On the eve of the NHL playoffs, here's a look at who the oddsmakers like for the Stanley Cup, from the powerhouse Predators to the wild-card contenders. Plus, take a look at the final favorites for the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Norris Trophy.
Just in time for the playoffs, here are the latest odds for the Stanley Cup. If you like the favorites, we're looking at Nashville vs. Tampa Bay in the final. If you're into long shots, how about Minnesota vs. New Jersey? Maybe don't bet the farm on that one.
Plus, we've got the odds-on favorites for the three big NHL trophy races: the Hart Trophy (NHL MVP), Vezina Trophy (best goalie) and Norris Trophy (best defenseman). It should be noted that oddsmakers have taken the Calder Trophy off the board, with New York Islanders freshman Mathew Barzal expected to take home the best-rookie hardware.
(All odds courtesy of Bodog.)
STANLEY CUP ODDS
Nashville Predators 7/2
Tampa Bay Lightning 6/1
Boston Bruins 25/4
Vegas Golden Knights 7/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 17/2
Winnipeg Jets 10/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 14/1
Washington Capitals 16/1
San Jose Sharks 22/1
Anaheim Ducks 25/1
Los Angeles Kings 25/1
Colorado Avalanche 28/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 28/1
Minnesota Wild 28/1
Philadelphia Flyers 33/1
New Jersey Devils 40/1
The Preds skate into the post-season as the team to beat, followed closely by the Lightning, Bruins and Golden Knights. Can expansion darling Vegas actually pull off an NHL version of the Miracle On Ice? The three-peat-seeking Penguins round out the top contenders, with the Jets looking like a good value bet at 10-to-1. The Leafs, Caps and Sharks rule the middle tier – three franchises that would love to win either their first-ever Stanley Cup (Caps, Sharks) or their first in 50-plus years (Leafs). Anaheim and L.A. are both smart picks at 25-to-1, and you could do worse than the Blue Jackets at 28-to-1.
HART TROPHY ODDS
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado 1/1
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay 9/4
Taylor Hall, New Jersey 9/2
Connor McDavid, Edmonton 9/1
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles 19/2
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh 12/1
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia 20/1
It's the most hotly contested race for the Hart Trophy in years. Any one of the seven players listed above would be worthy recipients of MVP honors, and you could probably make a pretty good case for another seven players who aren't listed, too. Kucherov led the way most of the season, but he's tailed off a bit in the second half while the likes of MacKinnon, McDavid, Hall, Kopitar and Malkin have powered ahead. Who wins? Who knows.
VEZINA TROPHY ODDS
Pekka Rinne, Nashville 4/9
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay 9/4
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg 15/2
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus 11/1
At times this season, it looked like Vasilevskiy was going to walk away with this one. But he wasn't particularly good down the stretch, opening the door for Rinne to win the first Vezina of his career. Hellebuyck might push Vasilevskiy to third in the balloting.
NORRIS TROPHY ODDS
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay 5/13
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles 9/2
P.K. Subban, Nashville 13/2
John Klingberg, Dallas 9/1
John Carlson, Washington 10/1
Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia 20/1
Brent Burns, San Jose 35/1
Hedman or Doughty, who you got? The bookies like the big Bolts defenseman, and he's a fine choice who will probably get some "he's due" support since he's never won the Norris before. Subban and Carlson figure to fight for third place in the voting, with Klingberg's offensive breakout getting lost in the Stars' failure to make the playoffs.