St Blues Odds to Win Stanley Cup Before Season

The 2021-22 season has come to an end with the Colorado Avalanche taking home the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001. The Avalanche defeated the defending two-time Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win the championship. Now that the season is done, we're of course already looking at odds to win the Cup in 2022-23. Let's see who the early favorites are on DraftKings Sportsbook and where the value lies before the NHL Draft and free agency in July.

2023 Stanley Cup odds

To no surprise, the Avs are your favorites to win the Cup in 2022-23 at +400 on DKSB. The Maple Leafs and Lightning are right behind the Avs and the Florida Panthers also represent decent odds out of the East.

Personally, don't touch the Panthers with a 10-foot pole at this number. From what we saw in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, Florida didn't have what it takes to beat the Bolts (and Tampa Bay isn't going anywhere). Plus, the Panthers replaced Andrew Brunette with Paul Maurice (bad idea) as head coach. Maurice's track record in the playoffs and in general is not great. So we're fading the Panthers until further notice.

The Bolts and Leafs are both solid bets. The Lightning may be losing steam but still managed to make it to the Cup despite missing C Brayden Point for much of this postseason run. The core will be in place next season and expect some more development from players like Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev. Toronto really only has itself to blame for falling short again. The Leafs are loaded but will need to figure out what to do in net if Jack Campbell leaves via free agency. Once that is addressed we can figure out what to do with Toronto's futures odds.

In the West, things get interesting. The Avs to repeat at this point isn't a bad bet. Colorado has a lot to work out this offseason. Nazem Kadri, Artturi Lehkonen, Darren Helm, Valeri Nichushkin and Josh Manson are just a few key components of the Cup team who may not be back via free agency. Still, the core of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog are locked in for at least one more season. MacKinnon needs an extension but there's no doubt that gets done.

The Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers. Those two teams are down the board a bit at +1400 and +1800, respectively. Both feel like very strong bets to come out of the West. Chances are one of those teams is going through the Avs to get to the Cup. The Oilers got swept by Colorado this time around. Things can be different next season if Edmonton finds better goaltending and some help on the blue line. As long as you have arguably the best two hockey players on the planet on the same team (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl), you're in good shape.

The Golden Knights brought in Bruce Cassidy to be head coach replacing Pete DeBoer, which is a massive upgrade. Vegas has a Cup-ready roster and those players know what it takes to get to the Cup (most of them were there in the inaugural season). It could come down to goaltending again, but if Robin Lehner (or someone else) can get hot, the Golden Knights will be tough to beat in the postseason.

Further down the board, let's take a look at some long-shot bets. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers are both +2000 and are in good spots. The Rangers came a few games from the Cup in 2022. The Penguins you could argue should have been in the East Final over the Rangers had Pittsburgh gotten NHL-level goaltending. If Casey DeSmith/Tristan Jarry can stay healthy in 2022-23, the Penguins have the core and coaching to make another deep playoff run before Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are through. The Rangers are a few pieces away but have arguably the best goaltender on the planet in Igor Shesterkin.

If you want super, super long shots, the Dallas Stars at +4500 feel like they shouldn't be that far down. Dallas felt like the Pittsburgh of the West. The Stars took the Flames to seven games and that series could have gone either way. If Dallas gets by Calgary, who knows, maybe the Stars go on another run through the West. The Stars also could have the next Vezina Trophy winner in Jake Oettinger. The Stars shouldn't have much roster turnover and have some really nice young pieces in Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.

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Source: https://dknation.draftkings.com/2022/6/26/23182119/stanley-cup-odds-2023-who-is-favored-to-win-avalanche-maple-leafs-lightning-panthers

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