Updated NHL Futures (Nov. 2013)
The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently favorites to win the 2013-14 Stanley Cup.
After a month of the 2013-14 NHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have leapfrogged the Chicago Blackhawks into first-place on the NHL futures list.
Pittsburgh (11-4-0, 22pts) currently has 13/2 odds of lifting the Stanley Cup next June, an improvement on the 15/2 odds assigned to the team ahead of the season. The improvement comes as the team continues to pace the Eastern Conference, thanks to solid performances from Sidney Crosby (1st in points), Chris Kunitz (1st in +/-), and Marc-Andre Fleury (1st in wins).
Meanwhile, Chicago (9-2-4, 22pts) – currently sitting in fifth-place in the Western Conference – has seen its odds of winning the cup drop from 6/1 to 7/1.
The two teams remain favorites to win their respective conferences, although the Blackhawks have some company.
Odds makers have installed the San Jose Sharks (10-1-3, 23pts) as joint favorites with Chicago to win the Western Conference. Having taken the Los Angeles Kings to seven games in the conference semifinals last year, the Sharks are off to a red-hot start this year, something bookmakers have taken note of. The Sharks are now considered 7/1 to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup, having had their odds slashed from 18/1 on opening day.
Last year’s beaten finalists, the Boston Bruins (8-5-0, 16pts), remain the biggest threat to Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference title ambitions, at least according to the sportsbooks. The Bruins opened the season with 10/1 odds to win a championship. Those odds remain the same after a slow start to the year.
The St. Louis Blues (8-2-2, 18pts) round out the top five on the NHL futures list, with odds of 11/1 to win it all.
One of the biggest stories so far this season has been the improvement of the Colorado Avalanche (12-1-0, 24pts). Having finished the 2012-13 campaign 29th out of 30 teams, new head coach Patrick Roy has led the Avalanche to first-place in the Western Conference. It’s still early but this side looks as though it will remain a postseason threat throughout the season.
Bookmakers are certainly backing the Avs for success. Having opened the season with 50/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, Colorado is now just 12/1 to win it all. In the process of this odds slashing, the team has jumped up a remarkable 17 places in the ranking, and nowsit behind only Chicago and San Jose in the Western Conference.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Edmonton Oilers (3-10-2, 8pts) have gone into free fall on the NHL futures list after starting the season poorly. The Oilers are currently bottom of the Western Conference standings, and odds of winning a championship have gone from 20/1 to 100/1. Dallas Eakins’ side has dropped a mammoth 16 places in the NHL rankings, and now sits above only the very worst the league has to offer, the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers.
Buffalo (2-13-1, 5pts) is rock bottom of the NHL standings, and last on the NHL futures list. The Sabres were hardly favorites entering the season, with 100/1 odds of lifting the trophy, but just 16 games into the season, those odds have stretched to 250/1.
Florida (3-8-3, 9pts) also began the year with 100/1 odds to win a championship. Those odds now stand at 200/1.
Other noteworthy trends based on the current NHL futures include the fall from grace of the Philadelphia Flyers (4-9-0, 8pts). Craig Berube’s side began the season with 22/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup but a deplorable start to the campaign has seen those odds stretch to 66/1, while the Flyers have dropped nine places in the rankings.
Other teams that have fared worse than expected and watch their odds extend include the New York Rangers (6-7-0, 12pts) and Los Angeles Kings (9-6-0, 18pts).
Other teams that have gotten off to a better start than expected, seeing their odds shrink in the process, include the Phoenix Coyotes (10-3-2, 22pts), Anaheim Ducks (11-3-1, 23pts), and Montreal Canadiens (8-7-0, 16pts).
All odds supplied by Bovada.
For updated NHL futures odds, click here.
For a selection of NHL team prop bets, click here.
For a selection of NHL player prop bets, click here.
