[h=1]Best Stanley Cup futures bets[/h][h=3]Anaheim Ducks among teams offering the best preseason value[/h]
By Mike Pickett | ESPN Insider
With the NHL's top four teams residing in the Western Conference, oddsmakers have given theChicago Blackhawks a significant vote of confidence in early odds to win the 2015 Stanley Cup. Almost every sports book monitored by OddsShark.com had Chicago in the range of 13-2 to 7-1 to relive their Stanley Cup glory of 2013.
But while the Hawks may be the most talented team, with high-echelon stars such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith, they play in a conference with the defending-championLos Angeles Kings (10-1). Throw in two uber-talented squads in the St. Louis Blues and theAnaheim Ducks -- both at 12-1 -- and you have a rocky road to the Cup finals.
If the handicapping theory is that getting out of the West will leave a team so exhausted they can't compete in the finals, it's been a losing theory lately. The Kings and Hawks have claimed the past three Cups while emerging from the Western wars.
"The Kings and Blues are hard, heavy, deep teams who grind teams to bits, while Chicago boasts more top-end talent to steal those close games," said Jack Randall, a hockey analyst at OddsShark.com. "The fact that oddsmakers have set their season win total odds six points higher than the rest of the Western teams speaks to this potential regular-season domination."<offer></offer>
Anaheim is a hybrid of size and skill, with Olympians Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf combining with newly acquired Ryan Kesler and a potential Calder Trophy candidate John Gibson in net to create a dangerous threat to win the West.
Of course, the fact that the Eastern Conference had been severely degraded in quality in recent seasons helps quell the theory that the winner of the wild West will lose to the winner of the mild East. Despite the New York Rangers' unlikely run last season, only the Boston Bruins andPittsburgh Penguins carry any weight with oddsmakers Bovada and 5Dimes.
The Bruins were 10-1 at Bovada and 17-2 at 5Dimes at the time of this report, while the Penguins were 10-1 in early odds listings.
The Bruins led the league in wins last season and should get more production from Loui Eriksson, but their offensive depth is questionable. Their defense, however, is not.
The Penguins have a new coach in Mike Johnston, the league's best player in Sidney Crosbyand arguably the most dynamic offensive player, Evgeni Malkin. But they made some changes to their depth in free agency, and the Penguins are high on this list more due to the general weakness of the conference than to their own strengths.
Let's take a look at some other value bets to win the Cup, some overpriced teams and our best bet.
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</center>[h=3]Value bets[/h]Having stated that two of the aforementioned six teams will most likely be playing in the Stanley Cup finals next June, identifying value bets on the Stanley Cup futures menu is difficult.
Minnesota Wild: 16-1
The Wild loaded up in free agency two years ago and snagged top free agent forwardThomas Vanek this July. They are deep and talented, and have plenty of young blood infused the lineup. The goaltending situation is tenuous, with Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding injury prone and a motley crew of veteran castoffs (Ilya Bryzgalov) and unproven starters (Darcy Kuemper) waiting in the wings.
Tampa Bay Lightning: 16-1
A healthy Steven Stamkos leads a talented Lightning squad that will need positive offense from rookie Jonathan Drouin to threaten the leaders. But they have an improving blue line led by Victor Hedman and a huge stalwart in goal in Ben Bishop. With both the Bruins and Penguins primed for regular-season regressions, Tampa could be a great sleeper pick.
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</center>[h=3]Overpriced teams[/h]
San Jose Sharks: 14-1
The Sharks have been close to getting over the championship hump, but little was done to provide the final push in the offseason. Vets Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleauhave far more greatness behind them than in front of them, and expecting those two to shoulder the load isn't realistic. We wouldn't bet them at 30-1, so 14-1 is way too cheap.
Colorado Avalanche: 18-1
This team rode an unexpected Vezina Trophy-caliber season from Semyon Varlamovand a stellar rookie season from Nathan MacKinnon to a huge point total a season ago. We see a regression here, mainly due to the shaky blue line. They did solve some of their overreliance on young forwards by signing Jarome Iginla and Daniel Briere, but this team is not a threat in the West and not worthy of your investment.
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</center>[h=3]Best bet[/h]
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are big and talented enough to hang with all the top teams in the West, and they will get a Vezina-worthy performance from Gibson. Kesler gives them the second-line size and muscle they lacked last season. And their lineup of big, speedy forwards complements the top line, which will audition former 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley as the third cog at the start of the campaign.
[h=4]Stanley Cup Futures Bets[/h]
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By Mike Pickett | ESPN Insider
With the NHL's top four teams residing in the Western Conference, oddsmakers have given theChicago Blackhawks a significant vote of confidence in early odds to win the 2015 Stanley Cup. Almost every sports book monitored by OddsShark.com had Chicago in the range of 13-2 to 7-1 to relive their Stanley Cup glory of 2013.
But while the Hawks may be the most talented team, with high-echelon stars such as Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith, they play in a conference with the defending-championLos Angeles Kings (10-1). Throw in two uber-talented squads in the St. Louis Blues and theAnaheim Ducks -- both at 12-1 -- and you have a rocky road to the Cup finals.
If the handicapping theory is that getting out of the West will leave a team so exhausted they can't compete in the finals, it's been a losing theory lately. The Kings and Hawks have claimed the past three Cups while emerging from the Western wars.
