Follow @BetNHLWith the season finished and the Penguins winning the Cup, it’s interesting to look back and see how the odds were before the season started. How the best teams, the finalists and surprise teams finished.
Here is what the odds looked like before the season
You see the Penguins had Odds of 7.00 to win the Cup and the Sharks had 20.00 Odds. So there was some good money to be made on picking the Penguins. Their Odds would have been much lower had they had Hagelin and Bonino there already to join Kessel. The Sharks Odds were amazing. I big part of that was the fact that the seemed to have playoff disappointments year after year.
It’s also interesting to see how the favorites did for each conference.
The Lightning and Rangers were the odds on favorites to win the Cup from the East with 4.50 Odds. This was because they are both talented teams with recent success in the playoffs. There are many reasons why they failed in the playoffs this year and will be interesting to see the odds for this coming season.
In the West it was the Hawks as the favorites with 3.25 Odds. This is obvious thanks to them winning the Cup 3 times in 6 years and having their core still intact. They added a bunch of help at the trade deadline and in my opinion it was just to many players at once and not enough time for them to gain chemistry. Behind the Hawks was the Ducks. If you were to wait until midway through the season and still wanted to bet the Ducks their odds would have jumped substantially due to their horrible play.
Another team to look at were the Caps. They had preseason Odds of 7.50. I’m sure many people jumped on them to win the Cup during the season when they ran away with the Presidents Trophy but again fell short in the postseason. And the Canadiens had Odds of 8.00. Which I’m sure went up as the disaster of season for them went on.
For this coming season, I expect the Caps and Penguins to be the favorites out of the East. For the Caps they had such a great year and people should expect another strong season from them. The Penguins are fresh off of winning the Cup
From the West I expect the the Hawks to be yet again a favorite. They have made some moves so far and still have the core together. Plus some extra time off to rest is only going to benefit them. Another team I think will be favored are the Stars. They are ripe with young talent and should push for 1st place in the West. Some people may think the Sharks should be a favorite but some of their top 6 are aging and only time will tell if it catches up to them. And for the sportsbooks I can’t see them seeing the Sharks as a legitimate threat.
It’s always a good thing to look and bet on a team to win the Cup before the season starts. The Odds are great and anything can happen. It also makes you root for a team who you may not normally cheer for. But the odds are the real reason here. And no matter how much you wager there is a great payday to be had.
Very useful post and interesting analysis. Thanks!