Since 1926, the Professional Hockey Writers Association has awarded the Hart
Memorial Trophy to the league's most valuable player. Due to the growing parity
 in the league, the Hart Trophy race has been one of the more exciting NHL
Awards. Last year's race was more crowded than a rush hour train, with nearly a
 dozen legitimate candidates.Ovechkin, McDavid, Crosby and Tavares are all atop
 the odds for the 2018-19 Hart Trophy. (Vince Richard/The Hockey Writers)Taylor
 Hall: One Hall of a Year

Last year's winner, Taylor Hall, had a 39-goal, 54-assist breakout season that
helped carry the New Jersey Devils to the playoffs for the first time in six
years. Hall wasn't even on the betting board when oddsmakers opened their Hart
Trophy odds prior to the 2017-18 season. He came out of the blue with a monster
 year, surprising everyone. It was an incredible moment when he received the
award inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on June 20, 2018, in Las Vegas,
Nevada.

Hall's numbers were head and shoulders above the rest of his team. His 93
points were almost double that of any teammate; Nico Hischier was second with
52 points, followed by Will Butcher (44) and Kyle Palmieri (44). Only two other
 Devils hit the 20-goal mark, Palmieri (24) and Hischier (20).Hall was dominant
 for the Devils last season. (Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)

Had the Devils not made the playoffs, Hall would likely have been passed over
for the award. The last non-playoff bound team with a Hart winner was Mario
Lemieux in 1988. It's only happened five times in NHL history. Connor McDavid,
the Edmonton Oilers phenom who led the NHL in points in 2017-18, likely didn't
win the award last season because his team failed to make the playoffs.

The chances of Hall winning it this year are diminished. If the Devils jump up
in the standings, it will likely be the result of his teammates stepping up. If
 Hall has another terrific year and the Devils get a low seeding, his
accomplishments will not be perceived as impressive. That said, Hall has the
sixth-best odds to win it again this year.2018-19 Hart Trophy Favorites

Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby sit atop the NHL MVP odds leaderboard for good
 reason. McDavid, the youngest winner in the last ten years, was only 20 when
he won the award in 2016-17. He put up 30 goals and 70 assists while carrying
his Oilers into the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Crosby won the
award in 2006-07 when he poured in 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists) and in
2013-14 when he tallied 104 points (36 goals, 68 assists).McDavid and Crosby
lead the oddsmakers list. (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)

The next tier includes John Tavares and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple
Leafs and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals at 10/1. Big things are
expected from Tavares who will be playing in Toronto and donning his hometown
sweater. Last season, he had the second-best offensive year of his career and
he';s slated to be the second line center behind Matthews this season. Even if
J.T. has a killer year, he'd only split the vote on his own team. Last season,
Ovechkin, a two-time Hart winner, led the league in goals for the 7th time and
barely missed the 50-goal mark, which would have been the 8th he';s scored over
 50 in a season.

The next tier includes Hall, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and
Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche at 15/1. Anze Kopitar of the Los
Angeles Kings finished third in voting last season and the Pittsburgh
Penguins'; Evgeni Malkin opened at 18/1, with Chicago Blackhawk, Patrick Kane
at 20/1.

Here is Bovada's full list of MVP odds:

Connor McDavid: 10/3

Sidney Crosby: 13/2

Auston Matthews: 10/1

Alexander Ovechkin: 10/1

John Tavares: 10/1

Taylor Hall: 15/1

Nikita Kucherov: 15/1

Nathan MacKinnon: 15/1

Mark Scheifele: 15/1

Anze Kopitar: 18/1

Evgeni Malkin: 18/1

Patrick Kane: 20/1

Claude Giroux: 25/1

Brad Marchand: 25/1

Steven Stamkos: 25/1

Vladimir Tarasenko: 25/1

Jack Eichel: 33/1

Jamie Benn: 40/1

Patrik Laine: 40/1

Nicklas Backstrom: 50/1

Filip Forsberg: 50/1

Johnny Gaudreau: 50/1

Ilya Kovalchuk: 50/1

Evgeny Kuznetsov: 50/1

Artemi Panarin: 50/1

Tyler Seguin: 50/1

Blake Wheeler: 50/1

Logan Couture: 66/1

Phil Kessel: 75/1

Joe Pavelski: 75/1

Aleksander Barkov: 100/1

Jonathan Marchessault: 100/1

David Pastrnak: 100/1

Alexander Radulov: 100/1Good Money Bets

There are several sleepers worth watching that could provide a nice return.

