The Best NHL Player ESPY 2026 is a four-man race, and Connor McDavid is the chalk on the Kalshi board after a season that ended with his sixth Art Ross Trophy. Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Sharks sophomore Macklin Celebrini fill out the nominee field, which mirrors the 2025-26 Hart Trophy shortlist. The fan-voted award is handed out live at the ESPYS on July 15, 2026, and the market resolves that night. The live board above ranks every nominee at its current price.
The Best NHL Player ESPY 2026 comes down to four names, and the board has a clear read on it. Connor McDavid just closed a season that ended with his sixth Art Ross Trophy, and he is the chalk on the Kalshi board. Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Macklin Celebrini round out a nominee field that doubles as the 2025-26 Hart Trophy shortlist plus the sport's breakout sophomore. The award is fan-voted and decided live at the ESPYS on July 15, 2026.
Connor McDavid is the favorite on the Kalshi board, and the resume is why. He led the NHL in scoring with 48 goals, 90 assists, and 138 points in 82 games, capturing his sixth Art Ross Trophy by finishing 8 points clear of Kucherov, and he landed on the 2025-26 Hart Trophy shortlist. He is also the three-time reigning winner of this exact ESPY, taking it home in 2022, 2023, and 2024. A fan-voted award tends to reward the biggest name in the room, and McDavid is that name.
Nathan MacKinnon sits second on the Kalshi board and has the loudest counter-argument. He won his first career Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's goal leader with 53 goals in 80 games, a career high that edged Cole Caufield by two, and he finished third in the NHL with 127 points. His 42 even-strength goals and 97 even-strength points were the most in a single season by any player since Wayne Gretzky in 1990-91, and he joined McDavid and Kucherov as a Hart finalist. If the vote rewards the season's most dominant scorer rather than the most familiar name, MacKinnon is the pick.
Nikita Kucherov is the third Hart finalist in the field. The Tampa Bay Lightning winger entered the year as the two-time reigning Art Ross champion and pushed McDavid to the wire again, finishing 8 points back for the scoring title. His case rests on sustained elite production rather than a single trophy this cycle, and the same four nominees are also listed on Polymarket. He is the veteran floor of the group.
Macklin Celebrini is the story of the field. The San Jose Sharks center, in only his second NHL season, posted 45 goals, 70 assists, and 115 points in a full 82-game slate, breaking Joe Thornton's franchise single-season points record of 114. He shot 15.7% and was named a Ted Lindsay Award finalist, the players' pick for most outstanding performer. He is the long shot on the board, but he carries the breakout narrative that fan votes sometimes reward.
The Best NHL Player ESPY has been handed out annually since 1993, and it is decided by fan vote, so the recent history skews toward the sport's most recognizable stars. Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers won in 2025 on the back of a Rocket Richard season. Before him, Connor McDavid ran off three straight, winning in 2024, 2023, and 2022, which means Edmonton has claimed four in a row. Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks took the 2021 award. Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals won back-to-back in 2019 and 2018, and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins won in 2017. There was no award in 2020, which fell inside the COVID-19 disruption to the ESPYS calendar. A McDavid win in 2026 would be his fourth in five years and would keep the trophy in Edmonton for a fifth straight ceremony.
The Best NHL Player ESPY 2026 is announced during the ESPYS ceremony on July 15, 2026, airing on ESPN at 8pm ET from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Fan voting closes before the broadcast, and the market resolves that night to the nominee named as the winner on the televised presentation and the official ESPN ESPYS site. If no winner is declared by August 31, 2026, or if the result is a tie, the market resolves in favor of the listed nominee whose name comes first alphabetically.
This is a fan-voted award, so the levers are different from a beat-writer trophy. The main factors:
The Best NHL Player ESPY 2026 is one slice of a full ESPYS board. Compare it with the Best Athlete (Men's) ESPY 2026 odds, the cross-sport headline race, and see how hockey stacks up against the other leagues on the Best NFL Player ESPY 2026 odds, the Best NBA Player ESPY 2026 odds, and the Best MLB Player ESPY 2026 odds. For the wider slate of hockey and championship markets, browse the sports prediction markets hub.
Resolves to the nominee named Best NHL Player at the 2026 ESPY Awards, presented during the ESPYS ceremony on July 15, 2026 on ESPN. The resolution source is the television broadcast of the ceremony and the official ESPN ESPYS site. The winning nominee's contract pays out and all other nominee contracts resolve to zero. If no winner is declared by 11:59 PM ET on August 31, 2026, or if the award ends in a tie, the market resolves in favor of the listed nominee whose name comes first in alphabetical order.
It is the ESPYS category honoring the NHL's top player for the 2025-26 season. The award has been given annually since 1993 and is decided by fan vote, with the 2026 winner announced at the ceremony on July 15, 2026.
The four named nominees are Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Macklin Celebrini. McDavid, MacKinnon, and Kucherov were also the 2025-26 Hart Trophy finalists.
It resolves on July 15, 2026, the night of the ESPYS on ESPN, based on the nominee named as the winner during the broadcast and on the official ESPN ESPYS site.
As of July 11, 2026, Connor McDavid is the favorite on the Kalshi board at 52c, ahead of Nathan MacKinnon at 31c, with Nikita Kucherov and Macklin Celebrini further back. See the live board above for current prices.
Watch whether McDavid's name value and three-year reign hold up against MacKinnon's Rocket Richard and Hart Trophy momentum, and whether Celebrini's record-setting sophomore season pulls enough fan support to be a long-shot spoiler before voting closes.