The United States absolutely crushed the Czech Republic in their quarterfinal match up today to set up a big game against their rival Canadians tomorrow morning at 4am EST. Canada has had the last couple days off to rest up and prepare so this should be a good one. In the other quarterfinal Russia squeaked out a win against an impressive Swiss team. Russia was up against it, having to score a goal with just over a minute left in the game to force overtime. They eventually won in a shootout and will now play Sweden in the other semi-final.
Canada vs United States
Canada won the round robin game between these squads by a score of 2-1 on December 30th. The USA has shown throughout the tournament that it will be very difficult to score on them having given up only 7 goals in 5 games. Canada was able to pot two on them, but it was a tight game that really could have gone either way. Subban played well and has stepped up his game in Canada’s last couple games, but they will need another big game out of him to beat the Americans again. The oddsmakers have Canada as 1.5 goal favorites, which I think is too much, especially against a USA team that is tough to score on.
Play: USA +1.5 (-140) @ Bet365.com (Bovada.lv for Americans)
I also like the moneyline odds for the Americans to pull off the upset in this one. I really think the game could go either way.
Play: USA +220 @ Bet365.com
Sweden vs Russia
Sweden and Russia each went to a shootout against Switzerland in this tournament. They seem to be quite similar, but Russia has now played more games against top competition and should be ready for Sweden in this one. The Russians are a capable team and Vasilevski has been strong in net. Grigorenko and Kucherov have been very good in this tournament and if Yakupov and other players can step up they should be able to defeat the Swedish team.
Play: Russia -114 @ Bet365.com
I know I said I would be writing daily predictions on the 2013 World Junior Championships, but Christmas got in the way (that’s not to say I wasn’t watching games and following the tournament, just didn’t get the to computer very much). I’m now back home and will be focusing on this tourney until it’s completion. Tomorrow is Canada’s first big test of the tournament as they are up against a solid American team. Canada has been able to handle their first two tests of Germany and Slovakia fairly easily, while the Americans also crushed the Germans, but lost a tight one to the Russians.
Canada (-1 or -1.5) vs USA
We can all agree that the Canadian team has better individual players than the Americans. That being said it really comes down to which team has come together more to this point. The Americans were in a battle a couple days ago, which could bode well for them heading into this game against Canada. Looking at the scores you might not think Canada has had to overcome adversity, but that is simply not true. The Canadians were down by two goals a two different points in this game and had to really battle in the second half of the game to take control and put goals on the scoreboard. Canada had two 5 minute majors to overcome and they will also be 2 forwards down in this next game as Lipon received a 1 game suspension for his hit against the Slovaks, while Boone Jenner will be wrapping up his suspension for his hit in pre-tournament action.
Malcolm Subban has let 3 goals in against two sub par teams so it will be interesting to see how he is able to do against the Americans tomorrow. On the other end John Gibson has been stellar, getting a shutout against the Germans and then allowing 2 goals on 30 shots vs the Russians.
All of that said I still like Canada to win this game. The NHL talent on the team should be able to take over and control the game, which should result in some quality scoring chances and goals. As long as Subban can keep most of USA’s shots out, Canada should win this game.
You do have to bet puckline on this game. 5Dimes has Canada favoured by 1 goal (-115), while Bet365 has Canada by 1.5 (+110). I prefer going with 5Dimes.eu in this situation, but if you like Canada to win by 2 or more Bet365.com is where you should bet.
Switzerland vs Finland (-1.5)
Switzlerland showed that they are legit bringing Sweden to a shootout in their last game, while the Finns had a let down losing 3-1 against the Czech Republic. That loss makes this game against the Swiss a must win for Finland if they hope to make it to the medal round. I still think Finland is the best team in Group A and I expect a big effort out of them in this one.
Finland -1.5 (-120) @ SportsInteraction.com
Slovakia (-1.5) vs Germany
Slovakia has everything to play for in this game against Germany. If they get the win and Canada beats the USA then it will come down to a Slovakia vs USA clash for 3rd in pool B. Slovakia took Russia to overtime and was up by two goals on Canada twice. They are for real. Germany on the other hand has lost 9-3 to Canada, 8- to USA and 7-0 to Russia. These teams are just on different levels.
Play: Slovakia -1.5 (-167) @ Bet365.com
There are my 3 plays for tomorrow. I like them all a lot. Good luck and check back after tomorrows games for some more predictions (including Canada vs Russia).
