It turns out that Nathan MacKinnon was right: the Colorado Avalanche are, indeed, the favorites to win the 2021 Stanley Cup. At least, the Avalanche are the odds leaders (+550) to win it all by the odds from PointsBet. With Colorado leading the list of favorites, the top three is rounded out by the Vegas Golden Knights (+675) and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning (+800).
There’s a big drop-off from there, with the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs both at +1200.
At the bottom end, the Detroit Red Wings easily boast the longest odds at +20000.
Avalanche, Golden Knights lead odds as 2021 Stanley Cup favorites
On this week’s edition of the Our Line Starts podcast, Keith Jones and Eddie Olczyk break down some of those PointsBet odds. Here are the favorites:
Interestingly, Olczyk doesn’t just agree that the Avalanche should be the favorites to win the 2021 Stanley Cup. He also asserts that Nathan MacKinnon is the best player in the NHL, noting his willingness to engage in all three zones. (Perhaps an unspoken criticism of Connor McDavid’s defensive struggles?)
It’s likely that the Lightning will use odds like these as “no one believed in us” bulletin board fodder. But, really, with Nikita Kucherov out for the season, it’s tough to argue with the defending champions not being the top favorites.
Olczyk also identifies the Calgary Flames as a potential sleeper. Jones doesn’t go as far as to advise people to pick the Vancouver Canucks to win it all, but he thinks they can overachieve.
[PHT 2020-21 NHL season predictions: Bold ones, First coach fired, Central, East, North, West]
In case you’re wondering, here are the teams with the worst odds to win the Stanley Cup, according to PointsBet.
Detroit Red Wings: +20000
Ottawa Senators: +10000
Los Angeles Kings: +10000
Chicago Blackhawks: +10000
Anaheim Ducks: +8000
San Jose Sharks: +7000
New Jersey Devils: +7000
Buffalo Sabres: +6500
Arizona Coyotes: +6500
Minnesota Wild: +5500
It’s interesting to see such a wide disparity between the Red Wings and everyone else. Yet, while some of the longer-odds teams might be intriguing as playoff picks, wagering on them winning it all seems ... ill-advised.
What do you think? Should the Avalanche be the favorites to win the 2021 Stanley Cup? If not, which team would you rank first?
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