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Connor McDavid betting favorite to win MVP, even though he’s still on Oilers

Edmonton Oilers v Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 29: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates with the puck in NHL action against the Vancouver Canucks on March, 29, 2018 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

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Connor McDavid was the best player in the NHL during the 2017-18 season.

He won the scoring title for the second year in a row (the first player in more than 15 years to win it in consecutive years), he topped the 100-point mark for the second year in a row, he was voted by his peers in the league as the most outstanding player for the second year in a row, and had he played on a team that was anything other than a raging season-long dumpster fire he probably would have been a lock to win the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP for the second year in a row.

At the very least he would have a finalist.

But because he did play on a team that was a raging season-long dumpster fire, we were treated to another season-long debate on what value means and he ended up finishing fifth in the MVP voting behind Taylor Hall, Nathan MacKinnon, Anze Kopitar and Claude Giroux.

Even though the Oilers are bringing back largely the same roster that finished with the fourth worst record in the Western Conference and was nearly 20 points out of a playoff spot, McDavid is set to enter the 2018-19 season as the odds-on favorite to win the MVP award this upcoming season.

The folks at Bovada issued some preseason MVP betting odds on Thursday, and McDavid at 10/3 was at the top of the list.

As long as he stays healthy he is probably going to be the best player in the league once again and, quite honestly, the only thing that can probably stop him from winning the MVP is if the Oilers stink again.

Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby is second at 13/2, while Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Auston Matthews and John Tavares and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin round out the top-five, each at 10-1.

The reigning MVP winner, New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall, has the sixth best odds at 15/1.

Here is the complete list that Bovada released on Thursday:

Connor McDavid -- 10/3
Sidney Crosby -- 13/2
Auston Matthews -- 10/1
Alexander Ovechkin -- 10/1
John Tavares -- 10/1
Taylor Hall -- 15/1
Nikita Kucherov --15/1
Nathan MacKinnon -- 15/1
Mark Scheifele -- 15/1
Anze Kopitar -- 18/1
Evgeni Malkin -- 18/1
Patrick Kane -- 20/1
Claude Giroux -- 25/1
Brad Marchand -- 25/1
Steven Stamkos -- 25/1
Vladimir Tarasenko -- 25/1
Jack Eichel -- 33/1
Jamie Benn -- 40/1
Patrik Laine -- 40/1
Nicklas Backstrom -- 50/1
Filip Forsberg -- 50/1
Johnny Gaudreau -- 50/1
Ilya Kovalchuk -- 50/1
Evgeny Kuznetsov -- 50/1
Artemi Panarin -- 50/1
Tyler Seguin -- 50/1
Blake Wheeler -- 50/1
Logan Couture -- 66/1
Phil Kessel -- 75/1
Joe Pavelski -- 75/1
Aleksander Barkov -- 100/1
Jonathan Marchessault -- 100/1
David Pastrnak -- 100/1
Alexander Radulov -- 100/1

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.