"The Kings and Blues are hard, heavy, deep teams who grind teams to bits, while Chicago boasts more top-end talent to steal those close games," said Jack Randall, a hockey analyst at OddsShark.com. "The fact that oddsmakers have set their season win total odds six points higher than the rest of the Western teams speaks to this potential regular-season domination."<offer></offer>
Anaheim is a hybrid of size and skill, with Olympians Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf combining with newly acquired Ryan Kesler and a potential Calder Trophy candidate John Gibson in net to create a dangerous threat to win the West.
Of course, the fact that the Eastern Conference had been severely degraded in quality in recent seasons helps quell the theory that the winner of the wild West will lose to the winner of the mild East. Despite the New York Rangers' unlikely run last season, only the Boston Bruins andPittsburgh Penguins carry any weight with oddsmakers Bovada and 5Dimes.
The Bruins were 10-1 at Bovada and 17-2 at 5Dimes at the time of this report, while the Penguins were 10-1 in early odds listings.
The Bruins led the league in wins last season and should get more production from Loui Eriksson, but their offensive depth is questionable. Their defense, however, is not.
The Penguins have a new coach in Mike Johnston, the league's best player in Sidney Crosbyand arguably the most dynamic offensive player, Evgeni Malkin. But they made some changes to their depth in free agency, and the Penguins are high on this list more due to the general weakness of the conference than to their own strengths.
Let's take a look at some other value bets to win the Cup, some overpriced teams and our best bet.
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</center>[h=3]Value bets[/h]Having stated that two of the aforementioned six teams will most likely be playing in the Stanley Cup finals next June, identifying value bets on the Stanley Cup futures menu is difficult.
Minnesota Wild: 16-1
The Wild loaded up in free agency two years ago and snagged top free agent forwardThomas Vanek this July. They are deep and talented, and have plenty of young blood infused the lineup. The goaltending situation is tenuous, with Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding injury prone and a motley crew of veteran castoffs (Ilya Bryzgalov) and unproven starters (Darcy Kuemper) waiting in the wings.
Tampa Bay Lightning: 16-1
A healthy Steven Stamkos leads a talented Lightning squad that will need positive offense from rookie Jonathan Drouin to threaten the leaders. But they have an improving blue line led by Victor Hedman and a huge stalwart in goal in Ben Bishop. With both the Bruins and Penguins primed for regular-season regressions, Tampa could be a great sleeper pick.
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</center>[h=3]Overpriced teams[/h]
San Jose Sharks: 14-1
The Sharks have been close to getting over the championship hump, but little was done to provide the final push in the offseason. Vets Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleauhave far more greatness behind them than in front of them, and expecting those two to shoulder the load isn't realistic. We wouldn't bet them at 30-1, so 14-1 is way too cheap.
Colorado Avalanche: 18-1
This team rode an unexpected Vezina Trophy-caliber season from Semyon Varlamovand a stellar rookie season from Nathan MacKinnon to a huge point total a season ago. We see a regression here, mainly due to the shaky blue line. They did solve some of their overreliance on young forwards by signing Jarome Iginla and Daniel Briere, but this team is not a threat in the West and not worthy of your investment.
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</center>[h=3]Best bet[/h]
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are big and talented enough to hang with all the top teams in the West, and they will get a Vezina-worthy performance from Gibson. Kesler gives them the second-line size and muscle they lacked last season. And their lineup of big, speedy forwards complements the top line, which will audition former 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley as the third cog at the start of the campaign.
[h=4]Stanley Cup Futures Bets[/h]
| Team | Bovada | 5Dimes | Point Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Blackhawks | 13-2 | 7-1 | 111.5 |
| Boston Bruins | 10-1 | 8.5-1 | 112.5 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 10-1 | 7.5-1 | 106.5 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 12-1 | 11-1 | 105.5 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 12-1 | 11-1 | 105.5 |
| St. Louis Blues | 12-1 | 11.5-1 | 105.5 |
| San Jose Sharks | 14-1 | 13-1 | 102.5 |
| Minnesota Wild | 16-1 | 20-1 | 98.5 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 16-1 | 14-1 | 94.5 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 18-1 | 20-1 | 98.5 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 18-1 | 18-1 | 93.5 |
| New York Rangers | 18-1 | 16-1 | 95.5 |
| Dallas Stars | 20-1 | 26-1 | 89.5 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 22-1 | 25-1 | 91.5 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 28-1 | 40-1 | 90.5 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 33-1 | 35-1 | 90.5 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 33-1 | 40-1 | 88.5 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 40-1 | 40-1 | 88.5 |
| Washington Capitals | 40-1 | 45-1 | 88.5 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 50-1 | 90-1 | 80.5 |
| New Jersey Devils | 50-1 | 55-1 | 83.5 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 66-1 | 55-1 | 80.5 |
| Calgary Flames | 66-1 | 100-1 | 71.5 |
| New York Islanders | 66-1 | 80-1 | 81.5 |
| Ottawa Senators | 66-1 | 65-1 | 78.5 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 66-1 | 75-1 | 80.5 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 75-1 | 150-1 | 65.5 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 75-1 | 100-1 | 81.5 |
| Florida Panthers | 75-1 | 135-1 | 70.5 |
| Nashville Predators | 75-1 | 75-1 | 76.5 |
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