The players felt differently last season, awarding the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL's best player to McDavid.
"I mean, he's always been there the last couple years," Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "[Hall] had a great year, but I feel like McDavid's always in that mix."
A debate raged throughout the second half of the season about whether McDavid could be the MVP if his team did not make the playoffs. The Oilers failed to do so, finishing 17 points behind the Avalanche for the final spot in the Western Conference.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said that will not be an issue this season.
"Connor McDavid, because the Oilers are going to go to the playoffs this year and he's going to be more of a factor," Kronwall said.
MacKinnon was the next closest challenger, named by 11 of his peers; Crosby, who has won the Hart Trophy twice, got nine votes.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews received three MVP votes from his peers, as well as an emphatic endorsement from Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
"McDavid is the best, without a doubt, but I'm telling you that (Matthews) -- and I'm biased because I played with him and we're good buddies -- before it's all said and done he'll have a couple of those," said McAvoy, who played with Matthews with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. "He's such a good player, man. He's unbelievable. Some of the stuff he can do, it's special. He's a special player."
Two players polled did not pick a Hart Trophy winner.
MVP voting (61 total votes)
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, 28; Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, 11; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 9; Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, 3; Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, 1; Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, 1; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks, 1; John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs, 1; Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, 1; Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, 1; Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, 1; Artemi Panarin, Columbus Blue Jackets, 1; No answer given, 2
