It’s a lot more nuanced than a lot of the commenters so far want one to believe.
McDavid has some elements working in his favor, both personal play and nothing to do with him. to win the Hart even if the Oilers miss:
1. Campbell has been otherworldly bad. I think it’s easier for people to see a clear boogeyman holding him and the rest of his team back, rather than the myth of “not enough defense.” Campbell’s play and numbers paint a glaring obvious picture.
2. He’s actually won the Hart just once over the past 5 seasons. He sees nominations and top 5 finishes year in and year out, but extreme fatigue hasn’t set in yet for voters. I think a superhuman effort that still sees fall a couple of points shy in the end, particularly if the Oilers are winning most of their games down the stretch, while McDavid puts up tremendous numbers, and losing only when Campbell is letting in 5, 6, 7 goals can still convince enough to give the nod to a non-playoff candidate.
3. We’re roughly just 20% of the way, but there’s not really another clear compelling case yet to make someone ignore McDavid potting a goal per game and two points per game while generating 56% of his teams offense.
4. If Lemieux can win it during a season where his team missed the playoffs when all but 5 teams made it and Gretzky missed 16 games, there is precedence of it being done. Voters are fickle though and it was a long time ago, so possibly irrelevant.
Lastly, if he pots 70 goals/150 points, numbers not seen in decades, I think it’s the kind of effort that will see recognition regardless.
In the end, it would just be easier on the people who grunt “win good, loss bad” to see McDavid lead the league with 55+ goals/130+ points while the Oilers finish with any playoff berth.