Find more episodes by The Hockey News at THN.com/podcast. Jack Eichel shoots on Jake Oettinger during a shootout on Feb. 25. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4MDM1MTM1NzU5NjU2MDk3/usatsi_20093826.jpg] Jack Eichel shoots on Jake Oettinger during a shootout on Feb. 25. Connor McDavid should run away with unanimous wins for both the Ted Lindsay and the Hart, and he’d certainly be the favorite for the Conn Smythe had the Oilers reached the conference final. Alas, that’s not to be. Picking the Conn Smythe winner has historically been very difficult because you need to be right twice: once for the winning team and again for the winning player. There have been the odd times where the winner has come from the losing team, but that’s been exceptionally rare, and on all four of the remaining teams, there are clear standout players. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were the two hottest bets entering the playoffs, but obviously, those wagers will not be cashing. Matthew Tkachuk currently has the highest percentage of tickets at 6.9 percent and the highest handle at 15.6 percent among the remaining players. Tkachuk’s followed by Jake Oettinger, Sergei Bobrovsky and Roope Hintz in ticket percentage and Hintz, Jack Eichel and Sebastian Aho in handle percentage. Let’s break down the latest Conne Smythe odds from BetMGM. Please play responsibly. Ticket% is the percentage of all bets placed on the player. Handle% is the percentage of all money wagered on the player. Odds and figures are as of May 17, 2023. JACK EICHEL, VEGAS 6.50/+550 – 2.3 Ticket%, 2.6 Handle% It’s a little odd to me that Eichel’s the favorite, not just on his team but the entire playoffs. He had a strong series, and it should go beyond just being the leading scorer of the winning team. Depending on how the series plays out, Mark Stone, any one member of the Misfits Line, or ice-time leader Alex Pietrangelo has a shot. SEBASTIAN AHO, HURRICANES 7.00/+600 – 1.8 Ticket%, 2.6 Handle% Aho is tied for the team lead in scoring so he’s the obvious choice, but his teammates have also been fantastic. Frederik Andersen has been solid, as have Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin, who has a playoff-best plus-14 rating. So far, that’s the second-best plus-minus rating ever in the cap era for a player who has played fewer than 20 games. The best? Connor McDavid last season, with a plus-15 rating in 16 games. MATTHEW TKACHUK, PANTHERS 8.50/+750 – 6.9 Ticket%, 15.6 Handle% Truly, he’s been the engine driving the train. His ability to drag his team into battle and lead the way is the big reason why the Panthers made such a huge trade for him, and it’s really paid off. No one else on the Panthers has made quite the impact he’s had. If you’re hopping on the Panthers bandwagon right now, this is a good bet. FREDERIK ANDERSEN, HURRICANES 10.00/+900 – 0.6 Ticket%, 0.4 Handle% Does anybody really believe he’ll go unbeaten the rest of the way or not cede the net to Antti Raanta again at some point? Andersen’s Conn Smythe chances go down the drain in a hurry the moment he’s pulled or replaced, and the odds always seem pretty high, be it injury or performance related. ROOPE HINTZ, STARS 10.00/+900 – 3.1 Ticket%, 4.2 Handle% I think there’s really good value here. He’s a top-line center who’s leading the playoffs in scoring among players whose teams are still in the race. If the Stars win, he’s close to a no-brainer. JAKE OETTINGER, STARS 15.00/+1400 – 5.5 Ticket%, 2.1 Handle% He’s the only other threat to Hintz on the Stars, and he’s certainly the best goalie remaining. The Stars wouldn’t be here without him, and the Conn Smythe has had its fair share of goalies winning the trophy. Cam Ward, Tim Thomas, Jonathan Quick and Andrei Vasilevskiy received the award in the cap era. CARTER VERHAEGHE, PANTHERS 7.00/+1600 – 0.1 Ticket%, 0.0 Handle% Verhaeghe is a low-key bet and a good one if not for Tkachuk. But Verhaeghe has an outside chance because he scores some really big goals. A huge conference final and Cup final performance could swing the votes in his favor. MIRO HEISKANEN, STARS 26.00/+2500 – 0.4 Ticket%, 0.1 Handle% No other Stars player is perhaps as valuable as Heiskanen. He’s singlehandedly holding down the fort on the Stars’ blueline, and they’ll be done in a hurry if he goes down. Recent trends also favor Heiskanen since two of the past three Conn Smythe winners have been defensemen.