The 2013 IIHF World Juniors are just around the corner, with the first group games starting on boxing day in Russia. Seeing as the tourney is being played in Russia, it will be tough for North American fans to watch their junior teams in action this year unless they are die-hards and willing to get up in the early morning to watch their country battle it out.
The tournament does benefit from the NHL lockout this season because there are several players on top teams who are able to compete in this World Juniors this season while they likely would not have been released by their NHL clubs. The most notable is likely Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who will look to lead the Canadians to the gold medal, something the hockey crazed country has not achieved in the past 3 years.
2013 World Juniors Winner Odds
Bet365.com is our top rated sportsbook offering outright winner odds for the 2013 World Junior Championships. Here are the odds:
- Canada +150
- Russia +225
- Sweden +375
- USA +450
- Finland +650
- Czech Republic +3500
- Switzerland +12500
- Slovakia +15000
- Germany +25000
- Latvia +50000
As you can see this is really a five horse race, but in my opinion any of these 5 teams really does have what it takes to bring home the gold this season.
Free Picks
Canada is the favorite, and rightfully so seeing as they have many players who would likely be in the National Hockey League if the lockout wasn’t in progress. But once again the question for the Canadians is in goal. Malcolm Subban and Jordan Binnington have been battling it out to see who is starting in net for the Canadians, and whichever one gets the nod will have the hopes of a nation on their backs. The Canadians lost to the Finns 3-2 in pre-tournament action and defeated the Swedes in a shootout in a game they probably should have lost. Overall, I’m just not overly impressed with Team Canada and I don’t like them at +150, maybe +250 would be a smart bet on the Canadians.
Russia is another team in group B, along with Canada and the USA. Russia lost in the finals last year to Sweden after beating Canada in the semi’s. Russia will be lead by Nail Yakupov this year along with Mikhail Grigorenko. That said the team is mostly filled with undrafted players who don’t have experience in the tournament. I’m not sold on Russia at +225 either.
Sweden is another depleted team that will be missing Mika Zibanejad (was not released from Binghamton), Oscar Klefbom and Jonas Brodin (injuries). The team is left to Filip Forsberg to lead and inexperienced group that consists of a lot of 17 and 18 year olds (possibly to build experience for the tournament held in Sweden next year). Sweden isn’t giving up, but they still aren’t a good bet at +375.
Team USA is the first team I like to win the tournament. USA defeated Sweden 3-2 in OT and lost to Finland 5-1 in pretournament action. That said they have a strong team that should compete in the tough group A and have a good shot in the elimination games. Alex Galchenyuk will lead the attack. Trouba, Miller and Gibson are the only returning players, but this team has a chip on their shoulder after an embarrassing showing last year. They are a good bet at +450.
Finland is another good bet. The Finns won their two pretournament games and have looked very good. Barkov is a potential top 5 pick in the upcoming draft and Markus Grandlund is back and looking even better than last year. The team isn’t as star studded as the tourney favorites, but they are in a weak Group A, which could get them a bye to the semi’s if they win against the Swedes, which I think they will. After that, just two big games and they have the gold. I like them at +650.
Plays: USA +450 and Finland +650 (Bet365.com)
The NHL lockout drags on. What are players doing who haven’t signed on to play overseas or in a lower league here in North America? Learning new poker tips or practicing there golf swing for next year? Perhaps some have taken up curling. Whatever it is I hope they don’t have to do it for long and we get the NHL back before it is too late.
There really isn’t much to talk about in regards to the NHL lockout this week. The two sides were meeting often, but then discussions seemed to hit a wall and Gary Bettman suggested to Donald Fehr that the two sides take two weeks off before returning to the negotiation table. The sides did take a little break, but luckily it wasn’t a full two weeks with the NHL and NHLPA resuming negotiations today.
The players haven’t been shy when talking about their displeasure with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly. Versteeg called the two ‘cancers’ to the game of hockey and Ian White recently called Gary Bettman an ‘idiot’. All name calling aside we know exactly how the NHLPA feels towards the commissioner and his right hand man at this point in the negotiations.
Bold Prediction
Here goes my bold prediction. I’ve been following the discussions quite a bit and every time there seems to be progress made the sides hit a wall and it seems like the season will be lost forever. This seems to be just part of the process. I think the owners and players desperately want to save the season and I expect this to happen within the next few weeks (simply because it has to). The NBA lockout was resolved at the end of November last year and I expect both sides in this lockout are looking at the NBA’s lockout as a bit of a timeline. Therefore both sides likely think they will get the best offer near the end of this month. However, I expect both to try to out wait each other a little bit, which will bring the lockout into the early part of December.
