Will Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov win the NHL's Conn Smythe Trophy for the first time? Or will a star with longer odds be victorious? Gary Pearson looks at the top six candidates for BetMGM.
The presumed Hart Trophy finalists are, unsurprisingly, also on top of the Conn Smythe Trophy hockey odds leaderboard at the BetMGM online sportsbook, with Nathan MacKinnon leading the charge.
When mentioning MacKinnon and an award, you can assume Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid will be discussed in the same breath. That pair is trading just behind MacKinnon in the infancy of the 2026 NHL playoffs.
Will one of those megastars accompany a Stanley Cup-winning campaign with the prestigious Conn Smythe, or can a player with longer odds ascend to prominence?
Nathan MacKinnon (+500)
It figures that the best player on the most likely Stanley Cup winner is the front-runner for playoff MVP. Considering he is the head of the most venomous snake, I'm not surprised his odds, which imply a winning probability of 16.67 percent, are so short.
As he didn't win the Conn Smythe when the Colorado Avalanche won the Cup in 2022, instead going to Cale Makar, it's a good bet that he'll be the MVP this time around.
Nikita Kucherov (+800)
Like MacKinnon, Kucherov has never won a Conn Smythe. Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy took the honors when the Tampa Bay Lightning won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
With just one goal in his previous 16 playoff games, Kucherov will also want to increase his production, but he won't be concerned about the recent playoff goal-scoring anemia. He has always been a pass-first player despite netting 44 times this season.
In addition, he amassed 93 points in 71 games during the Lightning's three consecutive Stanley Cup final appearances and would have won the Conn Smythe in 2020 had it not been for Hedman's 10-goal output.
Connor McDavid (+1300)
With the best value on the board, McDavid's +1300 odds imply a 7.14 percent probability.
It's a bet worth making if you think the Oilers can win the Cup, and why wouldn't they with McDavid putting up absurd numbers?
I won't dive into the team's laundry list of deficiencies because we're talking about a player with the third-most playoff points per game (1.55) behind Mario Lemieux (1.61) and Wayne Gretzky (1.84).
He's also one of six players to win the Conn Smythe on a losing team.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (+1400)
Vasilevskiy is the other former winner on this list. The Vezina Trophy favorite will look to backstop the Lightning to glory for the third time in seven seasons.
He is one of the best playoff goaltenders of all time, and his stats back up that claim. With 121 playoff encounters under his belt, Vasilevskiy has a .917 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average.
While he's always a good bet to win playoff MVP, I feel it's Kucherov's year if the Lightning win it all.
Sebastian Aho (+1700)
Of the current playoff participants, only the Oilers and Dallas Stars are more battle-tested than the Hurricanes, who've lost two of the previous three conference finals.
Sebastian Aho led the team with 80 points in the regular season, and he's nearly a point-per-game player in the post-season, notching 86 in 91 playoff contests.
If the Hurricanes clear the final hurdle at long last, there's a good chance Aho will be the primary reason why.
Jack Eichel (+2000)
Eichel is the Golden Knights' best offensive player, and he has proven he can produce in the playoffs with 43 points in 41 playoff games.
He was on track to win the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy before slowing down slightly in the second round against the Stars, when Jonathan Marchessault propelled to the fore.
The Golden Knights have played well since John Tortorella took the coaching reins, and they have the fifth-shortest Stanley Cup odds.
At +2000, Eichel offers good value. However, I'm still not convinced the Golden Knights are the real deal.
By Gary Pearson, BetMGM