Despite a lot of value in the NHL futures market, there are also some teams that bettors would be wise to fade.
The Eastern Conference is filled with juggernauts, but we’ll call smoke and mirrors on some of these teams, along with a Western Conference contender.
Below, we’ll check in on three teams that don’t warrant their current Stanley Cup odds on the FanDuel Sportsbook and why you should avoid them.
1. New Jersey Devils (+1200)
The New Jersey Devils are a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference and have surprised many people with their speed and skill this season. They’ve added some really nice pieces to the fold at the trade deadline, but they don’t boast the playoff experience you’re looking for in a team that can ultimately make a deep postseason run. It almost feels naive to say that the team with the NHL’s third-best record should be faded to win the Stanley Cup, but that’s the hard stance we’re taking on them. Our tune will undoubtedly change over the next two or three seasons, but for now, we’re happy to stay away from their price of +1200.
2. Tampa Bay Lightning (+1200)
I’m already getting prepared for the backlash of telling the public to avoid the Tampa Bay Lightning in the futures space. The Lightning have gone to three straight Stanley Cup Finals and won two, but we’re ready to say their time is done. The East is too strong when considering that six of the league’s top seven teams reside in that conference. Until they lose early or get dropped sometime in the Eastern Conference bracket, you’ll be hard-pressed to find people who won’t give this team the benefit of the doubt. Come back to this piece in June, but we’re ready to say the Lightning WILL NOT play for the Stanley Cup this year.
3. Winnipeg Jets (+3100)
It was a great first half of the regular season for the Winnipeg Jets, who looked like they’d be Stanley Cup contenders. The oddsmakers never shifted off the notion they were a mediocre team, but we wondered why initially, considering the success they were having. The moral of the story might be if the odds seem substantially lower for a team than you might think they should be, pause and let things play out for a while longer. Connor Hellebuyck can undoubtedly take this team on a deep playoff run, but they lack the superstar talent to really make you feel confident in what they can accomplish when the games start to mean more in April and May. Their +3100 price is fair, but this Jets team has fooled us before, and we won’t let them do that again.
