The 2022 NHL regular season is finally underway, as all 32 teams gear up to begin their push for the playoffs.
Although it may still be early days, the sportsbooks have already made their calls for every NHL award you can imagine, from the Hart Trophy to the Calder Award.
You may be looking to get in on the action now and make the most of the early odds. But it can be quite difficult to dig through the endless pages of odds in the bookies and make calls on some of the toughest questions out there.
Will Cale Makar win a back-to-back Norris Trophies? Will it be another showdown between Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews for the Hart Award? Where will the Jack Adams Award end up?
This is where we come in.
Today we're going to run through the sports betting odds for this year's NHL player awards, and make our own award-winner predictions, plus a few underdog bets. Check back in at the end of the season to see how wonderfully right (or terribly wrong) we were.
The Hart Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy is given to the league's most valuable player, chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. Last year, Auston Matthews took home the prestigious hardware, as he edged out Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid for the honors.
Our Prediction: Cale Makar
After bagging himself a Stanley Cup last year with the Colorado Avalanche, Cale Makar also landed the Conn Smythe and Norris Trophy.
We expect him to add to his award shelf this year and rise through the midtable of the odds to collect the 2023 Hart Trophy. Though he may not be the favorite to win, Makar is a shining star in Colorado and could certainly be this year's MVP.
Our Underdog Pick: Kirill Kaprizov
The Minnesota Wild winger has been electric from the first moment he touched the ice. Following a rookie season in which he collected the Calder Trophy, the Russian youngster scored over 100 points last year proving that he is highly dangerous with the puck.
If he logs another impressive season, he could see trophy voting swing his way and end up edging out this year's favourites. His value in Minnesota cannot be understated.
2023 Hart Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Connor McDavid | +280 |
| Auston Matthews | +462 |
| Leon Draisaitl | +806 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | +1074 |
| Kirill Kaprizov | +1500 |
| Cale Makar | +1522 |
| Nikita Kucherov | +1768 |
| Aleksander Barkov | +1898 |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | +2022 |
| Mikko Rantanen | +2078 |
The Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is the award given to the NHL’s best goalkeeper that season. Last season's award went to Rangers netminder, Igor Shesterkin.
Our Prediction: Igor Shesterkin
We're going with the favourite for this one.
Now, there hasn’t been a back-to-back winner of the Vezina Trophy since Martin Brodeur in his 07 & 08 seasons, but Shesterkin is slated to do just that this year.
In his last campaign, Shesterkin led the league in goals-against average and had the third-highest single-season save percentage in NHL history... We don't predict a downfall of the Rangers goalie this year, if anything we expect him to improve.
Our Underdog Pick: Juuse Saros
Saros may be the most relied-upon goalie in the whole of the NHL, as he played in a total of 67 games last year - more than any other netminder in the league.
With the Nashville Predators set to improve their defense this season - as they add Ryan McDonagh to the lineup - Saros' job should be getting much easier. His numbers in the net have been off the charts since he took over the top spot in Nashville and he could easily battle for the Vezina this year.
2023 Vezina Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Igor Shesterkin | +259 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | +518 |
| Ilya Sorokin | +829 |
| Juuse Saros | +1037 |
| Thatcher Demko | +1866 |
| Jake Oettinger | +1866 |
| Jacob Markstrom | +2073 |
| Frederik Andersen | +2073 |
| Connor Hellebuyck | +2073 |
| Darcy Kuemper | +2592 |
The Norris Trophy
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the NHL's defensive player of the year, who demonstrates throughout the season that they possess the greatest all-round ability as a defender.
Last year, this was awarded to Cale Makar who finds himself atop the odds for the 2023 season. Could it be a back-to-back win and a double trophy win for the Avalanche superstar?
Our Prediction: Cale Makar
We're going to be boring once again and go with the pack-leader for this one.
Cale Makar is absolutely electric on the ice and although the Av's blue-liner won by just 25 votes last year, we can easily see him blowing out the competition this season to win consecutive Norris titles. Plus, if he lands the Hart, it would only make sense for him to double up.
Our Underdog Pick: Miro Heiskanen
With the departure of John Klingberg from Dallas, we expect to see Miro Heiskanen called up to lead the defense for the Stars.
It feels like Heiskanen has been on the cusp of a break-out season for a while now, and this year could be his year. Keep an eye on how he looks as the frontman for the Stars defense, he may rise up the odds faster than you think.
2023 Norris Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Cale Makar | +156 |
| Roman Josi | +735 |
| Victor Hedman | +787 |
| Adam Fox | +873 |
| Aaron Ekblad | +1462 |
| Miro Heiskanen | +1910 |
| Quinn Hughes | +2159 |
| Moritz Seider | +2675 |
| Devon Toews | +2920 |
| Kris Letang | +2982 |
The Calder Trophy
The Calder Trophy is an award given to the NHL's Rookie of the Year. Last year's winner was Moritz Seider of the Red Wings who led first-year defensemen in assists and points, and landed second in goals. He was a top name in the league last year, despite the red wings falling to mid table in the Eastern Conference.
Calder predictions are always tough to make - you never quite know how a college stud will perform when they hit the ice in the big leagues. But we'll do our best...
Our Prediction: Matty Beniers
Matty Berniers quickly became the only thing we had to look forward to at Kraken games. The talented center arrived from the University of Michigan and instantly spiced things up as he clocked 9 points in just 10 appearances.
As the No.2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, we already expected great things, but Bernier is now looking set to be the go-to center in Seattle. He'll have a great chance to put up points right off the bat and make a great run for the Calder.
Our Underdog Pick: Logan Thompson
Despite having a fair amount of time on the ice, Thompson is still considered a rookie by NHL standards. The Vegas newbie logged 19 appearances last year, just short of the 25 game minimum to take him out of rookie status.
This year, we expect to see Robin Lehner out for the season and Laurent Broissoit to also take some considerable time out, as he recovers from off-season surgery. This frees up an opportunity for Thompson to take the starting spot in the Gold and Black. If he puts in the solid performance we expect, he could be a big name in the Western Conference which could easily land him on the voters ballots for the Calder.
2023 Calder Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Matty Beniers | +370 |
| Owen Power | +607 |
| Mason McTavish | +695 |
| Cole Perfetti | +1286 |
| Kent Johnson | +1547 |
| William Eklund | +1752 |
| Marco Rossi | +1797 |
| Logan Thompson | +2099 |
| Alexander Holtz | +2191 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | +2275 |
