The National Hockey League offseason is in full swing, and the betting markets are already starting to prepare for 2024/25. Earlier this week, we took a look at which teams saw big swings after the opening day of unrestricted free agency. Today, we’ll look at the opening odds for several major trophies.
To learn more about the NHL awards and what goes into winning them, check out our NHL awards betting trends page. Once you’re ready to look at this year’s selection, let’s hop in!
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year)
| Player | Bet365 | 2024 | Player | Bet365 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matvei Michkov (PHI) | +350 | N/A | Cutter Gauthier (ANA) | +500 | N/A |
| Macklin Celebrini (SJ) | +400 | N/A | Will Smith (SJ) | +500 | N/A |
| Logan Stankoven (DAL) | +400 | N/A | Lane Hutson (MTL) | +800 | N/A |
First, we have the award that comes with no individual precedent, the Calder Trophy. This is for the league’s top rookie, meaning that of the top of the class, there is very little NHL experience. The player who is most battle-tested of the bunch is Dallas’ Logan Stankoven, who played 24 regular season games – two games fewer than the limit for eligibility in the following season – and nineteen playoff games, which should help the 21-year-old prepare for this season. Cutter Gauthier and Lane Hutson also have very brief stints under their belt to “burn” the first year of their contracts.
The early attention is on two players without any NHL reps yet, though. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia’s seventh overall pick in 2023, leads the pack due to his already excellent numbers in the KHL as a teenager, and 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini is sure to turn heads in San Jose as well.
Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP)
| Player | Bet365 | 2024 | Player | Bet365 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor McDavid (EDM) | +175 | 3rd | Jack Hughes (NJ) | +1000 | N/A |
| Nathan MacKinnon (COL) | +700 | 1st | Leon Draisaitl (EDM) | +2000 | N/A |
| Auston Matthews (TOR) | +850 | 4th | David Pastrnak (BOS) | +2000 | 8th |
Most of the top of the 2023/24 class ranks high ahead of 2024/25, with the only significant faller being Nikita Kucherov, who joins Draisaitl and Pastrnak in a tie for the fifth-shortest odds. Evidently, most don’t expect a repeat of his 100-assist season.
Someone who people do expect a repeat from is Connor McDavid, who is the runaway favourite to win next year’s MVP. Ultimately, it makes sense, given that he’s won the award three times in the last eight years, finished top five in all eight of those years, and if he contributes at a rate anywhere close to his playoff performance, he’ll cruise to victory.
As well, any sense of “voter fatigue” will fade with a year off, as will the lingering “he’s due” factor for MacKinnon, who ranks second.
Jack Hughes (+1000) is a name to keep an eye on here. He looked like an early favourite last season before he suffered mid-season injuries, and the Devils sputtered, and they seem poised to be a bounce-back team in 2024/25. In a weird way, falling off last year might be the best thing for his chances this year.
Connor McDavid (EDM) to win 2024/25 Hart Trophy
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Best Defenceman)
| Player | Bet365 | 2024 | Player | Bet365 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cale Makar (COL) | +250 | 3rd | Evan Bouchard (EDM) | +850 | 5th |
| Quinn Hughes (VAN) | +700 | 1st | Miro Heiskanen (DAL) | +1000 | 10th |
| Adam Fox (NYR) | +800 | 4th | Roman Josi (NSH) | +1200 | 2nd |
I don’t think anyone is too surprised to see this group of six leading the pack in Norris Trophy voting. All of last year’s Top 5 are featured, as is Miro Heiskanen, who is entering his prime and has already been a mainstay in these sorts of conversations.
Makar gets the bump over last year’s winner, Quinn Hughes, likely for the same reasons that McDavid gets the Hart bump. Much like you wouldn’t keep the overall best player in the world off the top of an MVP vote, it’s hard to go against a defenceman who has spent his entire career in the Top 10 of Norris voting and four of five seasons in the top three.
Rocket Richard Trophy (Most Goals)
| Player | Bet365 | 2024 | Player | Bet365 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auston Matthews (TOR) | -110 | 1st (69) | Connor McDavid (EDM) | +800 | 34th (32) |
| David Pastrnak (BOS) | +550 | 7th (47) | Leon Draisaitl (EDM) | +850 | 14th (41) |
| Kirill Kaprizov (MIN) | +800 | 8th (46) | Nathan MacKinnon (COL) | +1400 | 4th (51) |
Next up, we have the only presently available award that is achieved through statistics, the Rocket Richard Trophy. This is awarded for the most goals in a season. We’re sure the Art Ross Trophy (most points) will be available at some point, but for now it’s all about the goals, and it should come as no surprise that Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is on top – with the shortest odds to win of any awards favourite right now.
Matthews has led the NHL in goals in three of the last four seasons, scoring 170 goals in 206 games across 20/21, 21/22, and 23/24. While we’ve seen more great individual seasons in this league over the past few years than in decades prior, Matthews’ finishing ability stands alone.
Interestingly, his biggest challengers last season aren’t seen as overly likely to repeat. Sam Reinhart, who scored 57 goals last year, is tied for the 18th-shortest odds at +10000, and Zach Hyman, who scored 54 in the regular season and a league-leading 16 in the playoffs, is in the ninth seed at +2200. Bookmakers are likely looking at an atypical shooting percentage for Reinhart and the unlikeliness of a goal explosion at 31 being repeatable for Hyman and reacting accordingly.
Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie)
| Player | Bet365 | 2024 | Player | Bet365 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Igor Shesterkin (NYR) | +550 | 4th | Ilya Sorokin (NYI) | +800 | T-8th |
| Jeremy Swayman (BOS) | +600 | 7th | Thatcher Demko (VAN) | +800 | 2nd |
| Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) | +700 | 1st | Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL) | +1200 | N/A |
Lastly, we move on to the Vezina trophy for the best goaltender. In a lot of ways, this can be the hardest trophy to predict early, as goaltender performance varies wildly from week to week, let alone season to season. There are a small handful of dependable tenders, though, and it’s no shock that they dominate this list, with the likes of Jacob Markstrom (+1200) and Juuse Saros (+1500) not far behind.
Hellebuyck was the clear choice in 2023/24, but a poor playoff delivered a blow to his expectations for the upcoming year. On the other side, Igor Shesterkin had a spectacular spring and skyrocketed to the top.
Thatcher Demko is an interesting name to watch in Vancouver. He had a fantastic 2024 but suffered an injury early in the playoffs that sidelined him for the rest of Vancouver’s run. His chances of winning the award will hinge greatly on his recovery.
