.
MacKinnon is on pace for an insane 68-goal campaign, which would be the second-highest total in the past 30 years behind only Auston Matthews (69 in 2023-24) – not bad for a guy whose career high was 51 entering this season.
On top of his impressive scoring, MacKinnon has also led his Avalanche to the top of the NHL standings with an 11-point cushion and a ridiculous plus-76 goal differential.
MacKinnon and the Avs are truly putting up some video game numbers this season and it’ll be difficult to vote for anyone else if both he and his team can maintain this pace throughout the second half.
Macklin Celebrini (+425)
Celebrini is the most intriguing member of this year’s Hart Trophy race. The 19-year-old sophomore and his Sharks have shattered all expectations, with Celebrini ranking third in the league in points and San Jose still occupying a Wild Card spot past the midway point of the season.
The Sharks, who are largely still considered a rebuilding team, have seemingly skipped a few steps solely because of Celebrini’s emergence as one of the NHL’s elite players.
To put his production into perspective, Celebrini is on pace for 127 points this season. Should he maintain his pace, he would finish 2025-26 with the second-highest scoring season by a teenager in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky (137 in 1979-80).
The Sharks star is also currently riding a 12-game point streak, tied with Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for the third-longest run by a teenager behind only Patrik Laine (15 GP in 2017-18) and MacKinnon (13 GP in 2013-14).
Celebrini’s Hart Trophy case will depend largely on how his Sharks fare throughout the rest of the season, but if he can power them into the playoffs, he should get plenty of votes.
Connor McDavid (+475)
McDavid has seen his Hart Trophy odds take a dip over the past month, but that isn’t necessarily indicative of how good he’s actually been.
The Oilers forward has been the league’s best player since December 3 – the start of his current 17-game point streak. McDavid has registered an NHL-best 41 points and 18 goals in his last 17 games while finding the score sheet in every single one of those contests.
For reference, that’s four goals and nine points more than MacKinnon over that span, which makes you wonder if McDavid is a little undervalued in the Hart Trophy market right now.
The one factor that could be holding McDavid back is team performance. While the Oilers are second in the Pacific Division and tied with the first-place Vegas Golden Knights on points, Edmonton is 21 points back of Colorado.
It’s not that McDavid hasn’t been amazing this season, it’s just that MacKinnon has been just as good while his Avalanche are running away with the Presidents’ Trophy.
Nikita Kucherov (+10000)
Kucherov has been a perennial Hart Trophy contender for nearly a decade now, winning the trophy in 2018-19 while also collecting the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point-getter in 2018-19 and 2024-25.
The Lightning forward is tied for fourth in scoring this season with 61 points in 38 games and has put Tampa Bay in contention for another Atlantic Division title.
While Kucherov is definitely a longshot to win the Hart Trophy this year, he’s doing his best to make his case. Kucherov has tallied 27 points in just 12 games since December 9 – or 2.25 points per game. That’s the second-best scoring rate over that span behind only Connor McDavid (2.33 P/GP).
Kucherov will also get a break next month while his peers are competing in the Olympics. Perhaps a few weeks of recovery and relaxation will give him the edge through the home stretch of the season.
Final Prediction – Who Will Win the 2025-26 Hart Trophy?
MacKinnon’s edge atop the league’s scoring leaderboard has nearly evaporated, but his scoring pace and team success are both still clicking. At -300, there isn’t a ton of value to be had, but MacKinnon is still the clear choice to win the Hart Trophy.
I’m torn between McDavid and Celebrini as my value pick, but I ultimately have to go with the Oilers captain as he’s realistically the only one who looks like he can overtake MacKinnon.
McDavid got off to a relatively slow start this season, but over the past four or five weeks, he’s reminded us why he already has three Hart Trophies to his name. MacKinnon has topped 120 points just once, but McDavid has hit that mark in three of the past four seasons, and he’s on pace for over 140 this year.
If I had to pick one player to lead the league in scoring through the second half, it would be the guy with the better track record – and that’s McDavid.
- Best Bet: Nathan MacKinnon -330
- Value Bet: Connor McDavid +475
Keep Up with the Hart Trophy Race
The NHL season is officially past the midway mark, but there’s still plenty of hockey to be played and plenty of movement in the Hart Trophy odds.
Nathan MacKinnon has emerged as the clear betting favorite at -330, but both Connor McDavid (+475) and Macklin Celebrini (+425) are well within reach. All three players have been heating up at the same time, which should make this year’s Hart Trophy race an exciting one to watch.
Stay up to date with the latest NHL odds and predictions throughout the season at GamblingNerd.
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