The NHL season is about to be underway January 13th. It’s always fun to have a wager you can sweat throughout the season as well as your nightly game wagers. With the shortened season (56 games) season long wagers may be a bit tricky. Injuries can derail even the most solid bets. In this article we have selected a winner for each division along with some season points bets, trophy bets and a few Stanley Cup futures. Enjoy! And Good Luck!
TO WIN THE NORTH DIVISION
MONTREAL CANADIENS +650
With the additions of Tyler Toffoli and Jake Allen, the Canadiens are poised to take a step forward from last season, where they defeated the Penguins in the Qualifying Round. Corey Perry was brought in to keep the heat off the young guns, and maybe he might sprinkle in 8-12 goals too. Carey Price is still one of the best goalies in the league when healthy and I’m sure they’ll platoon him with Allen during the regular season to make sure he is prepped for postseason play. The only caveat I see for this group is playoff experience… or lack thereof.
Honorable Mention: Winnipeg Jets +1000
TO WIN THE EAST DIVISION
NEW YORK ISLANDERS +550
The East division was probably the toughest to pick as there’s about 4-5 teams capable of winning it. Boston’s number just wasn’t good enough and I don’t trust the Pennsylvania teams, so for me it was between Washington and the NY Islanders. Both teams lack a reliable #2 goalie option but the Islanders played the stingiest defense in the league last year, in my opinion. They roll out 3 good scoring lines led by Barzal, Nelson and Pageau and even when the scoring slumps a bit they can rely on that defense to keep them in games. Varlamov is quietly one of the better goalies in the league so it’ll be up to Barry Trotz and the staff to bring rookie G Ilya Sorokin up to speed. This is a sneaky dangerous team in that crowded East
Honorable Mention: Washington Capitals +500
TO WIN THE CENRAL DIVISION
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING +160
The defending Cup champions got a bit of a lucky bounce when the divisions were realigned. They avoid Boston, Montreal and Toronto and instead get the Predators and Blackhawks. This helps the Lightning as they’ll be without their elite sniper Nikita Kucherov for the regular season. HC John Cooper’s goal for the season should be a top 3 seed while keeping everyone healthy (Looking at you Stamkos). Once in the playoffs, with a healthy Kucherov, they’re head and shoulders above all the other teams in this division so I see them emerging victorious. Personal opinion, maybe wait to put this bet in to see how Tampa starts the year. If they start sluggish then you could get a better number.
Honorable mention: Florida Panthers 12/1
TO WIN THE WEST DIVISION
Colorado Avalanche +125
This division is a three horse race. My condolences to the Wild, Coyotes, Sharks, Ducks and Kings. The Avalanche, when fully healthy, are a top 2 team in the NHL. An untimely injury to Grubauer last playoffs may have cost them a Cup. But McKinnon and company are gonna be fully motivated to win it this year. They should rack up big stats and wins playing against those 5 aforementioned basement dwellers. This division will be won with health and big time goaltending. Between Lehner, Grubauer and Binnington… I’ll take Philipp. Even though Binnington has the ring.
Honorable Mention: Vegas Golden Knights +150
Regular Season Points Bets
Philadelphia Flyers: u65.5 points -110
Pittsburgh Penguins: u64.5 points -110
Anaheim Ducks: o57.5 points -110
WINNER HART TROPHY
Brayden Point +1700
Without Kucherov, Point is primed and ready to take the next step in Tampa.
Honorable Mention: Sebastian Aho (Car) 40/1
WINNER VEZINA TROPHY
Philipp Grubauer +2000
It’s hard to find a candidate to win the Vezina that isn’t platooning with another goalie. I flirted with a couple guys before settling on Grubauer (Lehner/Price/Kuemper). I just can’t tell how many games those other guys are actually going to play.
Honorable Mentions:
Connor Hellebuyck +1000
Matt Murray +7500
Malcom Subban +12500
Stanley Cup Futures
Colorado Avalanche +550
Tampa Bay Lightning +700
New York Islanders +2300
Montreal Canadiens +2800
Edmonton Oilers +3000
Florida Panthers +7500
And if you’ve read this far, all I can say is…
Go Bolts and Go Knights
