By: Justin Gincauskas
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is on pace to have by far the best season of his career and is the clear favorite to win his first Hart Memorial Trophy. The Hart Trophy is an annual award given to the most valuable player to his team during the regular season. The winner is chosen in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Wayne Gretzky holds the record for most Hart Trophy wins with nine. Connor McDavid is the most recent recipient, winning the award in 2023 for the third time in his career.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, MacKinnon has the best odds to win the award at +105. MacKinnon is coming off the best season of his career in 2022-23, registering 111 points in 71 games.
Through 48 games played this season, MacKinnon has 82 points, the most in the NHL. MacKinnon has collected at least four points in his last two games, which includes an incredible four-goal night against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Since the calendar flipped to the new year, MacKinnon has recorded a point in every game he has played. He is currently on a 12-game point streak that began on Dec. 31.
MacKinnon is the first player to surpass the 50 assists mark this season. He currently has 52 assists and is 17 away from tying his career high. MacKinnon has 30 goals this season, tied for the fourth-most in the league. He leads the league in goals created, total goals on-ice for, points per game, and assists per game.
The Remaining Hart Trophy Contenders
Although Nathan MacKinnon has a comfortable lead atop the Hart Trophy race, a couple of players have a legitimate shot of winning the award if MacKinnon falters.
One of those players is Connor McDavid, who has the second-best odds to win at +260. McDavid has 60 points in 41 games this season. His 43 assists are tied for the fifth-most in the league.
Nikita Kucherov is the player MacKinnon needs to watch out for the most. Kucherov has the third-best odds to win at +290. He has 31 goals this season, one ahead of MacKinnon, and his 80 points are just two behind MacKinnon for the NHL lead. No player besides MacKinnon and Kucherov has more than 67 points this season.
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