2020 Stanley Cup Championship Odds – June 17th Edition

The winners of the 2019 Stanley Cup are the St. Louis Blues, who came all the way back from dead last in the standings at the start of 2019 to carry off one of the most storied trophies in all of sport. They got by the Winnipeg Jets, the Dallas Stars, the San Jose Sharks and, in the Finals, the Boston Bruins, to win the first league title in franchise history — in their first appearance in a Cup Final since 1970. Can they repeat? Maybe — the slate is now blank again as the whole league looks forward to the 2019-20 campaign. We have the NHL betting odds for each franchise as well as some thoughts on teams that have a chance to contend.

2020 Stanley Cup Championship Odds – June 17th Edition

• Tampa Bay Lightning                                                                                                           8/1
• Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights                                                                              9/1
• Toronto Maple Leafs                                                                                                            10/1
• Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues                                                                                12/1
• San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets                                                  16/1
• Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins                                                                               18/1
• Nashville Predators                                                                                                              22/1
• Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers                                                                                25/1
• Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, N.Y. Islanders                                                      28/1
• Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks,
• Minnesota Wild                                                                                                                     33/1
• Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks                                                                              40/1
• Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens                                                                                 50/1
• Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, N.Y. Rangers                                                                                       66/1
• Ottawa Senators                                                                                                                   100/1

Tampa Bay is the favorite again?

Yawn. They don’t offer a lot of value, but now they are developing a real reputation for choking in the postseason. Their own division is salty, with Toronto and Boston waiting for them, but they couldn’t even make it past a wild-card team in the first round.

Is Vegas really the best team in the West?

Their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, will be 35 near the start of the season. Bringing in Mar, Stone to skate with Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny was a solid choice, but there are too many other contenders in the West.

What about St. Louis?

They benefited from playing four flawed teams in their postseason rounds, but there are times when you just look at the schedule that you are dealt and roll your way through it — and the Blues did just that. People will figure out how to solve Jordan Binnington, but the fact that the Blues were down three games to two to a Dallas team that has zero mental stamina shows you just how tenuous the Blues’ Cup run was. There are a few other Western Conference teams that are pretty difficult to separate from one another, with Winnipeg, Calgary, and Nashville all very close together, between St. Louis and Dallas. Winnipeg has the most raw talent of the three teams, but all three crack at the wrong time.

What About the Eastern Conference?

You might think about putting your money on such old favorites in the East as Washington and Pittsburgh. However, both teams are aging, which means stamina can melt in a hurry, and the Penguins don’t play defense. That’s how the Islanders were able to roll them out of the postseason in a shocking sweep. Columbus is an exciting play at 28/1. They are trending upward, especially if they can re-sign Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene. If you want an even darker horse, consider the Carolina Hurricanes, who went to the Eastern Conference finals. Their goaltender is inconsistent, but they have a terrific young forward in Sebastian Aho and a stout blue line. Then there is Arizona, who almost made the postseason despite having their money players in the training room. Through the draft, the Coyotes have been stacking up tons of talent, and at some point they will emerge to play a strong role for the franchise. Is 2019-20 the year? The oddsmakers say no, but it’s hard to overlook that great run they made in the second half last year.