2025-26 NHL Awards Betting Preview: Odds, Predictions, Best Bets

Hart Memorial Trophy Odds, Prediction, and Betting Pick

The race for the Hart Trophy is going down to the wire this season, with Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov locked in a tight battle for the NHL’s MVP award.

With no clear consensus among fans or media, this year’s Hart vote is shaping up to be a nail-biter. For now, MacKinnon holds a slight edge over Kucherov with five games left on the Avalanche schedule. At -110, the 30-year-old Halifax, NS native sits as a narrow favorite, implying a 52.4% chance to win.

If you’re judging the Hart winner solely on points, Kucherov would be your guy. He currently leads MacKinnon by five points in the scoring race, which puts him in the driver’s seat for the Art Ross Trophy. However, once you step back and look at the full picture, MacKinnon has the stronger overall MVP case in what should be a very close decision.

Nathan MacKinnon becomes the first player to reach the 50 goal mark this season! pic.twitter.com/qv0vK3b6xf

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 2, 2026

MacKinnon’s 51 goals give him an eight-goal edge over Kucherov, a significant advantage when voters weigh goal scoring versus playmaking. He also holds the lead in plus/minus, a traditional stat that many voters still consider. Kucherov owns a very strong +44 rating, but MacKinnon tops him at +55. Both players have been on fire down the stretch, and there’s little reason to believe their production will slow with only a handful of games remaining.

Team success could be the final tiebreaker. The Avalanche sit first in the NHL standings at 51-16-10 with 112 points, eight points clear of the Lightning. Historically, voters often side with the best player on one of the league’s top teams, and that dynamic favors MacKinnon here.

There isn’t much separating MacKinnon and Kucherov, but given his goal-scoring edge, superior plus/minus, and Colorado’s better record, the Canadian center deserves to win by the slimmest of margins.

With all that in mind, MacKinnon is a logical choice to back in your NHL awards betting picks for the Hart Trophy.

James Norris Memorial Trophy Odds, Prediction, and Betting Pick

Zach Werenski has pulled away in the race for the James Norris Memorial Trophy. What began as a season-long duel between Werenski and Cale Makar has turned into a one-sided race in favor of the Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman.

In mid-March, Makar was the betting favorite at +115. Now, after an injury that has kept him out since March 30, he’s drifted all the way to +3500 and is effectively out of the picture. The market has reset as Werenski vs. Evan Bouchard, with Werenski a clear front-runner.

Werenski is priced at -400, implying an 80% chance to beat Bouchard. I took Werenski at +155 last month and still like his position in this market.

Simply put, without Werenski, the Blue Jackets wouldn’t be in the playoff race at all. The two-way stalwart has 22 goals, 58 assists, and 80 points with a +10 rating, driving play at both ends as Columbus’ most impactful player.

Zach Werenski evens the score once again‼️ pic.twitter.com/7rTP0c1jS6

— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2026

Bouchard’s 89 points jump off the page, but his defensive inconsistency is hard to ignore. Too often, he’s noticeable on opposition goals for the wrong reasons, whether it’s lapses in coverage or questionable effort. Those mishaps don’t make him a tough sell for a trophy that’s supposed to honor the league’s best all-around defenseman.

At -400, there isn’t a ton of betting value left on Werenski, but his price arguably belongs closer to -600.

Jack Adams Memorial Trophy Odds, Prediction, and Betting Pick

Lindy Ruff has gone from afterthought to frontrunner in the Jack Adams race, mirroring the Buffalo Sabres’ dramatic turnaround. As Buffalo has rocketed to the top of the Atlantic Division, Ruff has climbed to the top of the Jack Adams betting board.

Now priced at -200, Ruff carries a 66.7% implied probability to capture his second Jack Adams Trophy. This is a small drop from Ruff’s -230 odds last month, but he remains the top choice.

During his first stint in Buffalo, he won the award in 2005-06 and was a finalist in both 2006-07 and 2015-16. After several quiet years, this season has firmly put him back on the radar.

The case for Ruff is straightforward. The Sabres sit at 47-23-8 with 102 points and deadlocked with the Lightning and Canadiens for the lead in the Atlantic Division. Since February 25, the Sabres have won 15 of 21 games, and have clinched a playoff berth. It’s the first time the Sabres are going to the postseason since the 2010-11 season.

Making the playoffs and getting 100 points in a single season isn't easy. But HC Lindy Ruff says it is preparing them for the road ahead. #Sabres pic.twitter.com/lDci59VdEf

— Gretchen Beyer (@gretchenbeyerr) April 1, 2026

Buffalo is coming off a 36-39-7 campaign and has already hit the 40-win mark by mid-March. That kind of year-over-year jump, combined with more than a decade without this level of success, makes Ruff the logical favorite. While Jon Cooper hasn’t gone away and the Lightning’s success can’t be understated, Buffalo’s transformation under Ruff is the deciding factor.

Given the Sabres’ surge, Ruff at -200 to win the Jack Adams is a solid number where I see him as a -450 favorite, and one of the strongest NHL awards betting picks on the board.

Vezina Trophy Odds, Prediction, and Betting Pick

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has overtaken the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin for the top odds to win the Vezina Trophy. According to the latest NHL awards betting markets, Vasilevskiy now owns a 71.43% implied probability to win his second Vezina after rising from -130 last month.

He was +1000 to win the award in January, then surged to +125 by the Olympic break. That move represents a jump from an implied 9.1% to 44.4%, and then to above 50% for the first time in March. With the regular season winding down, Vasilevskiy is pulling ahead in the clutch. Sorokin remains firmly in the race for the league’s top goaltender award, but I’m sticking with my Vasilevskiy Vezina pick.

Vasilevskiy has posted a 2.32 GAA and .912 save percentage in 55 games this season. The veteran Russian netminder has allowed two or fewer goals in 19 of his last 30 starts for the Lightning. That recent form gives Vasilevskiy an edge over Sorokin, who has been unable to keep pace between the pipes.

WHAT A GLOVE SAVE BY VASI 🤯 pic.twitter.com/boHsOce2Tn

— NHL (@NHL) April 7, 2026

Sorokin’s numbers have regressed over the last month. He has a 2.65 GAA and 0.909 save percentage in 52 games. Last month, Sorokin was in better shape, with a 2.51 GAA and 0.913 save percentage in 40 matchups, but still well off the pace of Vasilevskiy.

He’s crumbled down the stretch, yielding 18 goals in his last four games. With head coach Patrick Roy being fired, there has been plenty of instability in the Islanders’ locker room. It doesn’t look like he’s ready to win the Vezina right now.

I’ve already bet Vasilevskiy at +1000, +125 and then -130 most recently in March. While there isn’t as much value at -250, I’m still confident in his chances, and I think it’s a reasonable price to consider so late in the season. The way I see it, Vasilevskiy has a -500 lead over Sorokin, which leaves some value as one of the best Vezina Trophy picks.