How Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci Signings Changed Bruins’ Stanley Cup Odds
Boston went from 30-1 to 24-1 at Circa Sports
By now, you've probably heard the news that the Boston Bruins are bringing back centermen Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci for another run at the Stanley Cup.
Many of my bookmaking sources expected Bergeron to return after a career year last season, but Krejci's return caught a few by surprise. The Bruins were definitely underdogs to sign both players, if you will.
Boston was as high as 35-1 ($100 wins $3,500) to win next year's Stanley Cup before the Bergeron signing was announced early Monday morning and bookmakers spent a couple of hours tweaking their prices and hold percentages. Then, the Krejci signing dropped, which led to more maneuvering.
"I went from 30-1 to 24-1 on Boston in the future book," Circa Sports assistant sportsbook manager Jeff Davis told NESN. "The Bruins might be the second-best team in the Atlantic when (Brad) Marchand and (Charlie) McAvoy return to the lineup. And I'm talking power rating, not record in the standings.
"Florida and Tampa Bay are weaker. Detroit and Ottawa are improved offensively, but each of their blue lines are horrific and will concede a ton of scoring chances. Boston can absolutely be the second-best team in the division come the end of the season when fully healthy. The Bruins just have to survive until help arrives."
Bruins' odds to win Stanley Cup:
Circa Sports +2400 ($100 wins $2,400)
Caesars +2500
WynnBET +2500
FanDuel +2700
DraftKings +2800
BetMGM +2800
PointsBet +3000
SuperBook +3000 ($100 wins $3,000)
It's worth noting the B's still have much longer odds than the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes and have the 11th or 12th-best Cup odds at most American sportsbooks.
But Boston's plan is pretty obvious: make it to the playoffs and see what happens.
"If you're looking to fire a Bruins future, you should wait it out," one professional bettor told NESN. "There will be some growing pains without Marchand for a couple months and McAvoy for even longer. They're expected to struggle early on and assuming that happens, the books will run the odds up.
"There's no point to bet 25-1 or 28-1 now because the math is against them looking like contenders in October and November. Patience will bring better prices, then you strike right before the band gets back together."
