2027 NHL Awards Predictions

The 2026 to 2027 NHL Awards markets begin with familiar names at the top, but the shortest price is not necessarily the strongest futures bet.

Connor McDavid enters as the Hart Trophy favorite after leading the NHL with 138 points last season. Cale Makar sits atop the Norris market despite Zach Werenski winning the award in 2026. Connor Hellebuyck is favored for another Vezina, while Porter Martone and 2026 No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna lead a Calder Trophy race that could become one of the most volatile markets of the season.

The early betting card takes a different approach.

Nathan MacKinnon at +350 is the preferred Hart Trophy position because Colorado remains one of the strongest teams in hockey and MacKinnon is coming off a 127 point season with a league leading 53 goals. Rasmus Dahlin at +700 offers value in the Norris market after becoming a finalist for the first time. Andrei Vasilevskiy at +800 is difficult to ignore after winning the Vezina last season, while Konsta Helenius provides the higher variance Calder position after producing at a point per game pace in the AHL and gaining NHL playoff experience.

The NHL betting hub provides the broader league context as these futures markets begin reacting to injuries, team performance and individual production throughout the season.

2027 NHL Awards Best Bets

The strongest early positions are concentrated in four markets rather than forcing a wager on every major award.

MacKinnon provides the best combination of elite production and team environment. Dahlin offers the largest price among players who already proved they can reach the Norris finalist stage. Vasilevskiy is being offered at a significantly longer number than the current Vezina favorite despite winning the award last season. Helenius is the longshot, but his combination of AHL production, NHL experience and potential opportunity creates a realistic Calder pathway.

The important distinction is that these are price based decisions. McDavid can have a higher probability of winning the Hart than MacKinnon while MacKinnon remains the better wager at +350. The same logic applies to Makar and Dahlin in the Norris market.

Hart Trophy Prediction: Nathan MacKinnon

The Hart Trophy race once again begins with three of the best offensive players in hockey.

McDavid is the favorite at +250, followed by MacKinnon at +350. Macklin Celebrini sits around +640, Leon Draisaitl is +900, while David Pastrnak and defending Hart winner Nikita Kucherov are around +1200.

McDavid deserves the favorite position. He won the 2025 to 2026 Art Ross Trophy with 138 points, finishing eight points ahead of Kucherov and 11 ahead of MacKinnon. His 48 goals and 90 assists also meant he contributed to nearly half of Edmonton's total goals.

The betting argument points toward MacKinnon.

MacKinnon scored 53 goals in 80 games last season to win the first Rocket Richard Trophy of his career. He also recorded 74 assists for 127 points, led the NHL with 350 shots and posted a +57 rating while helping Colorado finish with the league's best regular season record.

Colorado finished with 121 points last season, first in the current SportsHub standings data, giving MacKinnon the combination that tends to make an MVP case easy to understand: elite individual production attached to one of the best teams in hockey.

The limitation is obvious. McDavid remains the league's most reliable scoring leader, and Kucherov just proved that voters will reward him when Tampa remains competitive. Kucherov won the 2026 Hart by only 10 voting points over McDavid, with MacKinnon finishing third.

MacKinnon does not need to become dramatically better to win. A season close to last year's production combined with another Colorado finish near the top of the NHL could be enough if the scoring race tightens.

MacKinnon +350 is the preferred Hart bet. That price implies a probability a little above 22 percent, which leaves enough room for a player who already has the scoring, goal production and team success required to win.

The playable range extends to roughly +300. Below that, McDavid's statistical ceiling makes it difficult to justify chasing MacKinnon at an increasingly similar price.

Macklin Celebrini Is the Hart Trophy Wild Card

Celebrini is the player most capable of completely changing the Hart market.

He recorded 115 points with 45 goals and 70 assists in 82 games last season, setting a San Jose franchise record for points. His production was the third highest single season total by a teenager in NHL history, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.

That is extraordinary production for a player who has only completed two NHL seasons.

The Hart problem is team performance.

Celebrini can score 110 or 120 points again, but MVP voting becomes more difficult if San Jose remains outside the playoff picture. The current +640 price already expects another significant individual season and some improvement from the Sharks.

The case becomes stronger if San Jose moves into postseason contention. Celebrini was responsible for a huge portion of the Sharks offense last season, and another elite campaign attached to a playoff push would create one of the strongest traditional MVP narratives in the league.

The prediction remains MacKinnon, but Celebrini is the Hart candidate most likely to become more interesting after the first month if San Jose starts winning.

