CAN CROSBY WIN A THIRD HART AT 35 YEARS OLD?

The odds are long — even for one of the greatest ever

They say that age is just a number. But when it comes to handicapping the Hart Trophy, a player's odds become increasingly dull with each lap around the rink of life.

The MVP has traditionally been a young man's award.

That might explain why Connor McDavid (13-to-5), Auston Matthews (5-to-1) and Leon Draisaitl (15-to-2), who are all 26 or younger, are the favourites to win the Hart Trophy this season. And why 35-year-old Sidney Crosby is considered a 33-to-1 long shot.

For someone who scored at a 100-point pace last season, this might be considered a little insulting. After all, Crosby is a two-time Hart Trophy winner who is only two years removed from finishing fourth in MVP voting and was a finalist for the award four years ago.

And now, we're expected to believe that Jack Eichel, who has never been a top-five scorer or even made the playoffs, has better odds (28-to-1) of winning the Hart than Crosby?

The answer is yes. But it's less a reflection on Eichel's potential than it is on Crosby's birth certificate.

That's another way of saying that Sid the Kid isn't so young anymore. The last time a player his age was named MVP was almost a century ago when a 35-year-old Eddie Shore won in 1938. In the last 25 years, no one in their 30s has won the award. Even Wayne Gretzky didn't win past his 28th birthday.

Based on the betting odds released by BetOnline.ag, don't expect that to change. A total of fifteen players have better odds of winning the Hart than the future Hall of Fame forward. That obviously includes McDavid, Matthews and Draisaitl, who are the last three to win the award. But it also includes Cale Makar (14-to-1), who is 11 years younger than Crosby.

Not that Crosby, who came into the league the same year as Alex Ovechkin (28-to-1), appears to be giving in to Father Time. Rather, with Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang re-signing with the Penguins in the summer, Crosby has his sights on winning a fourth championship — and whatever individual hardware comes along with it.

“I didn't really worry about age when I was 18,” Crosby told reporters at the start of training camp. “I'm not going to start at 35.”

And why would he? While McDavid and Matthews may have dethroned Crosby as the best offensive players in the league, Crosby's multiple championships and 200-foot game is still revered around the NHL.

“I've still got to go with Crosby,” Philadelphia's Cam Atkinson said when asked who was the best in the league. “I think all around, he does it perfect. And he still puts up the points.”

Indeed, Crosby had 31 goals and 84 points in just 69 games last season. With two-time 40-goal scorer Jake Guentzel still riding shotgun on his wing, Crosby's over-under for goals is set at 31.5 and his points at 81.5. He'll have to hit the over on both — and probably by a large margin — for him to get some Hart Trophy love.

But based on his off-season workout partner, don't rule out either one from happening.

“He's as intense as ever, lately,” said Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, who has 10-to-1 odds of winning the Hart. “I think he's at a new chapter in his career. He wants to play at an elite level and that's like the new challenge for him, which is pretty cool.”

The last time Crosby won the Hart was in 2013-14, when he scored 36 goals and 104 points in 80 games. That was nine long years ago, back when MacKinnon was just a rookie and McDavid and Matthews had not yet been drafted. It was a different league. These days, 104 points wouldn't even get you inside the top five. And so, if Crosby hopes to win the Hart, he might have to go about it differently.

Forget about trying to match McDavid in points or Matthews when it comes to goals. For someone who had a plus-19 rating last season and is gaining more and more recognition for his two-way game, Crosby might have to also win the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward — something he's yet to do — to get some love for the Hart.

If so, it would be quite the payoff for a player who hasn't exactly passed his prime.