Matthews and McDavid Co-Favorites to Win Hart Trophy

MATTHEWS AND MCDAVID ARE COFAVORITES TO WIN THE HART TROPHY

Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid are currently the favorites to win the Hart Trophy with a few weeks left in the regular season. Matthews and McDavid are both carrying odds of +175 to be named the NHL MVP while every other player is at least 10-1. McDavid is looking to become the first player to win this award in back-to-back years since Alexander Ovechkin did it in 2008 and 2009, while Matthews is hoping to be the first Toronto Maple Leaf to win the Hart Trophy since Ted Kennedy did it in 1955.

HART TROPHY BETTING ODDS AT BET365

• Auston Matthews (Toronto) +175
• Connor McDavid (Edmonton) +175
• Igor Shesterkin (N.Y. Rangers) +1000
• John Gaudreau (Calgary) +1000
• Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida) +1000

Matthews was the sole favorite last month, but his odds have since receded as Toronto has fallen well behind Florida in the Atlantic Division race. He is still the odds-on favorite to win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the leading scorer in the NHL, but he is 17 points behind McDavid in the scoring race coming into Monday night. Matthews is one of two players with 50+ goals this season, and he has scored in five straight games. Additionally, he tallied 13 goals in 12 games in the month of March.

McDavid and Edmonton teammate Leon Draisaitl are currently the only players in the NHL with 100 or more points. McDavid is sitting on 105 points and Draisaitl has 101 points, while Jonathan Huberdeau is at 97 points. He is favored to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer for the fourth time in the last six years, and the Oilers have won four straight games thanks in large part to his play.

I wrote last month that Igor Shesterkin was not worth backing at +300 to win the Hart Trophy, and his Hart Trophy odds have jumped to +1000 over the last few weeks. Shesterkin is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy, but it’s going to be real tough for him to win the Hart Trophy considering he no longer leads the league in GAA.

There is some value in Johnny Gaudreau to win the Hart Trophy at 10-1. Gaudreau is fourth in the NHL with 92 points, and he leads the league in plus/minus as one of the best two-way players in the league. He netted five assists against Edmonton last Saturday, showcasing his talent as a passer.