Therefore my bold prediction is that a new CBA will be signed by mid December. Let’s say the 18th. The NHL will not take as long as the NBA did to get the players back into meaningful games and I expect the NHL season to begin on the first of January. It will be a shortened and condensed season with only 59 games (6 vs Divisional opponents, home and away vs Conference opponents and 1 vs out of Conference opponents). 59 games will result in a more condensed schedule, but not dramatically.
I really hope I’m right and the two sides find a way to salvage this season.
I know this isn’t a betting prediction, but it’s a bold prediction into something that nobody really has a handle on with regards to what both sides are planning.
Only time will tell.
With each passing day it looks less and less likely that we will be having an NHL season this year. As mentioned in my alternatives for NHL bettors article I decided to mostly follow the AHL this season while the NHL isn’t in action because at least then I can follow the NHL’s farm teams and watch games in prime time.
SportsInteraction.com, one of our top rated online sportsbooks (tops for Canadians) has AHL Calder Cup odds up for this season. Of course the NHL lockout will play a big part in each teams chances of lifting the trophy at the end of the season because certain teams have a number of NHL ready players on the team at the moment, but with it look more and more likely those players will be in the AHL for the entire season you can start to place wagers based on the current rosters. That being said you need to keep in mind that the rosters could change at any moment.
Anyways, let’s take a look at the current odds for each team (I’ll include some key NHL players currently on the roster):
AHL Calder Cup Odds 2012-13
- Norfolk Admirals +275 (2012 Calder Cup Champions – Although the entire roster switched for the Syracuse Crunch roster when the Lightning and Ducks traded affiliate teams)
- Oklahoma City Barons +600 (Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Justin Schultz)
- Toronto Marlies +800 (Nazem Kadri, Carter Ashton, Joe Colborne, Jake Gardiner, Ben Scrivens)
- Abbotsford Heat +1000 (Baertschi)
- Manchester Monarchs +1000 (Dwight King)
- Charlotte Checkers +1200 (Zach Boychuk, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Justin Faulk, Dan Ellis)
- Chicago Wolves +1800 (Zack Kassian)
- Connecticut Whale +2000 (Chris Kreider, Matt Gilroy)
- Rochester Americans +2000 (Cody Hodgson, Marcus Foligno, Luke Adam)
- Springfield Falcons +2000 (Ryan Johansen, Cam Atkinson, Tim Erixon)
- Binghamton Senators +2500 (Mika Zibanejad, Mark Stone, Jakob Silfverberg, Jared Cowan, Ben Bishop)
- Hershey Bears +2500
- Houston Aeros +2500 (Mikael Granlund, Marco Scandella, Matt Hackett)
- Lake Erie Monsters +2500
- Syracuse Crunch +2500 (The Real 2012 Calder Cup Champions** – Because the entire roster is basically the 2011-12 Norfolk Admirals)
One very interesting thing to keep in mind is that the Norfolk Admirals are basically the Syracuse Crunch from last year, while the Crunch have almost the same roster as the Calder Cup Champion Admirals, who went 43-3 to end the season and finished off the year regular season with the longest winning streak in professional sports history. It’s true that the current Admirals have 10 points in just 6 games to start the season and that roster (2011 Crunch) finished 7th in the East, but at +275 odds the oddsmaker must be looking at the Admirals as the same team that dominated last season.
Prediction
For the reason listed above I would stay away from the Admirals at +275. And for that same reason you have to like the Syracuse Crunch at +2500. The Crunch are (4-1-1) to start the season which shows they do have some ability left over from last season. The dominance that this roster showed last year cannot be overlooked and there is some great value in the Crunch at +2500 in my opinion.
Play: Syracuse Crunch +2500
As for the Barons, you have to factor in Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, Hall and Schultz. These four players simply put should be the top 4 players in the AHL this season. That being said NHL superstars don’t win AHL titles. The Barons are (4-3-0) to start the season, which isn’t great considering that last year they had the second best record in the league after Norfolk. Still though these additions to an already solid AHL team should give them a very good chance at the Championship this season if they happen to stay on the team. And even if they don’t Oklahoma showed last season that they are a good team without these NHLers and they will still have a chance to succeed if the NHL lockout ends.
Play: Oklahoma Barons +600
These are the only two plays I like at the moment. Visit SportsInteraction.com to place your bets now! And check out our dedicated AHL betting page.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
I just received an email with some interesting NHL prop bets that are available this week from Bodog.eu and Bovada.lv. Seeing as the NHL is locked out these prop bets served to give me at least some kind of NHL betting lines to think about and analyze. There are currently 8 NHL prop bets available at each of those sites and I will go through each of them below and outline what play I would make:
NHL Lockout Props
Will the NHL cancel the Winter Classic?
