Best Players in the Metropolitan Division: Who Are the Hart Candidates?

With the NHL’s preseason already well underway, that means that the 2025-26 regular season is right around the corner. 

The following stars are gearing up to battle for the Metropolitan Division title and potentially also a Hart Trophy. Out of all the divisions in the league right now, the Metropolitan may be one of the least star-studded in the league. 

But still, there are a few semi-contenders and some long shots for this year’s Hart Trophy in the Division. 

Here’s a look at the five players in the Metropolitan Division with the shortest odds at winning the Hart Trophy. 

Best Players in the Metropolitan Division: Who Are the Hart Candidates?

Jack Hughes, C, Devils (+3000)

New Jersey’s Jack Hughes is undeniably one of the league’s stars of the future, but he has yet to really play a full season. 

The 2024-25 season marked the second consecutive season Hughes missed 20 games. He was sidelined for much of the latter part of the year due to a shoulder injury he sustained in March. 

The highest games-played total for Hughes’ career was 78 in the 2022-23 season. That season offers a template for what a full season of one of the league’s best centers could look like. 

He had a career high of 99 points, with 43 goals and 56 assists, which is more than 20 points better than his second-best season. That season landed him eighth in the Hart voting amidst a crowded field that included Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak at the top.

The injury problems for Hughes have played to his benefit to some extent when it comes to media scrutiny. He’s managed not to draw the ire of the stupid ‘Is he really that guy,’ conversations that surround other players in the league. Another injury-riddled season or just a generally disappointing one could be enough to get the vultures circling. 

If we can get a full year out of Hughes this season, he could match that mark once again and find himself in the Hart conversation. 

Artemi Panarin, LW, Rangers (+10000)

Rangers forward Artemi Panarin will hope to shake off what was a disappointing 2024-25 season for him. 

He finished the year with 89 points, 37 goals, and 52 assists. It was his lowest total in a non-COVID-shortened season since the 2018-19 season. 

It’s worth noting, also, that Panarin still played in 80 games last season, consistent with his numbers from recent years. 

Despite this, Panarin still led the team in goal scoring and overall points.

There is still regression there, and that regression could signal the beginning of the end for Panarin’s prime. He’s 33 years old and entering the 11th season of his NHL career. 

There’s also been some off-ice problems for Panarin, who, along with MSG Sports, reportedly reached a financial settlement with a former New York employee over sexual assault allegations made against Panarin. The Athletic reported on the details of the settlement and the allegations in April of last year. 

It’s worth considering whether those off-ice problems could spell the end of major awards contention for Panarin, given the potential that the media may not want to vote for him. 

I think Panarin has a shot to be in the mix for the Hart Trophy — likely in a second tier of ‘contenders’ — if he has a return to form in the 2025-26 season. However, the odds of him actually winning the award are, I think, very slim. 

Igor Shesterkin, G, Rangers (+10000)

New York goalie Igor Shesterkin, the highest-paid goaltender in the league, currently has equal odds with his Rangers teammate to win the Hart Trophy. 

To be honest, from the start, I don’t see either player winning MVP, but I can see Shesterkin having a stronger path than Panarin. 

Shesterkin, like his teammate, had a poor career year in the 2024-25 season. He finished the year with a 2.86 GAA and a .905 save percentage. Both statistical categories were the worst in his six-year NHL career. 

When he’s right, Shesterkin can be one of the best goaltenders in the league. 

He won the Vezina Trophy for the 2021-22 season, and he also finished third in Hart voting that season. Shesterkin has been a finalist for the Vezina Trophy two other times. 

Assuming last year was more fluke outlier than new norm, 2025-26 should show a return to form for the 29-year-old. 

Whether that return to form can morph into a Hart campaign relies on the Rangers’ success as a team. If New York is back in contention and in the mix for a top seed in the division, then he may see his Hart Trophy odds rise. 

The Rangers are currently a -190 favorite to make the playoffs and have odds of +550 for the Division title.

Alex Ovechkin, LW, Capitals (+50000)

No amount of awards can match how setting a new All-Time Goals Scored record must have felt for Washington forward Alex Ovechkin last season. 

But, I’m sure, his win of the Mark Messier Leadership Award brought him just as much happiness as breaking The Great One’s record. 

Alongside that prestigious honor, Ovechkin also finished eighth in Hart voting for his 44-goal and 73-point season. 

Sadly, though, for fans of Ovechkin, if the Professional Hockey Writers Association did not reward him anything bigger than an eighth-place finish for the Hart after breaking a supposedly unbreakable record, nothing will happen in 2025-26 that could get him any higher. 

Sure, there’s potential that he could lead the league in scoring and lead his team to a division title, and maybe then nab a more impressive finish in the Hart voting, but I don’t see it. 

This doesn’t need to be a space for relitigating last year’s Hart Trophy voting, but it’s pretty clear to me that NHL fans will remember last season for Ovechkin breaking the All-Time goal record. I don’t know if fans outside of Winnipeg will also remember that Connor Hellebuyck had a season nominally better than his last three great seasons.

Maybe that’s not a big enough rationale to award someone an MVP award, but I think it’s worth considering. 

Sebastian Aho, C, Hurricanes (+50000)

Strangely, Sebastian Aho is the lowest-ranked player on this list and the only one representing Carolina.

It’s strange because a) the Hurricanes are probably the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, b) they’re easily the best team in this division, and c) they have a ton of good players on their roster who will contend for awards. 

Has Carolina earned that disrespect? Maybe so. 

I covered this in my Metropolitan Division preview, but this recent era of the Hurricanes has seen great expectations followed by mixed results which have been quieted by the idea that the future remains bright. 

Aho is one of the players in Carolina who can flip the switch from future hopes to present winning. 

In 79 games played last season, he had 29 goals and 45 assists. Those numbers came in under the career-year he had in the 2023-24 season, which saw Aho score 36 goals and contribute 53 assists. 

Those numbers don’t scream Hart Trophy but if Carolina can jump out to a strong lead in their division then his odds of winning the award will go up.