Of all the major professional sports, it may well be the NHL’s Stanley Cup that is the most difficult to win. Teams need to survive a brutal 82-game schedule just to make the playoffs, after which it’s 4 rounds against the best teams that the league has to offer. As we enter the second half of the season, we have a handful of teams that are starting to separate from the pack. These are the teams that are considered to be the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup later this year, but with the trade deadline just around the corner, we may see some dark horses emerge from the pack to make a run. Let’s take a look at the current odds favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
Updated 2019 Stanley Cup Odds – February 4th
Let’s take a look back at last month, shall we? 🔥
Take a run through @theduncanduo Top Plays of January: pic.twitter.com/Ldnk30FnjB — Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) 4 de febrero de 2019
Tampa Bay Lightning
- 2019 Stanley Cup Odds: (+270)
Over the past few seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been the “nearly” team in the NHL, as they always seem to make a deep run before falling short. They very much look like the team to beat this season, though, as they recently became the first team to crack the 80-point mark.
The Lightning does not appear to have many cracks and are a team that is solid on both ends of the ice. The question still remains as to whether they can translate this form into postseason success, but it’s certainly tough to bet against them at this point.
Calgary Flames
- 2019 Stanley Cup Odds: (+500)
What we might be looking at here is a team on the brink of greatness, as this is a group made up of a lot of younger players, most of whom are signed and locked in for the next 3 or 4 years.
We expected the Flames to challenge for the Pacific Division, but I don’t think anyone saw them being as good as they are right now, as they are really the only team with a legitimate shot at running down the Lightning for the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the NHL. I’d bet the Flames now before their odds drop further.
Toronto Maple Leafs
- 2019 Stanley Cup Odds: (+750)
This is a coach that has been one of the best in the league over the past couple of decades, so it is perhaps no real surprise that he has rebuilt this team from the ground up and turned them into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. The Leafs have already crossed the 30-win mark on the season and have continued to perform wee in spite of having some injuries to deal with.
Winnipeg Jets
- 2019 Stanley Cup Odds: (+900)
Hockey traditionalists are probably more than a little pleased to see that 3 of the 4 teams that are the current betting odds favorites in the NHL are from North of the border.
Hockey fans have been waiting a long time to see Canadian teams in the ascendancy once again, and they are certainly seeing it this season. The Jets are big and fast and perhaps the best suited to the style of play that tends to come in the postseason, so they may well prove to be a good bet at a very nice price.
Pretenders
- Nashville Predators +1100
- Pittsburgh Penguins +1500
- Vegas Golden Knights +1600
- New York Islanders +1800
- Washington Capitals +2000
- Montreal Canadiens +2200
- Columbus Blue Jackets +2400
