The NHL season starts in about a months time and some of the more Canadian focussed online sportsbooks that I use have now added Divisional Winners futures bets. I’m going to go through each of the 4 divisions in this post and give you my favourite and least favourite picks based on the odds from each division.
I’m using odds from both Bodog.eu and SportsInteraction.com.
Atlantic Division
- Boston Bruins 2.75
- Tampa Bay Lightning 5.01
- Montreal Canadiens 5.51
- Detroit Red Wings 7.01
- Toronto Maple Leafs 9.00
- Ottawa Senators 11.00
- Buffalo Sabres 17.00
- Florida Panthers 17.00
The Atlantic Division has become one of the weakest in the league over the last few years. The Bruins ran away with this division last year. They finished with 117 points and the next highest was the Lightning with 101. I don’t expect them to have a 16 point gap again this year, but looking at the other teams the Bruins at 2.75 to win the division is great value.
The Red Wings at 7.01 is a sucker bet in my opinion. The Red Wings do have some young guys coming up that should help the team, but the core is continuing to get older. They snuck into the playoffs last year and I expect them to be a bubble team again this year. They won’t be able to maintain an elite level over the course of the entire season so at 6/1 they are my least favourite bet.
Central Division
- Chicago Blackhawks 2.75
- St. Louis Blues 4.00
- Colorado Avalanche 6.50
- Minnesota Wild 6.50
- Dallas Stars 9.00
- Nashville Predators 13.00
- Winnipeg Jets 13.00
The Central Division is just a power house and I think any of those top 5 teams could realistically win the division. I have to give the best value in my opinion to the Stars at 9.00 odds. They’ve added Spezza and Hemsky, which could help them this year. They are really a wild card in my opinion, but I think they will at least take another step forward this year with Seguin and Benn leading the way.
Honourable mention to the Blues who are always a very strong regular season team.
I would steer clear of the Preds and Jets at 13.00 each. Neither team has a shot at winning this division with so many other power houses to compete with. And 12/1 is nowhere near enough to roll the dice on either of these teams.
Metropolitan Division
- Pittsburgh Penguins 3.25
- New York Rangers 4.51
- Philadelphia Flyers 6.53
- Columbus Blue Jackets 7.52
- Washington Capitals 8.02
- New Jersey Devils 10.00
- Carolina Hurricanes 13.00
- New York Islanders 13.00
I like the Devils at 10.00 here. The Devils could have easily found themsevles in the playoffs last year if their shootout record wasn’t an atrocious 0-13. The additions of Mike Cammaleri and Martin Havlat should also help the Devils offensively and giving the reigns to Cory Schneider in net could pay major dividends if he’s able to maintain his stellar play throughout the year. At 9/1 the Devils definitely have a shot of winning this division.
An honourable mention to the Capitals at 8.02. If Barry Trotz can work his magic and get Ovechkin and Green to play defense they might have a shot at winning more games this year.
I would steer clear of the Flyers at 6.53. They found a way to make the playoffs last year, but their lack of depth should prevent them from having a great regular season. The loss of Scott Hartnell could also hurt them more than anticipated. I would put the Flyers at #5 in this division.
Pacific Division
- LA Kings 2.76
- Anaheim Ducks 3.75
- San Jose Sharks 5.50
- Vancouver Canucks 9.00
- Edmonton Oilers 10.00
- Arizona Coyotes 11.00
- Calgary Flames 15.00
I like the Ducks to maintain their Pacific Division crown this year. The Kings are never able to maintain their playoff level over an 82 game season and the Stanley Cup hangover could affect their point total this year as well. The Sharks have also opted to somewhat blow up their team with the loss of Dan Boyle and Marty Havlat. The Sharks should still compete for the division crown, but I expect the Boyle loss could hurt them in the regular season.
The Ducks will have a few spots to fill with the losses of Selanne, Koivu, Bonino, Sbisa, Robidas, Perreault and Winnik, but adding Kesler, Nate Thompson and Dany Heatley should fill those voids. The Ducks have probably the best tandem in the league with Getzlaf and Perry, and if Heatley can find some of his old scoring touch on the wing with those guys it could be a fierce line. Kesler will be an upgrade from Koivu at the second line center position, but the Ducks will have to look within their organization to fill some of the other spots. That said at odds of 3.75 they are my favourite bet to win this division.
I would steer clear of the Alberta teams. Edmonton always comes into the season with fairly high expectations and every year they not only fail to meet them, but finish as the worst team in the West. This year the Oilers and Flames will likely once again be the bottom teams in the Pacific so I would steer clear of betting on them regardless of the price.
Tagged with: Anaheim Ducks • Boston Bruins • Dallas Stars • New Jersey Devils