Norris Trophy Prediction: Cale Makar

Cale Makar is the most likely Norris Trophy winner, but Rasmus Dahlin is the better bet.

The current market places Makar around +275, Quinn Hughes at +400, defending winner Zach Werenski at +550 and Dahlin at +700. Lane Hutson follows at +1000, with Moritz Seider and Evan Bouchard also in the next group.

Makar's favorite status is easy to understand. He has already won the award twice and has been a Norris finalist for six consecutive seasons. He finished second to Werenski in the 2026 vote.

Werenski deserved last year's award. He finished with 81 points, including 22 goals and 59 assists, while averaging 26:37 of ice time. He received 113 first place votes compared with 47 for Makar.

The value, however, sits with Dahlin.

Rasmus Dahlin +700 Offers Norris Trophy Value

Dahlin produced a career high 74 points with 19 goals and 55 assists in 77 games last season. He finished sixth among NHL defensemen in scoring and became a Norris finalist for the first time.

His underlying territorial numbers were also strong. With Dahlin on the ice at even strength, Buffalo spent 45.5 percent of the time in the offensive zone, a mark in the 94th percentile among NHL skaters.

Team performance strengthens the argument.

Buffalo finished with 109 points in the current SportsHub standings data, behind only Colorado, Carolina and Dallas. Another season near the top of the Eastern Conference would give Dahlin the team success component that can strengthen an award résumé.

Dahlin does not have to lead every defenseman in points to win. He needs to stay in the offensive conversation while strengthening the perception that he affects the game at both ends.

At +700, that is worth betting.

Makar remains the prediction because his offensive ceiling and repeated finalist history give him the clearest probability. Dahlin is the wager because +700 gives considerably more compensation for a player who already reached the final three.

Dahlin remains playable to approximately +600.

Vezina Trophy Prediction: Andrei Vasilevskiy

The Vezina market has a surprising setup.

Connor Hellebuyck is the early favorite around +450 to +500. Logan Thompson is approximately +700, while Ilya Sorokin and defending winner Vasilevskiy are both around +800. Igor Shesterkin follows around +900 to +1000.

That creates one of the strongest price questions on the awards board.

Vasilevskiy won the 2026 Vezina after going 39, 15 and 4 with a 2.31 goals against average and .912 save percentage. He led the NHL with 39 victories and received 17 first place votes from general managers, more than twice Sorokin's total.

Tampa also remains a strong environment for goaltending wins. The Lightning finished with 106 points last season and reached the postseason for the ninth consecutive year.

The argument against Vasilevskiy is that goaltending awards fluctuate considerably.

Save percentage can move rapidly from year to year, and the Vezina voting pool is deep. Hellebuyck has already won three times, Sorokin finished second last season and Shesterkin remains capable of putting together a dominant campaign.

That uncertainty is exactly why +800 is attractive.

Vasilevskiy does not need to be treated as a 50 percent favorite. He needs to win the award more often than the roughly 11 percent probability implied by the price.

After a 39 win Vezina season on a 106 point team, that threshold looks too low.

Vasilevskiy +800 is the preferred Vezina bet and remains playable to approximately +650.

Calder Trophy Prediction: Porter Martone

The rookie market is the most difficult award to price before training camp because role matters almost as much as talent.

Porter Martone currently sits around +275, with Gavin McKenna at +310. Cole Hutson is approximately +675, Ivar Stenberg +700, Anton Frondell +875 and Ilya Protas around +1200.

Martone is the prediction.

The reason is NHL evidence.

Martone joined Philadelphia late last season and produced 10 points with four goals and six assists in only nine regular season games. He then scored the winning goal in each of his first two NHL playoff games and finished the postseason with five points in 10 games.

That gives him something most rookie candidates do not have entering the season. Philadelphia already knows his game can produce against NHL competition.

McKenna may ultimately have the higher talent ceiling. Toronto selected him first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft after he recorded 14 points in seven games at the World Juniors and finished his college season with 33 points across his final 19 games at Penn State.

The issue is price.

Martone and McKenna are both short enough that their role, power play usage and durability need to go right almost immediately. The Calder has also produced enough unexpected winners that taking a favorite before the season can be expensive.

Martone is the most likely winner, but the better betting opportunity sits further down the board.

Konsta Helenius +1800 Is the Calder Longshot

Helenius offers a very different Calder profile.

Buffalo's 2024 first round pick produced 63 points with 21 goals and 42 assists in 63 AHL games last season. He also played nine regular season NHL games, recording four points, before appearing again for Buffalo during the playoffs.

