With the start of the NHL season less than a week away, hockey fans are starting to do their research to determine which team they should put their money on to win the Stanley Cup. With one more team to add to the mix, the road to the Cup becomes a little harder. With help from Odd Shark, here as the latest Stanley Cup odds as of September 20.
The Favorites
Pittsburgh and Edmonton are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Last season showed promise for the Oilers, who finally made the playoffs after several years of young talent and missing the postseason. They currently sit at 8-1, just behind Pittsburgh who is the favorite at 7 1/2-1. While Pittsburgh is the best team on paper heading into the season, just note that we haven’t seen a three-peat champion since the New York Islanders dynasty of the early 80’s.
Chicago sits third at 12-1. We’ve been waiting for the eventual downfall of the Blackhawks dynasty for years and I think we saw it last year when they got embarrassed against Nashville. But this is a make-or-break year for them. Either they will bounce back and make a long playoff run or face a down slide. Time will tell.
Smart Money Teams
Washington, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Nashville, Toronto and Dallas all sit at 14-1 while Minnesota and New York Rangers are close behind at 18-1. You can flip a coin for any of these teams to challenge any of the favorites. As much as I want to be high on Washington (as I always have been), how much gas do they have in the tank to appear in the Conference Final? Alex Ovechkin isn’t getting any younger and there’s only so much one star can do. I like the young guns from Toronto to make a playoff run because let’s face it: Canada needs a strong contender and the young Toronto players haven’t gotten tired of Mike Babcock yet.
Middle of the Pack
Teams having odds in the 20 to 28-1 odd range include Montreal, Columbus, Los Angeles, San Jose, Calgary and San Jose. Similar to the smart money teams above, you can throw a dart at any of them and they could the Cinderella like Nashville was last season. I like Boston and San Jose putting teams on upset alert should they make the playoffs. They have strong defensive units and I’ve been a strong believer that while offense gets you to the playoffs, defense wins championships. Both are at 25-1.
Bet Wisely
Ottawa, Florida, Philadelphia, Winnipeg, Buffalo, and Carolina are listed at 40 to 50-1 odds. These teams have better odds of not making the playoffs than getting in the 16-team postseason. Of these teams, I like Ottawa the most to make the playoffs. But I don’t expect them to do anything come the second week of April.
Don’t Waste Your Money
These are the teams with the longest odds of winning the title. Detroit, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, Vancouver and Vegas are all at 100-1 odds. If I was a betting man I would steer away from these teams but as we saw with Leicester City winning the 2015-16 Premier League at 5,000-1 odds, anything can happen. If you’re looking at these teams to win you a few dollars, look at the point totals and wage the over/under wisely.
