Bovada’s MVP odds for the 2018-19 season were released Thursday. Unsurprisingly, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, arguably the best hockey player on the planet, was given the best odds to bring home the Hart Memorial Trophy. However, a certain Golden Knights forward was also given some love from the oddsmakers.
Jonathan Marchessault, who exploded for 27 goals and 75 points in 77 games last season, was given 100-to-1 odds to win the Hart next summer, which ties him with Aleksander Barkov, David Pastrnak and Alexander Radulov for the 31st-highest odds to earn MVP honors.
Here are the Bovada MVP odds for the NHL 2018-19 season. Gimme Stamkos at 25-to-1 all day. pic.twitter.com/fsCTcgDo7F
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) August 16, 2018
One could argue that 100-to-1 odds is a bit meager for a player who averaged about a point per game during the regular season (and over a point per game during the postseason). Marchessault is an electrifying playmaker in the prime of his career on one of the better teams in the NHL, so it’s understandable to see why some would consider this an underestimate.
Strangely enough, ranking ahead of Marchessault is 35-year-old Los Angeles Kings forward Ilya Kovalchuk (50-to-1 odds), who hasn’t played in an NHL game since the 2012-13 season. Granted, Kovalchuk is still an elite goal scorer and figures to play a huge role for Los Angeles this season, but should his MVP odds really double that of Marchessault’s? That’s debatable.
All in all, though, it’s pretty neat that Marchessault’s even in the MVP conversation. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets any votes at the end of the year. If his performance during the 2018-19 season is anything close to what he accomplished last year, you’d have to imagine he’d get at least a little consideration.