Odds to Win the 2019-20 Stanley Cup: Capitals are Alone Out in Front
The 2019-20 NHL season is nearing the quarter mark, and when it comes to which team is the clear-cut favorite to win the Stanley Cup, one team has separated itself from the rest of the pack at sportsbooks.
The Washington Capitals are the +850 front-runners to hoist Lord Stanley this season at BetOnline, with the Boston Bruins (+1000), Tampa Bay Lightning (+1000), St. Louis Blues (+1200), Vegas Golden Knights (+1200), New York Islanders (+1400), Arizona Coyotes (+1600), Colorado Avalanche (+1600), Edmonton Oilers (+1600) and Nashville Predators (+1600) also residing near the top of the list.
What Can’t the Capitals Do?
As of November 13, Washington led the NHL in points (30), wins (13), goals (77) and goal differential (+18) while boasting the best road record in the league (8-1-1). Both John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin rank in the top 10 in scoring with 29 and 23 points, respectively.
The Caps saw their recent six-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Coyotes on November 11, but it’s hard to argue against them owning the crown as the top team in the NHL right now. Prior to the season, the Capitals had the 11th-best odds to win the Stanley Cup at +2000.
After enduring years of playoff frustration, Washington finally got over the hump en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2017-18 and the club is once again looking like a legitimate championship contender.
Slow Starts Have Plagued Lightning, Maple Leafs
As is always the case on the ice, it’s been an unpredictable first quarter of the season. The Lightning opened the year as the +700 Stanley Cup faves, yet they’ve hardly resembled the team that won 62 games last season.
Tampa is sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings but oddsmakers are clearly expecting the extremely talented Bolts to figure it out and finish near the top of the conference, evidenced by their +1000 price.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are another squad that has failed to live up to expectations. The Leafs opened the season with the second-best odds to win the Cup (+900) but are now all the way down the list at +2000.
There’s plenty of time for Toronto to get it together, but things are only going to get tougher with star winger Mitch Marner expected to be out four to six weeks with an ankle injury.
Watch Out for the Coyotes
Out west, the Coyotes are looking like the real deal at 11-6-2 and have already moved from +4500 to +1600 in the matter of a month. Darcy Kuemper has been a revelation in the desert, as the goaltender has gone 8-5-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
The ’Yotes are a talented young team that finally looks poised to contend in the Western Conference for years to come, so don’t be surprised if their odds continue to improve as the campaign moves along.
Here’s a look at the book’s full list of odds:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Washington Capitals | +850 |
| Boston Bruins | +1000 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1000 |
| St. Louis Blues | +1200 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +1200 |
| New York Islanders | +1400 |
| Arizona Coyotes | +1600 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +1600 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +1600 |
| Nashville Predators | +1600 |
| Calgary Flames | +2000 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +2000 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2000 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +2000 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +2500 |
| Dallas Stars | +2500 |
| Florida Panthers | +2500 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +2500 |
| San Jose Sharks | +2500 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +2500 |
| Buffalo Sabres | +3300 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +3300 |
| Anaheim Ducks | +5000 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +5000 |
| Minnesota Wild | +5000 |
| New Jersey Devils | +5500 |
| New York Rangers | +5000 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +6600 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +10000 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +15000 |
| Ottawa Senators | +25000 |
Odds as of November 13 at BetOnline
What is a Futures Bet on Stanley Cup Odds?
Before hockey season starts, oddsmakers will release their lines on each team’s chance of winning the shiny championship trophy. If you were to place a wager at any point before the Finals, you would be making a futures bet. This is a bet that deals with events that will happen in time. For instance, you could bet on the Detroit Red Wings to win the Cup in September, but you would not see the results of your bet until the postseason.
How to Read NHL Stanley Cup Odds
At your sportsbook of choice you’ll see Stanley Cup odds listed like this:
Tampa Bay Lightning +300
Toronto Maple Leafs +450
Las Vegas Golden Knights +500
Boston Bruins +800
Unlike a moneyline bet where there is a clear favorite and underdog, for an NHL futures bet, you would consider the team with the lowest odds as the fave. In this case, it’s Tampa. The team with the highest odds would be the dog. For this example, it’s Boston.
Let’s say hockey season is about to start and you’ve done your research. You believe that it’s Toronto’s year, so you lay down $40 on the Leafs to win the Cup. If they do win it all, you’d see a payout of $220 – your original $40 is returned along with your winnings of $180.
You can use our Odds Calculator to figure out what you’d win based on the amount you bet and the odds.
When it comes to futures, get in on the action early. The closer it gets to the NHL playoffs, the more the odds will shift. Oddsmakers update the lines for these bets frequently as teams slip and fall in the standings. Injuries, trades and coaching changes will affect a team’s odds of making it to the Finals, and those who set the lines take that into consideration when updating the odds.
As mentioned above, it’s important to keep in mind that when you make your NHL futures picks, you won’t see a return until Lord Stanley’s Cup is awarded to the winner.
