With the NHL regular season headed for the stretch run, it’s time to see if there’s any value in the futures market to win the Stanley Cup.
The defending champion Colorado Avalanche have picked up their play of late and are a real threat to repeat, while the Boston Bruins are putting together a historic regular season. Despite their elite run, we’ll be avoiding Boston at their current price, knowing very well that surprise upsets can happen, especially in a loaded conference like the East.
Below, we’ll look into some potential contending teams and if there’s value in their Stanley Cup odds on the FanDuel Sportsbook.
Colorado Avalanche (+650)
They are the first of four Western Conference teams on this list and for good reason. With the East being stacked, it should be a much easier and less threatening path to the Stanley Cup for a Western Conference club. The Colorado Avalanche are looking to repeat and have upgraded their club down the middle of the ice with the addition of Lars Eller from Washington. If Gabriel Landeskog can return for the playoffs and be impactful, there’s really no reason why this Avalanche team can’t repeat.
New York Rangers (+1200)
There are definitely question marks about whether the New York Rangers have the speed to compete in a very fast Eastern Conference, but when you have one of the game’s best goalies in Igor Shesterkin, that might not matter all that much. It’s not to say that the Rangers aren’t uber-talented in many areas on their roster, but it’s reasonable if you had hesitations about them. Still, they did make an Eastern Conference Finals appearance last year, and there’s definitely merit in them doing so again. Their +1200 price tag is undervalued to win the Stanley Cup.
Edmonton Oilers (+1400)
When you have generational talents like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on your roster, you have to make a push for the Stanley Cup, and the Edmonton Oilers have done exactly that. They’ve added Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators, a proven top-four defenseman the team has undoubtedly lacked. In addition, they shored up the middle of the ice by adding big center Nick Bjugstad, which should bolster their team defense. If Edmonton can get the goaltending they need, and that’s a big if, they will be a tough out in the playoffs and remain a value at their current price of +1400.
Vegas Golden Knights (+1500)
There have been some critical injuries revolving around the Vegas Golden Knights, whether in net or up front to their forward core in Mark Stone. This is a really deep team offensively when healthy, and they boast a solid defensive core too. One thing is for sure, this team has playoff experience, and they wouldn’t be someone I’d want to go up against in a seven-game series. All of this ultimately comes down to their health, and to be fair, you can pretty much say that for any team at this time of year. Still, Vegas is in the running for the top seed in the West, and there’s reason to be bullish about their Stanley Cup odds at +1500.
Los Angeles Kings (+3000)
This is my longshot best bet. The Los Angeles Kings have put together some strong underlying numbers this season, but they’ve been missing one crucial thing—a real starting goalie. Acquiring Joonas Korpisalo could really fit the bill for them, especially since they also got stronger on defense. The Western Conference is wide open, and the Kings can make noise with their depth scoring, in addition to their really solid group of defensive forwards. The Kings at +3000 might be my favorite price on the board, knowing very well a goaltender of Korpisalo’s caliber can get hot and lead this team to the promised land.
