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The 2022-23 NHL Season starts this week as the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators play at 2:00 PM Eastern in Prague as part of the NHL Global Series. With six games on Opening Day, hockey fans will have plenty of action to choose from as they enjoy the return of the glorious game.

Here, we’re taking a look at the NHL Conference Winners Odds. Futures odds tend to be more favorable at the beginning of the season, so what better time than now to place a wager?

Eastern Conference Odds (as of October 3, 2022)

Toronto once again projects as the conference favorite. They finished second in the Atlantic Division and third in the East last season with 115 points. Their 315 goals were second-most across the NHL. However, they’re the only franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series since the 2004-05 lockout.

Florida won the President’s Trophy last season with the best regular season record. Will the Matthew Tkachuk trade pay off and get the Panthers over the hump?

Tampa Bay has made it to the last three Stanley Cup Finals, representing the Eastern Conference twice in that span (the 2020-21 season got rid of the conference structure due to the COVID-19 pandemic). However, with the offseason departures of Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta, and Ondrej Palat, they’ll be leaning more on up-and-comers than they have in the past.

Carolina may be the best value play here, replacing Nino Niederreiter and Tony DeAngelo with Max Pacioretty and Brent Burns. A capable squad that is strong in all areas. Don’t be surprised to see the Hurricanes in the Cup Final.

Western Conference Odds (as of October 3, 2022)

The defending champion Colorado Avalanche tops the Western Conference odds and are again the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. With two key changes to the roster (replacing Darcy Kuemper with Alexandar Georgiev and Nazem Kadri with Alex Newhook), the Avs still have questions to answer, but their potent lineup is more than capable of a repeat.

Calgary was the recipient of Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar in the Tkachuk trade mentioned above, and they also signed Kadri in free agency. Is that enough to offset losing leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau in free agency?

As long as Edmonton has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the roster, the Oilers are a threat to win the conference. An upgrade in net with the arrival of Jack Campbell will only work in their favor.

The Minnesota Wild are playing with just under $13 million in dead cap and still have a loaded roster. Their fate will likely be determined by young guns such as Matthew Boldy, Marco Rossi, and Calen Addison.

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