Last season’s Art Ross Trophy race was a runaway. Connor McDavid dominated the North Division and won the award with 25 more points than the second-place player (his teammate Leon Draisaitl), finishing with 105 points in the shortened 56-game season.
McDavid’s 72 assists alone would have landed him in second spot behind Draisaitl’s 84 points.
So, when it comes to Art Ross odds for the 2021-22 season, it is worth wondering whether anyone is humanly capable of coming close to what McDavid’s point total might be at season’s end. He has won the award in three of the last five seasons and finished second in the other two.
But, that’s why they play the games.
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Online sportsbook [Sportsbook not available for your region] has listed Connor McDavid with EVEN odds to earn his fourth Art Ross Trophy. Behind him is teammate Leon Draisaitl (+500), Auston Matthews (+500), Nikita Kucherov (+600), Mikko Rantanen (+750) and Nathan MacKinnon (+750) to round out the top choices on the board.
For more hockey betting content, head over to our NHL page where you can see odds on the Hart Trophy, Rocket Richard Trophy and all the other major awards.
Take a look at the book’s full list of odds:
Art Ross Odds: Who Will Win The 2021-22 Art Ross Trophy?
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Connor McDavid | EVEN |
| Auston Matthews | +500 |
| Leon Draisaitl | +500 |
| Nikita Kucherov | +600 |
| Mikko Rantanen | +750 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | +750 |
| David Pastrnak | +1000 |
| Brayden Point | +1000 |
| Patrick Kane | +1200 |
| Artemi Panarin | +1200 |
| Mitch Marner | +2000 |
| Brad Marchand | +2500 |
| Mark Scheifele | +6600 |
| Mark Stone | +6600 |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | +6600 |
| Sebastian Aho | +6600 |
| Elias Pettersson | +6600 |
| Aleksander Barkov | +6600 |
| Sidney Crosby | +10000 |
| Alex Ovechkin | +10000 |
| Jake Guentzel | +10000 |
| Alex DeBrincat | +10000 |
| Ryan O’Reilly | +10000 |
| Kyle Connor | +10000 |
| John Tavares | +10000 |
Odds as of October 14 at [Sportsbook not available for your region]
Art Ross Odds: Top Contenders
Connor McDavid (EVEN)
Paying EVEN odds to bet McDavid to win the Art Ross Trophy might be the best odds we’re going to get all season. McDavid could easily have 10 points after his first three or four games and this number jumps into the -120 range, or worse.
McDavid is the obvious favorite, so you aren’t getting rich off this bet. But it feels a tad pointless to bet this prop without putting a little bit of cash on the best player in the league.
Nikita Kucherov (+600)
Nikita Kucherov did not play a game during the regular season in 2020-21, but went on to run away with the playoff scoring race en route to a Stanley Cup championship. Kucherov had 32 points in 23 games in the playoffs, nine more points than teammate Brayden Point.
Healthy and fresh after playing just those 23 games since the NHL’s playoff bubble, Kucherov should certainly be considered a contender in Art Ross odds as one of the most dynamic offensive producers in the league.
Prior to the NHL’s shutdown due to COVID-19, Kucherov was seventh in league scoring. And the season prior to that, Kucherov won the Art Ross by scoring 12 more points than McDavid.
With the Lightning missing a few departed pieces from their championship lineup this season, Kucherov could be counted on to score more than ever.
Artemi Panarin (+1200)
Artemi Panarin’s 2020-21 season was derailed by an absence from the team and offensive struggles from several of the top players on the Rangers. He still finished 13th in league scoring with 58 points in only 42 games (which put him third in points per game after McDavid and Draisaitl).
In 2019-20 before the league shut down, Panarin finished tied for third in league scoring with 95 points in 69 games. That feels more like where he should be finishing given a full, healthy season.
But a bet on Panarin in Art Ross odds is not just on the talent (which is substantial), a bet on Panarin is also one on the potential of the Rangers roster. There are rumors about Jack Eichel landing in New York, and it’s fair to expect jumps in production from recent top picks Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. Any or all of those things happening would be huge boons to Panarin’s outlook this season.
Brad Marchand (+2500)
Marchand has been sniffing around the Art Ross race in each of the last three seasons, finishing third, sixth and tied for fifth, respectively.
While he is getting a little older and has only cleared 87 points once in his career (100 in 2018-19), Marchand does not appear to be slowing down in terms of offensive production. He has very attractive Art Ross odds at +2500 (12th-best) considering his recent finishes in the scoring race.
Best Bet: Mitch Marner (+2000)
The player who wins the Art Ross Trophy is usually one who piles up a ton of assists (see: McDavid, Connor). And that is why we have Marner as a better bet than teammate Auston Matthews.
The Rocket Richard race is a different story and Matthews should be the favorite to win that award. But Matthews has never had the big assist numbers, clearing 30 assists just twice in five seasons with a career high of 36. The Art Ross Sportsbook usually has around double that number.
Enter Mitch Marner.
Marner has led the Maple Leafs in points three of the last four years, has never had fewer than 42 assists in a season and put up 94 points in his last 82-game season.
He is a much better value at +2000 than Matthews at +500 and a small uptick in goal production should put him in the middle of the late-season race.
