The MVP race has been dominated for most of the season by Connor McDavid, and it seems that another star is taking over the show this time, and it is no other than his teammate Leon Draisaitl, who has been playing at a bright spot this season with a lot of high energy in the game so far. Now his odds have seen a massive lift, and he is definitely on the rise at this point.

It is hard to stick out when you are playing alongside one of the best players in the game, let alone with the previous season’s best player in the Stanley Cup Final. However, it seems that Leon Draisaitl’s big game has become too good to ignore for many bookmakers to the point that he is now pegged to be the favorite to win the MVP award by the end of the 2024-25 season.

Draisaitl is on a tear so far, and it is hard to slow him down with the pace he is running with right now. He is leading the resurgence for the Oilers – who started out the season way below the top five before finally making a series of short runs that have given them a pivotal push towards the top three in the Western Conference – now just a win behind the Dallas Stars for the second and a few more from the Winnipeg Jets in the first seed.

Draisaitl on the Rise

This season has been a big one for Draisaitl. He already has a total of 83 points coming off 43 assists and 40 goals – leading the league in goals while being ninth in most assists so far. He is also +27 in 55 games, which says a lot about how his impressive impact has been fun to watch for the Oilers as they have come back to life heading into the second half of the season.

Draisaitl has notched more than 100 points in five of the last six seasons, which says a lot about his prominence in the game so far. With a lot of games to go, it is expected that this will yet be another 100-point campaign for the German star, which should definitely raise the bar for his case for the MVP at this point in time. It cannot be denied that Draisaitl has been improving his level of play, and this has been quite a pivotal time for him to take his game to the next level.

At this point, it cannot be denied that there is a lot of hype surrounding Draisaitl’s chances of winning. After all, the 29-year-old center has already been named the MVP back in 2020, and it would not hurt to have him win the same award five years later considering how he has lifted the Oilers back to playoff contention once more.

Topping the Odds

Leon Draisaitl leads the odds for the MVP at this point with -115 across multiple sportsbooks. Reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon is second on the list with +230 at best, while league’s best goalie Connor Hellebuyck ranks out third with +280.

Connor McDavid, who was leading the MVP race for most of the season before injuries derailed his pace, is still on the relevant end with the fifth spot – with the odds placing him with +1500 at the very least.

This is expected to be a huge campaign for Draisaitl as he now seeks to finish the season with a bang – and hopefully continue his unfinished business in the Stanley Cup Final after nearly coming back from an 0-3 deficit last season.