Steve Starr
- Bovada and BetOnline have updated 2023 Stanley Cup Futures following a wild NHL Free Agent Frenzy that saw a flurry of star players switch teams
- The Avalanche (+400) and Lightning (+1100) focused on keeping their Cup teams in tact
- Carolina (+1200) brought in Brent Burns and Max Pacioretty for practically nothing
Johnny Gaudreau spurned the city of Calgary to ink a new seven-year deal averaging $9.75 million with Columbus. However, the signing of the 115-point scorer didn’t exactly make waves on the best Stanley Cup betting sites as the Blue Jackets are still viewed as 75-1 longshots to hoist Lord Stanley next season.
Let’s look at the latest Cup odds and recap all the action from NHL free agency. Here’s also where you can find the top betting sites for NHL hockey in 2022.
2023 Stanley Cup
 |  |
|
| Colorado Avalanche | +400 | +400 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1000 | +1200 |
| Florida Panthers | +1100 | +850 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1100 | +1000 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1100 | +850 |
| New York Rangers | +1600 | +2000 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +1600 | +1600 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +1800 | +1600 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2000 | +2200 |
| Calgary Flames | +2200 | +2200 |
| Boston Bruins | +2500 | +3000 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +2500 | +3500 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2500 | +2000 |
| St. Louis Blues | +2500 | +2500 |
| New Jersey Devils | +3300 | +6000 |
| Washington Capitals | +3300 | +4000 |
| New York Islanders | +3500 | +3500 |
| Dallas Stars | +4000 | +4500 |
| Ottawa Senators | +4000 | +5000 |
| Nashville Predators | +5000 | +5500 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +5000 | +4500 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +5000 | +6000 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +5500 | +5000 |
| Buffalo Sabres | +6600 | +6000 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +6600 | +7500 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +7500 | +15000 |
| Anaheim Ducks | +8000 | +15000 |
| San Jose Sharks | +10000 | +17500 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +12500 | +20000 |
| Seattle Kraken | +12500 | +15000 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +15000 | +50000 |
| Arizona Coyotes | +25000 | +50000 |
Roster tweaks for Cup finalists
Colorado (+400) lost Darcy Kuemper to the Capitals in free agency, but the netminder’s .902 playoff save percentage won’t be too difficult for the new Pavel Francouz-Alexandar Georgiev tandem to match. Joe Sakic did well to re-sign forward Valeri Nichushkin to an eight-year, $49 million contract extension, and there are rumors that second-line center Nazem Kadri could still return.
The Lightning (+1100) re-signed defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, forward Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Erik Cernak to eight-year contract extensions, but were forced to wave goodbye to blueliner Ryan McDonagh and gritty forward Ondrej Palat.
General Manager of the year.
Well, well, WELL deserved, Joe.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/gaqrndUlRv— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 8, 2022
Trending up
Carolina (+1200) stayed quiet in free agency, but did major damage via the trade market by bringing in former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Brent Burns and proven goal-scorer Max Pacioretty for almost nothing. While the Hurricanes lost second-line center Vincent Trocheck to the New York Rangers (+2000), they look like a much improved club on paper.
The Edmonton Oilers (+1800) still don’t have enough depth behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to win a Stanley Cup, but re-upping Evander Kane and signing Jack Campbell could make them the class of the Pacific division.
Trending down
The cap-strapped Florida Panthers (+1100) failed to re-sign trade deadline acquisitions Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot and watched young forward Mason Marchment leave for Dallas. Meanwhile, their Atlantic division rivals in Toronto (+1100) lost starting goalie Jack Campbell to the Oilers and replaced him with oft-injured veteran Matt Murray.
As mentioned earlier, Las Vegas (+1600) literally gave away forward Max Pacioretty (and his $7 million AAV) for nothing. The Penguins (+2000) kept Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin in the building with big-money contracts, but that’s probably a mistake after four straight first-round exits. And the Boston Bruins (+3000) are still waiting for captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to sign team-friendly deals.
The Canes made some high-profile moves early in the off-season. Starting today @TheHockeyWriter, we're gonna take a look at all four, how they fit, and what it means for the roster.
First up: proven veteran goal scorer Max Pacioretty. Check it ⬇️⬇️https://t.co/CIVSHc7dpp
— Brandon Stanley (@bwstanley26) July 18, 2022
Can they compete?
The Senators (+5000) stole the show over the past couple weeks with a flurry of big trades and signings. In addition to acquiring two-time 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat and inking free-agent veteran Claude Giroux, Ottawa re-upped young American center Josh Norris to a colossal eight-year, $63.5 million extension. That last move is of added importance to all Canadian franchises after the Calgary Flames saw “Johnny Hockey” bolt for the Blue Jackets (+7500) mere months after a Hart Trophy quality campaign.
Both Ottawa and Columbus no doubt have bright futures, but their long odds tell you everything you need to know. Neither are Cup contenders yet.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
