As the NHL season approaches, fans can get an update of the future odds for the upcoming season. In this article, we point out some more value in the NHL Futures for the 2022 Stanley Cup. This is not about the favorites like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, and even Colorado Avalanche. It is more about finding what value is still out there. Did a team’s odds suddenly lengthen or shorten? Some teams have definitely seen their odds change.
| NHL Stanley Cup Futures |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1100 | +1200 | +1000 |
| Boston Bruins | +1400 | +1400 | +1100 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1500 | +2500 | +1200 |
| New York Islanders | +2000 | +1600 | +2000 |
| New York Rangers | +2000 | +1800 | +2200 |
| Florida Panthers | +2000 | +1800 | +2500 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +2200 | +2500 | +2200 |
| Dallas Stars | +2200 | +2000 | +2500 |
| Washington Capitals | +2500 | +2800 | +2500 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2500 | +1800 | +2500 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +2800 | +4500 | +4000 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +3000 | +3300 | +3000 |
| St. Louis Blues | +4000 | +3300 | +5000 |
| Calgary Flames | +4000 | +5000 | +5000 |
It is not a surprise that another team in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning is among the leaders for NHL Futures as far as the Stanley Cup. They are the two-time defending champions after all. However, this is again about looking for and exploring values.
Now, the obvious problem is that bettors and fans alike are catching on to Florida. With their talented roster, the only question may be goaltending. Will Spencer Knight eventually take over for Sergei Bobrovsky? Or can Bobrovsky regain his form from a few years ago when he won the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender?
Florida has a full complement of players and then some. Furthermore, they are still not over the salary cap according to CapFriendly. As a matter of the fact, the Panthers have 25 players signed and approximately $1.33 million in projected cap space.
That is partially why Florida’s early NHL Futures are a little clouded. There is an understanding that the roster may still be altered a bit. While those alternations figure not to be drastic, it does explain why some books shortened Florida’s odds while others lengthened or kept them nearly the same.
This is where the debate heats up. Naturally, when hunting for long shots to win the Stanley Cup, these teams often have more shortcomings on the surface as compared to the favorites. That is just how it is.
It will not be easy for the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup. Consider, they are in the Atlantic Division with teams like the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and yes the Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida’s range was +1800 to +2800 in July but on MyBookie, Florida’s odds shortened all the way down to +2000. Their range has narrowed to a level of +2000 to +2500. The Panthers represent our best value still in the NHL Futures to win the Stanley Cup.
With the 2021-22 NHL season just four weeks away, the NHL Futures do favor the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers at one point were favorites against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first round of the playoffs in 2021. They lost that series in six games but by far and away, that was the most entertaining series of the opening round.
Florida showed they could almost pull it off against Tampa Bay but faltered in Game 6 as they were shut out by Andrei Vasilevskiy. The reality is that the Florida Panthers know that there is a chance that Spencer Knight is their inevitable starting goaltender. He even beat Tampa Bay once in that series in Game 5.
It will boil down to the playoffs and health as always for a team like Florida. They are built for success led by Aleksander Barkov and do have the tools for a deep playoff run. Florida acquired Sam Bennett from the Calgary Flames during the last trade deadline and Sam Reinhart during the summer. For further veteran leadership. they even signed Joe Thornton to a one-year deal.
Scoring depth is not an issue with players like Bennett and Reinhart among others. Florida had a top three power-play unit after the trade deadline and they will get Aaron Ekblad back who missed 21 games and the playoffs. Does it keep revolving back to can Spencer Knight push Sergei Bobrovsky enough? Florida contended for the President’s Trophy last year, can win the Atlantic Division this season, and go on a deep playoff run.
For NHL Futures, Florida remains our best value pick out of the bunch to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Florida is not the only value in the NHL Futures. Aside from some interesting oddities in the odds from teams like Montreal, St. Louis, and even Calgary, the real value could be in a few other NHL clubs. The New York Islanders still lurk at around +2000 and have been Eastern Conference Finalists the last two years. They return pretty much the same team from last season.
Even the Carolina Panthers could generate interest at +2500 on GTBets as their odds lengthened dramatically there. Another team to ponder though may just be the Dallas Stars (currently +2200 on MyBookie). The Stars surprised many two years ago by making it to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Tampa Bay in six games. Dallas needs Tyler Seguin to stay healthy and for one of their three goaltenders to step up and take the reins as a starter.
Is there any other team that could have some unexpected value to win the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup title?
The Philadelphia Flyers at +3300 could be the ultimate risk/reward pick. They made many moves in the offseason and are hopeful for a bounce-back year from Carter Hart and their defence.
Take the Florida Panthers or even the New York Islanders for value and Philadelphia as our longest shot.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