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (15/1)

MacKinnon carried the Colorado Avalanche to the playoffs, posting 39 goals and
97 points in 2017-18. He led the league in points/60 minutes and was a finalist
 for the Hart and Ted Lindsay Awards. It was no fluke that he vaulted the Avs
to a 47-point improvement over their previous season. His 1.31 points-per-game
average was second in the league.MacKinnon turned his game up a notch last
season for the Avalanche. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning: 15/1

Kucherov had a career-best 39 goals and 61 assists for 100 points last season.
He became only the third Lightning player to hit the 100-point mark and was the
 sole reason Steven Stamkos hit his career-high assist mark. While he might
have been the MVP of the first half of the season, he was not named one of the
three Hart finalists. With goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy playing well, Kucherov
 did not always get the love he deserved.

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers (25/1)

Last season, Giroux';s 102 points led the Flyers into the playoffs and he
finished fourth in Hart voting. With a hat trick in Game 82 of the regular
season, the captain notched the franchise's first 100-point campaign since Eric
 Lindros' in 1995-96. The move to left wing meant Sean Couturier could center
the first line, which he did admirably, more than doubling his output (34
points in 2016-17 to 76 points in 2017-18). Giroux has finished in the top four
 for the Hart Trophy three times in his career. With James van Riemsdyk
re-acquired and bolstering the second line, Giroux could excel even more.Giroux
 was snubbed last year. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Steven Stamkos, Lightning (25/1)

Finally healthy, Stamkos proved again last season that he's one of the league's
 elite forwards. The captain of the Lightning tallied 27 goals and a
career-high 59 assists. With the Bolts expected to be vying for the Stanley
Cup, Stamkos' name will likely be in the conversation.

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres (33/1)

As his eight-year, $80 million contract kicks in, coupled with the strongest
roster surrounding him since he's been in the NHL, and the mojo of changing his
 sweater to No. 9, Eichel could help vault the Buffalo Sabres from cellar
dwellers to playoff contenders. He's been a point-per-game guy on the league's
worst team; a team that couldn't score 200 goals last year.

With Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart (the one from the second half of last
season), there's no reason to think that Eichel can't put up 100 points,
vaulting the Sabres over the Panthers for a wild-card berth. If-and that's a
big if- that happens, he could be holding Hart Trophy hardware next summer.Will
 this be the year Eichel lifts the Sabres into the playoffs? (Matt
Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)

Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars (50/1)

The Dallas Stars All-Star forward has had tremendous success with Alexander
Radulov and Jamie Benn, putting up his first 40-goal season. Plus, he's
entering the last year of his contract which pays him $6.5 million. If he can
bring prosperity to the Stars, the 50-to-1 odds will look overly generous.

Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders (no odds given)

Not listing Barzal on the board is throwing some serious shade at the
Tavares-less Islanders. But if head coach Barry Trotz and general manager Lou
Lamoriello find a way to get their team in the playoffs, it'll be because of
the 21-year-old from Coquitlam, British Columbia. Barzal';s 85-point rookie
season was just the tip of the iceberg.Trends

In the last 15 years, every Hart winner has been a forward, with the exception
of Carey Price in 2014-15.Since 1998-99, 14 of the 18 Hart winners have been a
center or winger who led the NHL in goals or points.Even more telling, history
 shows that a player's team must make the playoffs for him to win the
award.Nine of the last 13 (69%) Hart Trophy winners in the post-lockout era
have played in the Eastern Conference.The Eastern Conference has four of the
top five contenders.Over the last ten years, the median age of Hart Trophy
winners is 28 years.Alex Ovechkin was the last player to win the Hart Trophy in
 back-to-back seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09).

The post 2019 Hart Trophy Odds: Place Your Bets appeared first on The Hockey
Writers.

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