Yes +100
No -175
I’m going to say No. The NHL has too much on the line to lose another season to a lockout only 7 short years since the last lockout made the NHL the only one of the big four professional sports leagues in North America to lose an entire season to a labour dispute. This might be optimism, but I think they will get a deal done in time to play the Winter Classic.
Will Pat LaFontaine be part of a group that buys the New York Islanders before the 2013-14 season?
Yes +300
No -500
No. I find the media blows these kind of stories up too much. The safe bet is usually no with these kinds of things.
Will the Edmonton Oilers and the city of Edmonton come to an agreement for a new arena in 2012?
Yes +150
No -200
No. Once again the safe bet is no. The lockout may also slow down the urgency to get this deal done.
Will a player who played in the NHL last season lead the KHL in scoring?
Yes +150
No -200
No. And I really like this bet. The KHL regular season ends on February 17th and there is a good chance that the NHL lockout will be over by then which will make it much more difficult for an NHLer to win the KHL scoring title. Combine this with the fact that NHLers started the KHL season late and at the time of writing this the highest scoring NHLer in the KHL isn’t even in the top 30 at the moment (Ovechkin has 6 points compared to the league leaders 16) and you see that even if the NHL is locked out for the whole season an NHLer still might now win the scoring title. And for those of you worried about Radulov being considered an NHL player from last year, he only played 9 games and the condition on the bet is that the player must have played at least 10 regular season games in the NHL last season.
Will a player who played in the NHL last season lead the AHL in scoring?
Yes +200
No -300
Here I would still say no based on the fact that I think the NHL lockout will end and the high end players in the AHL will go back to the NHL so they won’t play enough AHL games to win the scoring title. That said I think there is a much better chance of an NHLer winning the AHL scoring title than an NHLer winning the KHL scoring title so these odds are very strange to me. If the NHL is locked out for the year you have to think that an Eberle, Henrique, Skinner or Nugent-Hopkins has the best chance at the scoring title. Spezza won it the last time the NHL locked out.
Will NHL players play at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia?
Yes -300
No +200
Yes. Ovechkin already said he will play in the tournament regardless of whether the NHL takes a break in 2014. That said I’m not completely convinced the NHL will allow players to go because the benefits to the NHL aren’t as great with the tournament in Russia.
Will the NHL Cancel the 2012 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown on NBC?
Yes -300
No +200
Yes. I don’t think the NHL will be back that soon, but I am hoping by before Christmas.
There you go, some interesting NHL prop bets for you to think about while there is no NHL to watch. Visit Bodog.eu to bet on any of these props (Bovada.lv if you are from the United States).
Good luck and let’s keep our fingers crossed for NHL hockey soon.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
I’m struggling to find things to write about with the NHL lockout in full swing and nothing really happening in the negotiations. That said today I was looking at my early NHL Stanley Cup Predictions article I wrote back on the 17th of July and noticed that many of the odds for teams winning the Cup have changed in just over 2 months. I figured I would investigate the changes from that article to what the odds are now. I will use the best odds available online. In the last article I used only SportsInteraction.com and Bovada.lv odds, but seeing as SportsInteraction.com is currently not taking NHL Stanley Cup bets I don’t think only using Bovada odds is the best option.
New York Rangers +1000 from +1400
The Rangers line shortened significantly in the past month and they are now considered the second favorites to win the Stanley Cup after only the Pittsburgh Penguins. The biggest reason for this has to be the acquisition of Rick Nash. The Rangers traded Anisimov, Dubinsky, Erixon and a first round pick for Rick Nash about a week after I wrote the first article. I personally don’t think that the Rangers will be that much better with Nash. He has never had team success in the NHL and it will be interesting to see what type of player he is in New York. I would not bet on the Rangers at +1000.
Nashville Predators +2500 from +1800
A big jump in the price of Predators Stanley Cup odds may be due to the fact that people began to realize how difficult winning a cup without Ryan Suter will be. Sure the team kept Shea Weber, but now they will have only 1 elite d-man and an elite goaltender. This isn’t enough firepower to win the Stanley Cup this season. The Preds will once again be a good team, but they won’t go past the second round.
