NHL Playoff Picture: Toronto +900 To Win The Stanley Cup

The NHL Playoffs are right around the corner. Whether you’re a die-hard NHL fan who’s watched every game this season or a casual fan just tuning in for the playoffs, now is a great time to get in on the action and make some NHL bets. 

This is a great time of year to make some futures bets. With the playoff picture starting to shape up, gamblers have a good sense of each team but there is still enough uncertainty to get good odds. To help you get ready for the most exciting part of the NHL season, here are the updated Stanley Cup odds and breakdown of each conference.

2023 Stanley Cup Champion

ALSO READ

NHL Stanley Cup Betting Guide: Preview, Statistics & Picks

Western Conference

On paper, the Western Conference doesn’t have as many strong teams as the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot to look forward to out west.

Even though they don’t have the best record in the West, the reigning Stanley Cup Champions Colorado Avalanche come into the playoffs as the odds-on favorites to make it out of the Western Conference. Oddsmakers gives the Avalanche the best chances to win the Western Conference with +275 odds. The Avalanche’s path to the Stanley Cup Finals is still to be determined. They are likely to finish the season as Central Division leaders, meaning they’ll probably be going up against NHL newbies Seattle Kraken in the first round. The Kraken are a wildcard team with +1400 odds to make it out of the West, so the Avalanche should handle them easily. 

Along with the Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights are one of the other main contenders in the West. Oddsmakers give them +700 odds to win the West and represent the conference in the Stanley Cup finals. Their short time in the NHL so far has been surprisingly successful. The Golden Knights also have a well-balanced team with their attack being distributed around numerous key players including Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, and Reilly Smith. Because of this, we wouldn’t count them out as a team who could cause problems in the West.

Another pick to make it out of the West we really like is the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers are led by center Connor McDavid. The former number-one draft pick is the favorite to win the NHL’s MVP award (Hart Trophy) this season at -180 odds. McDavid could very well lead the Oilers out of the West and to their 8th Stanley Cup Finals appearance, although it would be the first for the 150-point scorer. DraftKings thinks this too and gives the Oilers +300 odds to win the West.

As much as we’d like to see an underdog like the Kraken go on a Cinderella run and come out on top of the West, it’s hard for us to pick one of the favorites. Our pick to come out of the West is the Edmonton Oilers.

Eastern Conference

While there’s a lot of fun to be had out West, the Eastern Conference is where the NHL’s real heavy hitters are. According to sportsbooks, six of the eight most likely teams to win the Stanley Cup are in the East. The best out of all of them are the Boston Bruins who oddsmakers give +300 odds to win the Stanley Cup.

As for this side of the bracket, the Bruins have +200 odds to win the Eastern Conference. The Bruins set the pace in the league this year and stormed out to a commanding league in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. They won the Presidents’ Trophy in March by clinching the best regular season record in the league. At the time of writing, the Bruins still have a chance to finish the season with the most points ever scored in an NHL season. Whether they will add another trophy to their cabinet this year is still to be seen. As of now, the Bruins are huge favorites to make it out of the East. 

The Bruins don’t know their first-round matchup yet, but they’ll probably feel confident against whoever they get drawn against. They may have some problems later on though.

One team that could cause the Bruins problems are the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s been nearly 60 years since the Leafs’ last Stanley Cup title, but this year could be their year. Oddsmakers gives the Leafs the second-best odds to make it out of the East at +550. 

The other teams you should look out for in the East are the Tampa Bay Lightning (+750) and Carolina Hurricanes (+600). Both teams are big outsiders compared to the Bruins. They also both have the potential to pull off big upsets, especially the Lightning. The Avalanche stopped the Lightning from making it three straight Stanley Cup championships last year. Simply put, the Lightning are winners, so we won’t count them out.

There are strong arguments for a lot of teams in the East, but none stronger than for the Boston Bruins. They are in the middle of one of the most dominant NHL seasons in history, so we have to pick the Bruins to make it out of the East. 

Stanley Cup Favorites

With as strong a season as the Bruins are having, it makes sense for them to be oddsmakers’ Stanley Cup favorites. Besides the Bruins, the market also rates the Avalanche (+650), Oilers (+800), and Maple Leafs (+900) highly. We’ve already discussed why we like these teams’ chances, but some of these teams represent better value than others. 

First and foremost, we’d caution against betting on the Bruins. They are absolutely the most dominant team in the NHL and most likely to win the Stanley Cup, but +300 odds do not represent decent value. 

On the other hand, the Tampa Bay Lightning at +1400 represents magnificent value. The Lightning are coming into the playoffs looking to reclaim their throne as NHL champions. They are top 10 in goals scored and goals allowed and have a winning pedigree. As far as stars go, the Lightning have Brayden Point who is on track to finish the season with 50+ goals. In our opinion, oddsmakers are doing the Lightning a disservice, by giving them such long odds. Thankfully for you, this is something you can take advantage of and potentially win big. 

As good as Brayden Point is, Connor McDavid is on another level, which is why we think the Oilers are another good value pick. McDavid has scored 62 goals and assisted on 86 others this season. In all likelihood, he will be the NHL MVP. McDavid and the Oilers have won seven straight. They could very easily take that momentum into the playoffs and end up as Stanley Cup champions.