Oddsmakers sparked outrage on social media Tuesday by omitting Jack Eichel from a list of Hart Trophy candidates that included newly acquired Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall.
BetOnline later corrected the error, but the platform, and others like it, must have ignored recent production when forecasting odds for the NHL’s most valuable player in 2020-21.
Eichel, whose career-high 36 goals led to an eight-place finish in Hart Trophy voting for the 2019-20 season, has the 22nd-best odds to win league MVP (40-1), according to BetOnline. Hall, a 29-year-old winger signed by the Sabres in October to a one-year, $8 million contract, is 18th on the list at 28-1 despite scoring only 27 goals over the previous two seasons. He won the award with the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18.
Oddly enough, BetOnline has Eichel ranked 10th for the Maurice Richard Trophy (20-1), which is awarded to the NHL’s leading goal scorer, and 13th for the Art Ross Trophy (tied, 25-1), the NHL’s leader in points. Hall is listed at 100-1 for the Art Ross and is not among the 52 players on the website’s Maurice Richard odds.
SportsBetting, meanwhile, has Hall with 33-1 odds for the Hart Trophy and Eichel at 45-1. Bovada, a leading online gambling site, has the most realistic odds with Eichel having the sixth-best odds to be named the league MVP at +1,500 and Hall ranked 16th (+2,500).
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].