NHL Awards Betting Odds 2022 - Odds & Predictions

The NHL Individual Awards will feature some of hockey’s biggest stars vying for individual accolades, and as usual, debate is swirling around who will take home the silverware and which betting sites will be offering odds on who will win.

Though any self-respecting NHL player will assure you that they only care about the success of their team and their playoff ambitions, the further we go into the NHL Individual Awards, the higher the temperature around the awards seems to get. Indeed, while individual awards aren’t any player’s top priority, they’re certainly a chance for stars (and perhaps more importantly their fans) to earn some bragging rights.

And for fans who think they know where the prizes are heading, there’s always a full slate of odds at betting sites on the Seasonal NHL Awards.

• NHL Individual Awards betting odds

• What Are the NHL Individual Awards?

• NHL Individual Awards Leadership Betting Contenders

• Things To Consider When Betting On The NHL Individual Awards

NHL Individual Awards

Below is a full table list of the 2023 NHL Individual Awards contenders betting odds, including the Hart, Norris, and Vezina trophies, along with the odds predicting the NHL’s top goalscorer for the season.

What are the NHL Individual Awards?

The NHL Individual Awards are a set of accolades given out annually to recognize stand-out performers across the NHL. These awards offer the chance for players to be recognized independently of their team’s performance; you don’t have to win a Cup to win one! On top of that, while the league does acknowledge its top scorers, it’s not just a numbers game. The winners of these National Hockey League awards are chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, who vote on who they deem most deserving.

NHL Individual Awards Markets:

The Maurice Richard Trophy

The Maurice Richard Trophy is the annual award given to the top goalscorer of the National Hockey League. It was donated to the National Hockey League in 1999, and the trophy has been an annual award since. The award’s namesake, Maurice “Rocket” Richard, was an iconic winger for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s and 1950s.

The Hart Trophy

The Hart trophy, donated to the NHL by Dr. David Hart in 1926, is a unique award meant to recognize the most valuable player in the NHL. It’s voted upon and awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. The trophy has been presented to 61 different players on 91 occasions; recent winners have included Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Nikita Kucherov.

The Norris Trophy

The Norris trophy, named after longtime Detroit Red Wings owner James Norris, is awarded to the best all-round defender in the NHL each year. This trophy has been awarded 61 times to 26 different players, and is a unique opportunity for defenders (frequently the unsung heroes) to be recognized. Bruins legend Bobby Orr holds the record for most Norris Trophies, having won it an astonishing eight consecutive times from 1968 to 1975.

The Vezina Trophy

Like the Norris, the Vezina Trophy is a position-specific accolade, awarded to the best goalkeeper in the NHL each season, as voted on by the thirty-two National Hockey League general managers. The trophy was established in 1927 and was named in honour of Georges Vezina, a goalie for the Montreal Canadiens who collapsed during a game due in November 1925, and died shortly thereafter. It was most recently won by Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.

How To Bet On NHL Individual Awards

Betting on the NHL can be daunting to newcomers, who might be unfamiliar with the terminology. With that being said, it’s easier than it looks -- we promise. The first thing to understand is how to read your odds, which we’ll explain below.

The odds on a given bet reflect the probability of the outcome you’re predicting will happen. The more likely the outcome is, the less money a bet on that outcome will return, and the more unlikely it is, the more money it will return. In the American format, odds display as a three digit number following a + or - sign. 

• If you’re betting on the team that’s favoured to win, you’ll see a minus sign before the three digit number. The number refers to how much money you’d need to bet in order to make a profit of $100. That means that if you see odds of -120, you’d need to bet $120 to make $100 in profit.

• The reverse is true when betting an underdog with “plus” odds. If you make a bet on a team with odds of +120, a bet of $100 would return a profit of $120. As you can see, the more unlikely the outcome, the more profitable a winning bet becomes.

NHL Individual Awards Leadership Betting Contenders

Predicting the NHL individual awards is a tricky business, especially so early into the season. However, there are a few names that you might want to keep in the back of your mind when it comes to betting on prospective winners.

Connor McDavid

All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The captain of the Edmonton Oilers is once again a leading candidate for the Hart Trophy. Since his rookie season, he has finished no lower than fifth in the voting, and the primary obstacle remains the Oilers overall team success. In three of his seven season Edmonton has failed to qualify for the playoffs and they have never won their division (Pacific 6x, North 1x.

Nonetheless, McDavid finished the 2021-22 campaign with an impressive rack up of 44 goals and 79 assists. These marks were certainly some of his bests, which ultimately resulted in a career-high 123 points.

Cale Makar

Quintin Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Cale Makar has certainly made a name for himself by being a repeat contender for both the James Norris Memorial Award in back-to-back seasons. He is the first player to accomplish this feat since Niklas Lindstrom in 2006 and he won the award outright last season. 

The 2023 Norris race will be no different, with Makar one of the likeliest candidates in a very tough race. Indeed, despite his brilliant performance during the season, he only received 92 of 195 first place votes in 2022, meaning that while he won the award, he edged out Roman Josi by the finest of margins.

Auston Matthews

Azadeh Kashani, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Matthews, last year’s winner, is a serious contender to make it two consecutive Hart Trophies, with his current odds hovering around +420, second in the betting market in general. Matthews and McDavid remain the two standouts in the category, but the Leafs forward will be hoping to put up another big season to keep the trophy in Toronto.

Nathan MacKinnon

Quintin Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Another candidate for the Hart Trophy to keep in mind is Nathan MacKinnon, the Avalanche speedster who was key to Colorado’s successful Stanley Cup campaign. MacKinnon has 115 goals and 174 assists (289 total points) in 225 games over the last three seasons. Only Connor McDavid (321 points) and Nikita Kucherov (313 points), two former MVPs themselves, have outscored him. It seems like a matter of time before MacKinnon gets his hands on the trophy.

Things to Consider When Betting on the NHL Individual Awards

Predicting awards like these is tricky, like most futures bets. The best thing you can do is keep a close eye on the players you expect to compete for these awards as the season plays out – it’s especially key to know about updates that may affect your betting odds, like injuries. Beyond that, watching games and tracking stats are the best practices for bettors. There’s no way to guarantee you get it right, but you can always do your best to stay informed and make the best judgment you can when placing your bet.

Author Information

Andrew Powell manages our hockey analysis articles, meticulously updating the data whilst our Vancouver-based hockey specialist Noah Strang writes the words. Together they maintain all the stateside hockey content for OLBG

Noah Strang

Hockey editor

🥅🏒 Our stateside Hockey specialist, Noah knows just about all there is to know about the NHL and covers the NHL for various publications in Canada - Our go-to guy for our Hockey content.

Andy Powell

Content editor

Andy also possesses a keen interest in American sports with a particular affinity for the NFL and the NHL. He follows the Pittsburgh Penguins, emphasizing his broad palette for diversified sporting events.