NHL Free Agency Odds: Lightning Heavy Favorites To Keep Steven Stamkos
Do the Boston Bruins have a realistic chance of signing Steven Stamkos this summer? Vegas oddsmakers don’t believe so.
As of Wednesday, sports betting site Bovada did not even offer odds on Stamkos joining the Bruins in free agency. The most likely landing spot for the star center, per Bovada, is the team he has spent his entire NHL career with: the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning have even 1-1 odds to re-sign Stamkos, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this Friday. The Detroit Red Wings have the second-best odds (11-4), followed by Stamkos’ hometown Toronto Maple Leafs (7-2), the Buffalo Sabres (8-1), the Montreal Canadiens (12-1) and the Vancouver Canucks (22-1).
Interestingly, the online sportsbook pegs Boston as the third favorite to sign Milan Lucic, who spent his first eight seasons with the Bruins before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings last summer.
A Lucic return still is an extreme long shot, however. The Edmonton Oilers, who are run by former B’s general manger Peter Chiarelli, are overwhelming 5-13 favorites to land the 28-year-old power forward, followed by the Canucks (9-4), Bruins (12-1) and Kings (20-1).
Thumbnail photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
