NHL Awards Watch: Draisaitl remains leading candidate for Art Ross and Hart Trophies
Published
As the days in February continue to wind down, the 2024-25 National Hockey League’s regular season is just over two-thirds complete as teams begin gearing up for a final push to the playoffs.
While the postseason picture remains muddied between both conferences, the races for two of the NHL’s most prestigious individual awards are taking shape.
The Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the player who leads the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season, and Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the league’s most valuable player, appear to be three-horse races at this point in the season.
Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers
Art Ross: -115 (favourite)
Hart: -160 (favourite)
Edmonton Oilers
Draisaitl is the current favourite on FanDuel Sportsbook to win both the Art Ross and the Hart at -115 and -160, respectively.
The 29-year-old forward leads the league with 43 goals while recording 44 assists through 58 games. He is on an NHL-best 123-point pace with just 24 regular-season contests remaining.
Draisaitl has won both awards back in the 2019-20 season after scoring 43 goals and 110 points in 71 games. That year, the Oilers finished with a 37-25-9 record for 83 points, the fourth-highest total in the Western Conference.
While the Cologne, Germany native paced the NHL in points that year, he is currently tied for the league lead with the player FanDuel is offering the second-shortest odds on for the Art Ross, Nathan MacKinnon.
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
Art Ross: +115 (second)
Hart: +350 (third)
Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche
MacKinnon, the 2023-24 Hart Trophy winner, has once again played his way into consideration for award season with yet another great year.
The 29-year-old forward has recorded 21 goals and 66 assists for 87 points in 59 games played, just one season after scoring a career-high 140 points while playing in all 82 games for the Avalanche.
MacKinnon narrowly missed out taking home both the Hart and the Art Ross last year, falling just five points shy of overtaking Nikita Kucherov for the league lead.
MacKinnon’s point total from last year would have won him the award in 23 of the past 25 seasons.
The Halifax, N.S., native is currently projected for 121 points as Colorado occupies the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 33-24-2 record, five points clear of the third-place Vancouver Canucks.
If the Avalanche were to miss the playoffs, it would very likely remove MacKinnon from Hart consideration.
Just three players, Al Rollins (1954), Andy Bathgate (1959), and Mario Lemieux (1988) have won the league’s most valuable player award while not qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning
Art Ross: +185 (third)
Hart Trophy: +2000 (fourth)
Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning
Kucherov has scored 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 points, just two back of both Draisaitl and MacKinnon for the league lead.
A two-time Art Ross (2018-19, 2023-24) and one-time Hart winner (2018-19), Kucherov has points in each of his team’s past eight games going back to Jan. 28, including three multi-point efforts in his last four contests.
The 31-year-old appears unlikely to make up ground in the race for the Hart, but a third Art Ross would put the Russian winger in elite company as just the 10th player to accomplish the feat in the award’s 78-year history.
Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and Connor McDavid are the only players to ever win the Art Ross at least three different times over the course of their careers.
Kucherov is on pace for 122 points with 25 games remaining on his team’s schedule, just one off from Draisaitl’s projection.
Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets
Art Ross: N/A
Hart Trophy: +280 (second)
Connor Hellebuyck Winnipeg Jets
Hellebuyck holds the third-best odds for the Hart Trophy having backstopped his team to the top spot in the NHL.
Hellebuyck’s record of 35-7-2, .925 save percentage, 2.04 goals-against average, and six shoutouts are all first in the league this year as the 31-year-old looks to put the finishing touches on one of the great goalie seasons of the past two decades.
The Commerce Township, Mich., native would become just the eighth net-minder to win the Hart since 1923-24, with Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price being the most recent winner in 2014-15.
He would also become the first player in Jets’ franchise history to win the award.