He then strengthened the résumé internationally by scoring Finland's overtime winner in the World Championship gold medal game.

The concern is role.

Buffalo already has a competitive roster, and Helenius needs enough top nine minutes and special teams opportunities to accumulate the point total required to challenge players such as Martone and McKenna.

If he gets that opportunity, the price becomes interesting.

A current longshot number around +1800 gives a much larger margin than the top of the Calder board.

This is not a prediction that Helenius is more likely to win than Martone. It is a bet that his actual chance is better than a price implying approximately five percent.

Helenius is playable at +1500 or better. If training camp confirms a major offensive role and the number falls below +1200, much of the preseason value will already be gone.

Cole Hutson Could Challenge for the Calder

Cole Hutson belongs between the favorites and the longshots.

The Washington defenseman had 10 points with three goals and seven assists in 14 NHL games last season, including six power play points. He averaged 17:27 and remains rookie eligible for the new season.

The offensive opportunity is obvious.

Washington has already seen Hutson create from the blue line, and additional power play usage could put him in a scoring range that allows a defenseman to challenge the top rookie forwards.

His brother Lane won the Calder in 2025 after producing 66 points as a rookie for Montreal, so voters have recent evidence of how an elite offensive defenseman can control this market.

The issue is that +675 already prices much of that upside.

Hutson is a serious contender, but Helenius provides the more attractive preseason risk and reward relationship.

Selke Trophy Prediction: Nick Suzuki

Nick Suzuki enters the season as the correct Selke favorite.

The Montreal captain won the 2026 award in dominant fashion, collecting 151 first place votes from 198 ballots and 1,726 voting points. Anthony Cirelli finished second with 467 points, while Brock Nelson placed third with 406.

Suzuki's case combined defensive responsibility with enough offense to remain visible to voters. He played every game, led Montreal forwards in total ice time and helped the Canadiens outscore opponents 94 to 58 at even strength when he was on the ice.

The current market lists Suzuki around +450, with Aleksander Barkov +550, Cirelli +700 and Nelson +900.

Suzuki is the prediction, but +450 is not one of the primary bets.

Repeat awards can happen, but Barkov returning to the conversation gives voters another established defensive center, while Cirelli and Nelson already showed enough to become finalists last season.

Suzuki becomes more attractive closer to +550. At +450, the market is appropriately acknowledging that he enters as the player to beat.

The betting decision is monitor.

Anthony Cirelli Remains the Selke Alternative

Cirelli is the most interesting alternative if Suzuki's price becomes too short.

He finished second in the 2026 voting and remains central to Tampa's defensive forward structure.

At approximately +700, his price is more forgiving than Suzuki's.

The concern is the size of last year's voting gap. Suzuki did not narrowly beat Cirelli. He dominated the ballot.

That means Cirelli needs more than another strong defensive season. He needs either a better individual year, a weaker Suzuki season or a shift in voter perception.

The current number is interesting but not strong enough to join the four primary futures bets.

Rocket Richard Trophy Prediction: Nathan MacKinnon

The Rocket Richard is simpler than the voted awards because there is no interpretation at the finish.

The player with the most regular season goals wins.

MacKinnon enters as the defending champion after scoring 53 goals in 80 games. Cole Caufield finished two goals behind him, while McDavid scored 48 and Celebrini finished with 45.

MacKinnon also led the NHL with 14 multi goal games, 42 even strength goals and 350 shots.

That shot volume is the strongest reason to project another serious run at the award.

Goal scoring percentages can change from season to season, but consistently generating more shots than nearly every other elite scorer creates repeated opportunities to stay near the top.

MacKinnon is the early Rocket prediction, followed by McDavid, Caufield, Celebrini and Auston Matthews.

There is no verified 2026 to 2027 Rocket Richard market being used for this article, so no wager is recommended yet. A current market source still lists the new season's odds as unavailable.

That makes the correct betting decision monitor.

Once the market opens, MacKinnon's price should be compared with Caufield and Celebrini rather than automatically backing the defending winner.

Art Ross Trophy Prediction: Connor McDavid

The scoring title still belongs to McDavid until another player proves otherwise.

McDavid finished last season with 138 points, including 48 goals and 90 assists, to win his sixth Art Ross Trophy. His six scoring titles tie Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux for second most in NHL history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky.

Kucherov finished second with 130 points, MacKinnon had 127 and Celebrini reached 115.

The gap is not enormous, particularly with Kucherov producing 130 points in only 76 games.

McDavid still has the most reliable combination of volume, playmaking and established scoring ceiling. If he plays a full season, a total in the 130s remains a realistic expectation.

