Hart Trophy picks: Predictions, odds, favorites for NHL MVP after first week of 2022-23 season

We're a little over a week into the 2022-23 regular season and it's never too early to revisit the Hart Trophy market. There hasn't been much movement since teams have only played around 2-4 games this season. This is the time we'll get the most value before players start to rise or fall. Let's take a look at the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Hart Trophy Odds 2022-23: Week of Oct. 17

Connor McDavid (+200) – McDavid has moved slightly upward as the favorite to win MVP. The Oilers enter Tuesday 1-1-0 but look as advertised so far. McDavid is already up to four goals on the season and has five points in two games. There's no reason to believe he won't keep this pace up and he may even compete for the Rocket Richard trophy.

New York Rangers – Now is the time to jump on the Rangers in the Hart market. Mika Zibanejad (+4000) and Artemi Panarin (+6000) are both strong values. Panarin now leads the NHL in points (10) entering play Tuesday. Zibanejad is tied for the lead in goals with four. The Rangers appear to be contenders to win the Metro Division and compete for the Cup. Zibanejad and/or Panarin will likely jump Igor Shesterkin in MVP odds soon.

Sidney Crosby – The Penguins may have blown a 2-0 lead in Monday's loss to the Habs, but Crosby (+2500) still deserves a spot here. Pittsburgh opened the season with two convincing wins over the Lightning and Coyotes. The Penguins are among the teams who will compete in the Metro and Crosby is off to a good start with six points in three games. Crosby will always have the narrative as a former winner. If Pittsburgh finishes high in the standings and Crosby is among the leaders in points, he'll have a case.

Fade the Leafs? – Toronto just lost to the Arizona Coyotes. That isn't good. Auston Matthews has one goal through four games and the Leafs are 2-2-0. He's going to have to get it going soon or else he'll fall behind rapidly. Can Matthews get hot? Of course. But with so much pressure in Toronto, it may be tough to duplicate last season. Matthews has already dropped from +400 to +475. Mitch Marner is +4000, so might as well forget about him.

Dallas Stars – I'm very high on the Stars. If you can grab them to win the Cup, now feels like a good time. They've got a shot to finish among the top teams in the West, if not the top team. Dallas could be the best team in the NHL. Perhaps we're overreacting a bit. Jake Oettinger looks like a Vezina contender. But is anyone in the Hart conversation or capable of winning the award? That's a tough question to answer. The Stars roll four lines and their top two forwards should be Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. Robertson is +7500 to win the Hart and Hintz is +30000. Neither are a bet at this point but they're worth monitoring.

  
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