NHL futures: Could Bedard match McDavid's chances of winning Hart Trophy?
Move over, Crosby-Ovechkin. Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard will face off for the first time on Tuesday and there is plenty of hype that this tilt between the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks will mark the start of hockey's next big rivalry.
But the Connors won't just be battling it out on the ice. They are also going up against each other at sportsbooks, where oddsmakers are already looking to next spring and who the favorites are to win the NHL's end-of-the-season awards.
As you've probably already heard, Bedard's odds of winning the Calder Memorial Trophy continue to shorten as he gains momentum in his rookie campaign. But he is also being considered to win the Hart Trophy, which McDavid is the current favorite to win at +320 odds.
With Bedard continuing to excel in his first professional season, is there a chance he catches up to McDavid in the Hart Trophy betting odds?
While there is a chance Bedard could win the Hart Trophy, his odds are quite long. To be exact, he is a 150-1 long shot to be tapped as league MVP. For context, there are 34 players -- not including McDavid -- with shorter odds than Bedard to win the Hart Trophy.
It would be quite a feat if Bedard did end up with a real shot of winning the Hart this season, though. Despite there being plenty of stellar rookie campaigns in NHL history, no player has ever won the Calder Trophy and the Hart Trophy in the same year. (Wayne Gretzky won the Hart and the Lady Byng his rookie season, but didn't win the Calder because he had a year of experience in the now-defunct World Hockey Association.)
However, Bedard is still the far-and-away favorite to win the Calder Trophy at -250 odds, with Logan Cooley being the second-favorite at +900. Could Bedard add to his Calder-chasing campaign when he faces McDavid on Tuesday? You can tune in at 10 p.m. ET to find out.
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