2018 NHL Western Conference Odds

Earlier this week, we put out a list of updated odds to win the Stanley Cup for each of the 31 franchises in the National Hockey League. Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights almost became the first expansion team in any professional sport to win that league’s championship in their first season, but they lost to the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Finals after staying atop the Western Conference for the entire season and rolling through the first three rounds of the playoffs. Will we have another surprise team this year? Today, we take a closer look at the odds to win the NHL Western Conference, with each team’s odds to win the Stanley Cup as well as some discussion about some of the contenders as you consider your sports betting on NHL futures.

2018 NHL Western Conference Odds

A look into this AM’s Morning Skate at @bellmtsiceplex! pic.twitter.com/Cnnx7NmVpA

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) September 21, 2018

Latest 2018 NHL Western Conference Odds

• Winnipeg Jets                                                                                                           +950
• Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights                                                         +1100
• San Jose Sharks                                                                                                       +1600
• Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues                                                                          +2000
• Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings                                                             +2500
• Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars                                                                                  +3000
• Calgary Flames                                                                                                         +3300
• Minnesota Wild                                                                                                         +3500
• Colorado Avalanche                                                                                                 +4000
• Arizona Coyotes                                                                                                       +10000
• Vancouver Canucks                                                                                                 +12500

The Winnipeg Jets flew under the league’s radar most of the season, what with Vegas getting the bulk of the press as the NHL’s Cinderella and the simple fact that Winnipeg is way up there in Canada. However, the JEts looked terrific through much of the postseason, taking down a tough Nashville team in the conference semifinals before losing to Vegas in the conference finals. They have a young team and didn’t lose any of their core pieces in the off-season. Nashville won the President’s Trophy a year ago for getting the most points in the regular season, and they should be contenders again this year. They still have that stingy defense, and they still have Pekka Rinne in net. They have speedy wingers, but they don’t make mistakes on the back end that cost them when they decide to be aggressive with their offense.

What can we expect to see out of Vegas?

David Perron and James Neal have departed in free agency, and they missed out on the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes, as he is now a San Jose Shark, but this gritty team of mostly no-names, led by Marc-Andre Fleury in net, meshed well all season long and just ran into a Washington team that Alex Ovechkin willed to a championship. St. Louis missed the postseason last year on the last day of the regular season. They brought in center Ryan O’Reilly to add depth in the lower lines, and they also added Patrick Maroon to bring in another winger. Tyler Bozak is another grinder who can score off the checking line. That added depth will make them tougher to beat. San Jose is a consistent postseason presence, and even though they didn’t land John Tavares, they resigned Evander Kane, and they retained Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture. A team that relies on speed, they are a year older, so it will be interesting to see how they keep that stamina going down the stretch of a tough regular season. Los Angeles brought in Ilya Kovalchuk, who came back to the NHL after four years in Russia’s KHL. He used to be a star for the New Jersey Devils, but he’s 35 now. He has a reputation for being able to score in bunches, but will he still have it at an NHL level? We’ll see. Dallas had an historic collapse down the stretch last year, going from comfortably situated for the postseason to looking in from the outside. They did sign Tyler Seguin to a nine-year extension, and they have scored eight goals in their first two preseason games. Ben Bishop returns in net and should continue to provide that steady hand behind a defense that is growing in cohesiveness. Colorado swiped the final wild card position down the stretch last year, and they have an MVP candidate in Nathan McKinnon. They are young, fast and talented, and they will be exciting to watch as they develop.