Carolina Hurricanes +2500 from +2800
The Hurricanes picked up Alex Semin since the last article was written, but this acquisition seems to only have shortened the line slightly. With the Staal brothers together and Semin on board with Ruutu, Jokinen and Skinner still on the team, the Canes have a solid top 6 forwards and could compete this year, although I think they are still a few pieces away from a legit contender.
Minnesota Wild +3300 from +1800
I think this jump is simply from people getting too excited after the Suter and Parise signings. The Wild were automatically seen as a team that could win the Cup, but when the dust settled and you really started analyzing your team you realize that they simply don’t have the depth at any position to really pose a threat in the West.
There were some other teams that moved slightly, but these were the more significant movers in the past two months. Hopefully we have an NHL season soon so we can see the products on the ice rather than just analyzing pieces of paper with hockey players names on them and deciding how good of a team they have.
These odds were from taken Bodog, Bovada or Stan James sportsbooks, 3 of the best NHL sportsbooks online. Cross your fingers for a new CBA soon!
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Tonight I found myself perusing the internet looking for any kind of NHL lockout bets I could make. Anything from if there will be an NHL season, to which leagues various NHL players will end up in. I couldn’t find anything lockout related, but I did stumble across an interesting prop bet on the 2014 Olympic Games. Sports Interaction currently has a prop bet up asking if Canada will defend it’s 2012 Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold at the upcoming Winter Olympics in 2 years time. Here are the odds:
Canada Will Win Gold in 2014 (-118)
Canada Will Not Win Gold in 2014 (-105)
There are a few things I noticed about this bet that surprised me.
First of all Canada will not have -118 odds heading into the tournament. Canada had +110 odds heading into the Vancouver Olympics and I expect similar odds for them heading into this one. Canada will be the best team on paper, but with so many other formidable opponents (Russia, Sweden, USA, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia) who have the ability to defeat Canada in one game it is hard to say that Canada will win the Gold medal more times than not. Look at the odds heading into this years World Championships. Canada has +450 odds, after that of Russia (+200) and Sweden (+250). It’s true that Canadian players don’t take the World Championships as seriously as those of other countries, but those odds go to show that Canada isn’t that far ahead of the rest of the world. In the 4 years with NHL participation, Canada has won 2 times, but both other years the Canadians weren’t even able to get a medal, which shows that there are a few teams capable of defeating them at this level.
The next thing I noticed is that your money will be locked up for almost 2 years until the Gold Medal winner at the 2014 Olympics is crowned. When you look at the time value of money, this is not a smart investment even if you are sure Canada will or will not win the Gold Medal. So after thinking about the bet in terms of Canada’s chance at winning this medal I ended up just realizing that making this bet at all would be negative expected value.
As you can see I have very little to write about with the NHL Lockout taking place. Instead I’ve been looking up sports betting tips to try to apply them to other sports while the NHL is out of commission. So far I’ve been doing alright with NFL, let’s hope that continues.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
It looks almost certain that the NHL will once again face a lockout with only 5 days left prior to the NHL’s deadline of September 15th at 11:59pm. I, like all NHL fans, are hoping that a miracle happens and the season begins as scheduled, but with each passing day this looks less and less likely. NHL bettors will likely have to look elsewhere to get their hockey betting fix this season, which is why I’m writing this article. To provide some alternatives for NHL bettors in the event of an NHL lockout.
Alternative #1 – KHL or Other European Leagues
During the last NHL Lockout, back in 04-05, many NHLers went and played in various leagues around Europe. This increased the interest in these other leagues by NHL fans and I’m sure it would do the same this year. The KHL, which many NHL fans hate, will likely become the top hockey league in the world for the duration of the season, with the possible exception of the AHL. Online sportsbooks such as SportsInteraction.com, will offer odds on games for each of the top European leagues. These include such leagues as the Swedish Elite League, Finnish SM-Liga, Czech Extraliga and of course the KHL. If your favorite players head to these leagues it only makes sense to follow them and place bets on their games.
Alternative #2 – Bet On the AHL
The American Hockey League gained a lot of exposure at the last NHL lockout because all of the top young players in the world who still had two way contracts were able to play professionally in North America and gain experience and ice time as the top players on these minor league teams. NHL fans were able to watch their young stars develop and take a further interest in their farm teams and the future stars of the NHL. Online bookies will take notice and offer betting lines on AHL games throughout the season and this may be a good alternative for NHL fans.
