New Jersey Devils: Taylor Hall Finally Gets Respect In MVP Odds
By Nick Villano
New Jersey Devils superstar Taylor Hall was surprisingly high up on the list for Hart Trophy odds. It’s surprising because Hall has been getting disrespected all offseason, and this was a nice change.
Funny how sports betting changes how we look at sports. Between over unders, weekly lines and prop bets, sports betting changes the conversation about sports before a game is even played. That same thing is happening about the odds on Taylor Hall to win back-to-back MVPs. Obviously, New Jersey Devils fans would be happy with the odds.
The recently released odds has Hall sixth on the list. Sure, most defending MVPs should be tops, or at least top three on the list. This isn’t any other year, however. Hall would need to pull out something even better than last year, and the Devils would need to outperform their place in the standings, two things that have the odds against them. Still, he is the sixth best bet to win MVP according to Bovada.
Connor McDavid: 10/3
Sidney Crosby: 13/2
Auston Matthews: 10/1
Alex Ovechkin: 10/1
John Tavares: 10/1
Taylor Hall: 15/1
Nikita Kucherov: 15/1
Nathan MacKinnon: 15/1
Mark Scheifele: 15/1
Anze Kopitar: 18/1
Last year, Hall didn’t even make the top 35 players who get listed on the MVP odds. That’s no surprise, since some people had the Devils finishing last in the Eastern Conference. This isn’t baseball, where Alex Rodriguez can win the MVP on the last place Texas Rangers. That just doesn’t happen in the NHL.
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Sure, one could point out that Connor McDavid has the highest odds to win, but I’m sure the betting community feels last year was a fluke. Only eight teams have better odds than Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup, showing that odds makers at least have the Oilers as a playoff team.
But back to the point in hand. Hall may be tied with three other players for sixth on the list, but that’s actually giving him respect.
He’s tied with Nikita Kucherov, who at times was the odds on favorite to win the award last year. Nathan MacKinnon was a close second to Hall in MVP voting, and if he responds with the same stats he could easily win it this season.
Hall has been disrespected in fantasy rankings, top player rankings and basically every other ranking, but here he finally gets a little respect after an MVP season.