- Who are the top contenders for the 2020 NHL Hart Trophy?
- Look at odds for individual players in addition to league-wide trends from past years
- Track and visualize how odds fluctuate throughout the 2019-20 NHL campaign
The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association has awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy to the league’s most valuable player since 1926, a whopping 16 years before the original six era officially began. With 31 teams in the NHL and league parity at an all-time high, the Hart Trophy race has never been more exciting.
We’ll be tracking all the odds available at online sportsbooks all year, providing you with coverage on how notable players’ odds to win the Hart fluctuate throughout the season.
Odds for 2020 Hart Trophy: Top Contenders
- Oct. 11, 2019: A strong start for McDavid (10 points in four games for the unbeaten Oilers) keeps him at the top by a sizable margin.
- Oct. 1, 2019: The NHL MVP odds are holding steady on the eve of puck drop. McDavid (+350) and Kucherov (+550) are still on top.
- Sep. 23, 2019: Auston Matthews (+950) and Nathan MacKinnon (+1000) have moved the most since lines first opened, along with Mark Scheifele (+2200).
- Sep. 16, 2019: Connor McDavid opens as the favorite at +350, considerably shorter than reigning champion Nikita Kucherov at +550.
Top-15 Hart Trophy Favorites
| Player |
MyBookie‘s Odds (Oct 11, 2019) |
| Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) |
+350 |
| Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning) |
+650 |
| Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) |
+650 |
| Taylor Hall (New Jersey Devils) |
+900 |
| Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
+1100 |
| Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) |
+1100 |
| Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) |
+1200 |
| Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) |
+1300 |
| Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) |
+1400 |
| Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
+2200 |
| Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers) |
+2300 |
| John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks) |
+2300 |
| Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs) |
+2500 |
| Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) |
+2500 |
| John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs) |
+2500 |
NHL Hart Trophy Trends to Consider
- There are no goaltenders or defensemen with available odds, and no non-forward has won the Hart in the last 15 years with the sole exception of Carey Price in 2014-2015.
- It’s almost impossible for players to win the Hart Trophy if their teams don’t make the playoffs. It hasn’t happened since Mario Lemieux won the trophy in 1988 and only four times in this history of the league.
- The player who wins the Hart will likely lead the league in either goals, points, or both. The only two post-lockout exceptions to this rule are Taylor Hall in 2018 and Carey Price in 2015.
- Hockey writers not only focus on larger market teams when they cast their votes, but they tend to vote for players in the Eastern Conference (the majority of hockey media lives on the East Coast, and apparently they all have early bedtimes). In the post-lockout era, 10 out of 14 Hart Trophy-winners have played in the East.
2020 Hart Trophy Odds for Players on Canadian Teams
With 5 players out of the 15 represented on the board, Canadian teams are home to a lot of top-flight talent this season.
2020 Hart Trophy Odds for Previous Winners
2020 Hart Trophy Odds for Eastern Conference Players
2020 Hart Trophy Odds for Western Conference Players
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Last 10 Hart Trophy Winners
| Year |
Player |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
Age |
| 2018-2019 |
Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning) |
41 |
87 |
128 |
25 |
| 2017-2018 |
Taylor Hall (New Jersey Devils) |
39 |
54 |
93 |
26 |
| 2016-2017 |
Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) |
30 |
70 |
100 |
20 |
| 2015-2016 |
Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) |
46 |
60 |
106 |
27 |
| 2014-2015 |
Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) |
N/A (1.96 GAA) |
N/A (.933 SV%) |
N/A (44 W) |
27 |
| 2013-2014 |
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
36 |
68 |
104 |
26 |
| 2012-2013 |
Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) |
32 |
24 |
56 |
27 |
| 2011-2012 |
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) |
50 |
59 |
109 |
25 |
| 2010-2011 |
Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks) |
50 |
48 |
98 |
25 |
| 2009-2010 |
Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks) |
29 |
83 |
112 |
29 |
The median age of Hart Trophy winners in the last 10 years is 28. The youngest winner over the last 10 years is Connor McDavid, who was only 20 when he won the Hart in 2016.
Players with Multiple Hart Trophies
| Player |
Hart Trophies |
Years |
| Wayne Gretzky |
9 |
1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989 |
| Gordie Howe |
6 |
1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963 |
| Eddie Shore |
4 |
1933, 1935, 1936, 1938 |
| Bobby Clarke |
3 |
1973, 1975, 1976 |
| Mario Lemieux |
3 |
1988, 1993, 1996 |
| Howie Morenz |
3 |
1928, 1931, 1932 |
| Bobby Orr |
3 |
1970, 1971, 1972 |
| Alexander Ovechkin |
3 |
2007, 2008, 2013 |
| Sidney Crosby |
2 |
2007, 2014 |
| Dominik Hasek |
2 |
1997, 1998 |
| Phil Esposito |
2 |
1969, 1974 |
| Mark Messier |
2 |
1990, 1992 |
Archived Hart Trophy odds: 2019