Alternative #3 – Bet On Other Sports
With the NHL taking another break NHL bettors may turn their betting on other sports such as the NFL or NBA, which will go on with business as usual. Last season the NBA season began late because of a lockout and I’m sure that the NHL games in the early part of the season gained a small basketball fan base because of this. It will likely happen in the other way this year with NHL fans gaining more interest in the other big North American sports with the NHL nowhere to be found. For these bettors, I suggest 5Dimes.eu, because they generally have the best odds for every North American sport.
If you prefer European sports then I suggest checking out BettingSites.org.uk for some great sportsbook reviews.
Alternative #4 – Don’t Bet
This alternative will of course be chosen by a great deal of NHL bettors. The NHL fans who aren’t die hard enough to follow players in other leagues, but too big of hockey fans to find the same level of interest in other North American sports. For these bettors its just a year off to ponder what could have been and save their bankroll for when NHL hockey starts up again.
Which alternative do you fall into?
Let me know in the comments below.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
We are now 17 days into July. Most of the big free agent moves have happened and it is now just a waiting game until the puck drop on the first preseason game of the NHL. But that doesn’t mean we can’t already be thinking about which teams look primed to win the Stanley Cup this coming season. I checked out the 4 NHL sportsbooks I generally use and both Sports Interaction and Bodog have odds up for the 2012-13 NHL Stanley Cup winner. Let’s take a look (I included the odds that get the best return in the list below):
- Pittsburgh Penguins +750
- Vancouver Canucks +1100
- LA Kings +1200
- Chicago Blackhawks +1400
- Detroit Red Wings +1400
- New York Rangers +1400
- St. Louis Blues +1400
- Philadelphia Flyers +1500
- Boston Bruins +1600
- Minnesota Wild +1800
- Nashville Predators +1800
- San Jose Sharks +2000
- Buffalo Sabres +2500
- Washington Capitals +2500
- Tampa Bay Lightning +2500
- Carolina Hurricanes +2800
- New Jersey Devils +2800
- Anaheim Ducks +3300
- Edmonton Oilers +3300
- Toronto Maple Leafs +3500
- Colorado Avalanche +4000
- Dallas Stars +4000
- Florida Panthers +4000
- Montreal Canadiens +4000
- Ottawa Senators +4000
- Phoenix Coyotes +4600
- Calgary Flames +5000
- Winnipeg Jets +5000
- New York Islanders +7500
- Columbus Blue Jackets +12500
Looking at these odds there are a few things that come to mind. I’ll let you know who I kinda like at their current odds, along with who I wouldn’t bet on in a million years. Let’s start with who I don’t like:
Detroit Red Wings @ +1400
This team just lost arguably their best player, Nicklas Lidstrom and they did not replace him. They haven’t gone deep since the Red Wings vs Penguins years and have aging stars in Datsyuk and Zetterberg. This team should be happy with a playoff birth this year and should not be considered in the same class as the Blackhawks or Blues in the West.
Minnesota Wild @ +1800
Sure, Parise and Suter will help this team, but they were by far the worst team in the second half of the season last year and adding two stars won’t fix that. They have a shot at the playoffs this year with these additions, but they need to get a lot more depth at both forward and defense before they are serious contenders.
Anyone @ +3000 or higher
This is with the exception of the Senators and Coyotes who were both not given a chance last year, but rose to the occasion. The other teams though I can’t give much of a chance to. The NHL is a very tight league where anyone can win, but to make the playoffs in an 82 game season and then win 16 playoffs games you need to have a solid team on paper as well.
Now for who I like:
Kings @ +1200
The Kings were simply dominant in the playoffs this year and they have basically the same team heading into next season. They have an amazing team on paper and they showed that when they are firing they can win the Cup. Why not a repeat?
Blackhawks @ +1400
I thought this team was going to win the Cup last year and I still think they have what it takes. If they can land a more capable goaltender who can at least keep up with whoever is at the other end the Blackhawks will field the best team on the ice against anyone in the league.
Bruins @ +1600
It’s surprising to see the Bruins at such high odds. Sure Tim Thomas won’t be playing but Rask is a capable goaltender in his own right and I think he could step up to the plate and have a great season. The team is still pretty much the same from the Cup run two years ago and everyone hates playing the Bruins.
Sharks @ +2000
The Sharks are a better team than they played like last year. I expect a bounce back year and this team to once again be a force to be reckoned with. Maybe with lower expectations we can see a Stanley Cup team that gets over that hump.
So there are my thoughts on the Cup odds so far. Visit SportsInteraction.com or Bodog.eu to see the odds for yourself.
In the meantime the only thing I have to look forward to is betting on the summer Olympics in a few weeks!
Written by: Niko de Jonge
