2026-27 NHL Awards Betting Preview

If you’re looking for chalk in preseason NHL Awards picks, you’ve come to the wrong place. As much as I am a believer in Macklin Celebrini taking over as the league’s best player, it’s difficult to find true value for him in any aspect – whether it’s for the Hart, Art Ross or Rocket Richard. He has clearly arrived in the eyes of the oddsmakers.

Instead, I’ve focused on finding value in relative longshots who have authentic shots to take home hardware this season.

Here are four juicy Awards picks for 2026-27:

Vegas’ Jack Eichel (+4000) to win the Hart Trophy

Eichel has been playing at an MVP level for a couple seasons now, but it’s his intriguing offseason approach that turned heads in hockey circles this summer. "We all get bored and monitor social media, but I was fascinated by his off-ice work," one rival NHL GM noted. "In a sport where everything feels the same, he is finding ways to challenge himself to get better." Eichel shared that he spent weeks working with Ido Portal, a renowned ‘movement teacher’ who specializes in martial arts, training everything from his eyes to balance and agility. How will that translate to the ice? Eichel already has one Top 5 finish in Hart voting. Mitch Marner relatively underachieved in point production last season, his first in Vegas. My thinking is if Marner’s point total ticks back up to his career average, Eichel should also notch his first career 100-point season, which would put him in that conversation with the usual Hart suspects.

Philadelphia’s Dan Vladar (+5000) to win the Vezina Trophy

Simply put: "I think Vladdy is the best goalie in the league that no one is talking about," one NHL goaltending coach said. "He’s big. He’s a blocker. His style is very repeatable and he plays within himself." Believe it or not, it was the word ‘repeatable’ that made me snap to attention in that conversation - because duplicating success as a goaltender year in and year out is among the most difficult things to do in the sport. Vladar finished sixth in Vezina voting last year as the Flyers won their first (non-Covid) playoff round since 2012. Oddly enough, as the Flyers closed on a historic regular season heater, Vladar’s stats dipped slightly, playing at a .902 save percentage from March 1 on, compared to the .908 he played at over the first five months of last season. He probably would’ve gotten more Vezina love if his numbers were a bit more gaudy.

Chicago’s Roman Kantserov (+1500) to win the Calder Trophy

At first blush, you might be inclined to lean toward some love for another highly regarded Blackhawks rookie in Anton Frondell. You wouldn’t be wrong. But I think two key things help differentiate Kantserov’s Rookie of the Year case: his age and experience coupled with how the Hawks plan to deploy him. Things can change, of course, but sources indicate the Blackhawks plan to play Kantserov on Connor Bedard’s wing as much as possible. (That means Frondell might have to do some of his own heavy lifting, too.) Bedard did injure his left shoulder in July and is shooting for an early November return, so tread carefully on Kantserov’s statistical bump from Bedard. But Kantserov arrives from Russia as a 22-year-old with three full KHL seasons under his belt. That’s a massive leg up over typical 18-year-old Calder candidates like Gavin McKenna and they’ve historically fared better in Calder voting – just see Artemi Panarin with the Blackhawks as a 24-year-old in 2015-16.

Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier (+3500) to win the Rocket Richard Trophy

"He oozes confidence and swagger," an NHL head coach said. "That’s a kid that I want in the fox hole with me in a big game situation." The Ducks won’t be catching anyone by surprise now, not after knocking off the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1 last spring. But there is room to grow for Gauthier. Shooters shoot and Gauthier finished with the sixth-most shots in the NHL on his way to 41 goals, one of only 15 players in the league to hit 40. He also had the second-lowest shooting percentage among those fifteen 40-goal scorers. With a little more puck luck, Gauthier shouldn’t be this big of a long shot to close the gap.