The NHL playoffs are on, and the season is slowly getting closer to the end. There are still a
couple of months left before the finals, and then it’s time to choose the player award winners. The NHL Awards will take place at the end of June in the City of Nashville. It is going to be the first time the NHL Awards are going to be held in Nashville.
There are plenty of awards given in the NHL Awards. But as usual, the most appreciated award is the Hart Memorial Trophy, an annual award given to the most valuable player in the NHL. Below we listed the five favorites to win the NHL Most Valuable Player award. There is one clear favorite and also some honorable mentions.
1. Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid is the favorite to win the Hart Memorial Trophy this season. He’s been on
another level compared to everyone else in the NHL. In fact, he’s just the sixth player in NHL history to reach the 150-point mark. During the regular season, he got 62 goals, the most out of every NHL player. He also gave 89 assists, the most out of every player. When looking at the odds for the potential winner, according to betting sites, it would take a miracle for another player to win the NHL Most Valuable Player award ahead of McDavid.
2. David Pastrnak – Boston Bruins
The Czech right winger is the only one who challenges McDavid this season. Pastrnak was the best offensive player for Boston Bruins, the team that was the best NHL team during the regular season. Scoring 61 goals, he was the second-best goalscorer, only behind McDavid. Pastrnak also added a +34 plus/minus and a combined amount of 407 shots, with a 15 shot percentage. Having these stats any other season, Pastrnak would most likely win the Hart Memorial Trophy.
3. Mikko Rantanen – Colorado Avalanche
The Finnish playmaker has arguably been the best player in the Avalanche squad this season. Of course, Colorado also has players like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, but since they both were out for part of the season, Rantanen had the chance to steal the spotlight. This season, Rantanen broke the 100-point mark and was the third Finnish player to do so. Rantanen scored 55 goals and assisted another 50. According to the Finnish sports betting experts from Vedonlyontisivustoni.com, Rantanen has a chance to win the NHL Most Valuable Player award because he kept carrying the Avalanche squad even when the likes of MacKinnon and Makar were injured.
4. Linus Ullmark – Boston Bruins
Linus Ullmark is the only goalie that makes it to the top five. The Swedish goaltender was
arguably the best goalie of the regular season. He played 49 matches and had a save
percentage of 0.938, the best in the whole NHL. Even more impressive than his save rate is that while Ullmark was playing, Boston won 40 of those matches. Ullmark saved a total amount of 1366 shots and even scored one goal. These are very remarkable statistics for a goaltender.
5. Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
If we only count the first couple of months of this season, Kucherov would be the number-one favorite to win the Hart Memorial Trophy. He has been impressive throughout the season but had his purple patch in the first months. Kucherov gave the second-most assists in the regular season while also scoring 30 goals himself. With Kucherov, it’s not only about statistics. He truly makes the teammates next to him better. He had mainly had a tremendous impact on the way Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel have played. He helped Hagel to score his career-high 27 goals and assisted 35 goals for Point.
