We’re not even a week removed from the Los Angeles Kings’ Stanley Cup championship and Bovada has already released odds for next year’s champion.
The favorite? Nope, not the defending champs.
Instead it’s the Chicago Blackhawks, the team the Kings ousted in seven games during the Western Conference finals.
The Blackhawks are the early favorites with 15-2 odds to win the Cup. That’s slightly worse than the 6-1 odds they were given right before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. The Hawks were the favorites this season, too, and although they came one game short of the Stanley Cup Final, they will bring back Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews for another run next year.
The defending-champion Kings have the fourth-best odds (10-1) behind the Boston Bruins (8-1) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (9-1), who have the fourth-best odds despite having a coaching vacancy.
For the record, the Kings had 12-1 odds and the runner-up New York Rangers had 20-1 odds (the same as Edmonton, who finished dead last in the West) so let’s not act like these odds are great predictors.
Here are the odds from Bovada:
1. Chicago Blackhawks 15-2
2. Boston Bruins 8-1
3. Pittsburgh Penguins 9-1
4. Los Angeles Kings 10-1
4. St. Louis Blues 10-1
6. Anaheim Ducks 14-1
6. San Jose Sharks 14-1
8. Colorado Avalanche 18-1
8. Minnesota Wild 18-1
8. New York Rangers 18-1
11. Detroit Red Wings 22-1
12. Montreal Canadiens 25-1
12. Tampa Bay Lightning 25-1
12. Vancouver Canucks 25-1
15. Philadelphia Flyers 28-1
16. Dallas Stars 33-1
16. Toronto Maple Leafs 33-1
16. Washington Capitals 33-1
19. Columbus Blue Jackets 40-1
19. New Jersey Devils 40-1
21. Carolina Hurricanes 50-1
21. Edmonton Oilers 50-1
21. Ottawa Senators 50-1
21. Phoenix Coyotes 50/1
21. Winnipeg Jets 50-1
26. Calgary Flames 66-1
26. Florida Panthers 66-1
26. Nashville Predators 66-1
26. New York Islanders 66-1
30. Buffalo Sabres 75-1
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