The Art Ross prediction is McDavid, with Kucherov and MacKinnon as the closest challengers.

There is no need to force a wager without a verified current price.

Team Success Will Shape Several NHL Awards

Not every trophy is determined by team performance, but several voting markets are influenced by whether an elite individual season happens on a winning team.

MacKinnon's Hart case benefits from Colorado coming off a 121 point season. Dahlin's Norris case strengthens if Buffalo remains near the top of the Eastern Conference after finishing with 109 points. Suzuki's Selke résumé is helped by Montreal developing into a 106 point team rather than a club playing meaningless games by March.

Celebrini faces the opposite challenge.

A 115 point season already proved his individual ability. For the Hart market, San Jose improving may matter almost as much as Celebrini adding another five or 10 points.

That does not mean award voters simply select players from the best teams. Kucherov's 2026 Hart victory came through a combination of extraordinary individual impact and Tampa reaching the postseason. The most valuable player discussion becomes easier when production affects games that matter.

The NHL standings will therefore become increasingly relevant as award races develop and team success begins separating otherwise similar candidates.

Early Statistics to Watch in the NHL Awards Races

The first month should be used to test the preseason thesis rather than react to every scoring streak.

For the Hart, points remain obvious, but the more important comparison will be how much offense each candidate is creating relative to his team. Celebrini's value becomes more convincing if San Jose starts winning. MacKinnon's case strengthens if Colorado remains near the top while he controls both the goal and points races.

For the Norris, ice time, even strength control and offensive production all matter. Dahlin does not need to outscore Makar by 15 points if Buffalo continues controlling play when he is on the ice.

For the Vezina, workload matters alongside save percentage. A goalie posting a .920 save percentage in 35 starts may have a weaker voting case than a comparable goalie carrying 55 or 60 starts for a contender.

The Calder should be evaluated through opportunity immediately. Power play usage, top six minutes and defensive pair assignments can reveal more about the market than a prospect's preseason ranking.

Readers can use the NHL stats page as the season develops and those statistical comparisons become more meaningful.

2027 NHL Awards Predictions

The Hart Trophy prediction is Nathan MacKinnon, with Connor McDavid remaining the largest obstacle. MacKinnon's combination of 53 goal scoring, 127 point production and Colorado's team strength makes +350 the best early price among the leading candidates.

Cale Makar is the most likely Norris winner, but Dahlin +700 is the better futures position. Dahlin already reached the finalist stage after recording a career high 74 points, and Buffalo's improvement creates a stronger award environment than he had earlier in his career.

Vasilevskiy is the Vezina prediction and wager at +800. Last season's 39 wins and second career Vezina provide enough evidence to question why his price is significantly longer than Hellebuyck's before the new season begins.

Martone is the Calder prediction because he already demonstrated NHL scoring and playoff impact. Helenius +1800 is the preferred bet because his AHL production and NHL experience create a realistic pathway at a much larger number.

Suzuki is the Selke prediction after dominating last year's voting, while MacKinnon is the early Rocket Richard selection. McDavid remains the Art Ross prediction after winning his sixth scoring title.

2027 NHL Awards Final Verdict

The awards board contains several players who deserve to be favorites, but the strongest preseason bets are not necessarily attached to the shortest prices.

MacKinnon +350 is the top Hart position. He is coming off a season with 53 goals and 127 points on the NHL's best regular season team, and the gap between his price and McDavid's creates enough room to take the second choice rather than paying for the favorite.

Dahlin +700 is the Norris value bet. Makar remains the prediction, but Dahlin's first finalist appearance, career high scoring and Buffalo's team trajectory give him a stronger path than a seven to one price suggests.

Vasilevskiy +800 is the preferred Vezina position. He led the NHL with 39 wins and won the award last season, yet still opens behind several other goalies on the futures board.

Helenius +1800 completes the betting card. Martone remains the Calder prediction, but the rookie market is volatile enough to justify taking a larger price on a player who has already produced at a point per game rate in the AHL and gained experience with a playoff team.

Suzuki is the Selke prediction, MacKinnon is the Rocket Richard pick and McDavid is the Art Ross selection, but none needs to become a wager before the price creates an actual edge.

The strongest early card is therefore MacKinnon +350 for Hart, Dahlin +700 for Norris, Vasilevskiy +800 for Vezina and Helenius +1800 for Calder. As training camp and the regular season begin changing those probabilities, readers can continue following the latest NHL picks and predictions for current hockey betting analysis.