Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov Joins Connor McDavid as Co-Favourites to Win Hart Memorial Trophy

The Minnesota Wild have found their cornerstone franchise player with Russian winger Kirill Kaprizov. The 27-year-old has seen his bumps in the road with injuries but has still finished with over 95 points twice in his career.

This season has been one to remember as he currently sits second in points with 34 after recording 13 goals and 21 assists in 19 games. He's played two less games than the league's leading point man Nathan MacKinnon.

Kaprizov's early season success has seen him climb to the top of the list for betting favourites to win the Hart Memorial trophy as the league's MVP.

He is now tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid as the favourite with +380 odds to take home the award and should make for an exciting race down the last three quarters of the season.

Minnesota has experienced their best start in years with a 13-3-4 record that has them sitting second place in the West. If it wasn't for the historic start from the Winnipeg Jets, the biggest story in hockey would be how successful the Wild have been early on.

It's hard to say if he will be able to maintain the success of a 1.79 points per game average that would land him around 146 points but Kaprizov has shown he can hit those elite top five numbers like when he recorded 108 points in the 2021-22 season.

He should stay in the conversation as long as he can remain healthy and come back from his recent lower-body injury and pick up where he left off. Kaprizov sustained the injury last Thursday in Minnesota's win over McDavid and the Oilers. The Wild will also need to stay competitive which could happen considering they are top eight in easiest remaining strength of schedule.