The NHL regular season has reached the home stretch, with only a few weeks to go on the schedule. As the year winds down, the spotlight turns to the race for NHL hardware. Some of the award races have a clear favourite, while others are so close that it could come down to the final game.
There may not be much time left, but a strong late-season performance can have a big impact and potentially swing votes. Players pushing for the playoffs or trying to reach a milestone can often strengthen their case when it matters most.
If you want to know who’s leading each category, betting odds provide a real-time snapshot of where the races stand. Below, we’ll take a look at the odds on five major NHL award races, breaking down the key names to follow the rest of the way.
Norris Trophy
| Zach Werenski (CBJ) -250 | Cale Makar (COL) +250 | Evan Bouchard (EDM) +1200 |
| Quinn Hughes (MIN) +3500 | Lane Hutson (MTL) +7500 |
Awarded annually to the NHL’s top defenceman, the Norris Trophy is the ultimate honour for any blue liner. While the category may be for defencemen, offensive production plays a big role in determining who takes home the hardware. Team success is another major factor, with winners historically coming from playoff teams.
Zach Werenski is the clear favourite for this year’s Norris Trophy. The Blue Jackets defenceman has picked up 75 points (20 goals, 55 assists) in 63 games played, while logging more than 26 minutes of ice time per game.
Having said that, Colorado’s Cale Makar offers tremendous value at his current odds. The two-time Norris Trophy winner (2022, 2025) is always a threat to win this award and is a major reason why the Avalanche are closing in on the President’s Trophy for the league’s best record.
If Columbus misses out on the playoffs in a very competitive Eastern Conference, don’t be surprised to see Makar leapfrog Werenski to take home yet another Norris Trophy.
Rocket Richard Trophy
| Nathan MacKinnon (COL) -300 | Cole Caufield (MTL) +260 | Connor McDavid (EDM) +5000 |
| Kirill Kaprizov (MIN) +5000 | Matt Boldy (MIN) +5000 | Jason Robertson (DAL) +7500 |
| Wyatt Johnston (DAL) +10000 | Tage Thompson (BUF) +20000 |
Named after the legendary Maurice “Rocket” Richard, this trophy is given annually to the NHL player who scores the most goals in the regular season. The beauty of this award is that there are no voters and no opinions. Instead, it lets the stat sheet do the talking.
Nathan MacKinnon has set the pace for most of the season and is the current betting favourite to win this year’s Rocket Richard Trophy. The Avalanche captain is in the driver’s seat, leading the league with 45 goals. Canadiens’ sniper Cole Caufield is not far behind, with a recent hat trick against the Islanders bringing his season total to 43 goals.
Both MacKinnon and Caufield have 13 games remaining, giving them an equal chance at this award. Caufield only trails by two goals at the moment, a gap he can erase with one good performance. It’s also worth noting that Montreal is still fighting for playoff positioning and may need Caufield to continue scoring goals, whereas Colorado could rest MacKinnon over the final few games.
Vezina Trophy
| Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL) -200 | Ilya Sorokin (NYI) +150 | Jeremy Swayman (BOS) +3300 |
| Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) +10000 | Logan Thompson (WSH) +10000 | Igor Shesterkin (NYR) +15000 |
| John Gibson (DET) +15000 | Jake Oettinger (DAL) +20000 | Mackenzie Blackwood (COL) +30000 |
No position in sports faces more pressure than NHL goaltenders, and this category honours the top netminder each season. While most NHL awards are decided by the media, the Vezina Trophy is voted on by NHL general managers. That means wins and team success tend to carry more weight.
This year’s race is heating up between a pair of Russians. Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the league in wins (33), while sitting second in both GAA (2.29) and save percentage (.915). New York’s Ilya Sorokin trails with 26 wins, a 2.53 GAA and .913 save percentage, but his seven shutouts rank first among NHL goaltenders and he’s been an integral part of the Islanders’ postseason push.
This is one of the closer NHL award races this season, with Vasilevskiy holding a slight edge over his fellow countryman. Sorokin is having a tremendous year for New York, but Vasilevskiy’s strong team performance and statistical dominance should be enough for him to win the Vezina Trophy for the second time in his career.
Hart Trophy
| Nathan MacKinnon (COL) -150 | Nikita Kucherov (TBL) EVEN | Macklin Celebrini (SJS) +1000 |
| Connor McDavid (EDM) +1600 | Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL) +50000 | Cale Makar (COL) +50000 |
| David Pastrnak (BOS) +50000 | Jack Eichel (CGK) +50000 | Jason Robertson (DAL) +50000 |
As the NHL’s top individual honour, the Hart Trophy is handed out each season to the player judged most valuable to their team. Voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, it’s become one of the most hotly debated awards each year. This year’s race is no different, with two contenders rising up as the clear frontrunners.
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has been at the top of this list all season long. He leads the NHL in goals (45) and sits third in total points (114). He also ranks first in plus/minus and shots, leading both categories by a wide margin. But his biggest claim to this year’s Hart Trophy is team success, as the Avalanche have looked dominant all season long and even flirted with the NHL’s all-time mark for team points in a season.
MacKinnon’s biggest competition for this award is Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. The veteran winger leads the NHL scoring race with 119 points, including 40 goals and a league-best 79 assists. His plus/minus sits at +45, he has a 19.9 shooting percentage and has been surging down the stretch with 60 points over his last 30 games.
Both players have won this award previously, with Kucherov winning the Hart Trophy in 2019 and MacKinnon taking home the hardware in 2024. This is still MacKinnon’s award to lose, but the race is heating up. If Kucherov continues at his torrid pace and can help the Lightning win the Atlantic Division, it just may be enough to sway the voters.
As we enter the business end of the season, take a look at our run down of the most dangerous NHL playoff teams nobody is talking about. We can hardly wait.