Voted for by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association the Hart Trophy is awarded to the NHL's most valuable player.

It is never too early to keep an eye on awards futures odds as they can change consistently throughout the year.

The Hart Trophy recognizes the NHL's Most Valuable Player, and there are a couple of new faces in the mix.

Connor McDavid +100

At the age of 26, Connor McDavid has won the Hart Trophy three times, claiming the prestigious award in 2017, 2021 and 2023.

He is firmly in the prime of his career and his talent is arguably the best the game has ever seen. At the height of his powers, it's hard to fade McDavid, hence the +100 on him to scoop the award a fourth time.

Beyond McDavid, teammate Leon Draisaitil, and fellow candidates Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov have each won a Hart Trophy since 2019.

Being on competitive teams surrounded by talented players in an all around good situation, laying a bet on any of those prior winners would not be a waste of money.

Nathan MacKinnon +1000

A two-time All Star, 2021/22 Stanley Cup winner, 2019/20 Lady Byng winner, and the 2013/14 Calder winner, Nathan MacKinnon has won just about everything in his career.

Except for the Hart Trophy.

MacKinnon has been the runner-up for the award twice: in 2017/18 and 2019/20. He finished fifth in the league in total points and assists last season, and he has the second-shortest odds to win the Hart at +1000.

Auston Matthews +1000

The man who made Toronto fans believe they can win their first Stanley Cup in over four decades is +1000 to win the Hart Trophy.

Matthews has led the league in goals in two different seasons, but his production dropped last season with 40 goals and 45 assists as opposed to his 2021/22 tally of 60 goals and 46 assists.

Now 25 years old, Matthews needs to find his form to be an MVP favourite and to help his team return to the glory days of the 1960s.

Leon Draisaitl +1200

Being three-time and reigning MVP Connor McDavid's teammate might hurt Draisaitl's chances in the Hart Trophy race, but Draisaitl beat his teammate to the award in 2019/20.

He finished first in the league in power play goals last season with 32, and he finished second in the league in points with 128, 25 behind McDavid.

Scoring more points than McDavid, as Draisaitl did in his Hart-winning campaign, will be necessary to win it again. He is +1200 to win the Hart Trophy.

Matthew Tkachuk +1200

Matthew Tkachuk rode into the offseason with massive momentum from 109 points in 79 games and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in a playoff run in which he was at his best.

If the Panthers capitalize on the momentum from last season and start out of the gates stronger this season than last, Tkachuk will almost certainly be a key contributor to a dominate team.

He is +1200 to scoop the Hart Memorial Trophy.

David Pastrnak +1200

The leader in both goals and assists on the team that had the greatest regular season in league history, Pastrnak finished as the runner-up to McDavid for the Hart Trophy last season.

He ended last season with the third-most points in the league with 113, the most even strength goals with 43, and the most game-winning goals with 13.

Pastrnak is the superstar on a team of stars. He is among the favourites to take the Hart at +1200, but he might have to do even better than last year to win it.

Kirill Kaprizov +1600

Kaprizov is entering his fourth season in the league, and if he can put together the best parts of his career so far, he could make a run at the Hart Trophy.

His points production dropped by 28 from 2021/22 to 2022/23, so he will need to take a leap for a shot at the MVP award.

Kaprizov is +1600 to win the award.

Jack Hughes +1800

Jack Hughes took a massive step going from his prior career high of 56 points to a new career high of 99 points.

The Devils are a young team on the up and up with Hughes leading the way offensively. Last year was just the beginning of what he will show us in his career and he is +1800 to land the MVP award.