by David Burke
Tampa Bay Lightning may have won the Stanley Cup for the second successive season with a 4-1 series win over the Montreal Canadiens but it’s Colorado Avalanche who are making the early running in the 2022 Stanley Cup Futures.
Having started the NHL playoffs as co-favs the Avs lost in the second round to Vegas. However, their roster is expected to improve considerably and this is factored into the sportsbooks NHL odds.
With the likes of Cale Makar, Philipp Grubauer, Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad still in their ranks they could be a good bet in a weak Central Division.
Following the conclusion of the 2020-21 NHL season, the opening Stanley Cup odds for 2022 have now been revealed.
- Lightning open at +700 to win three Stanley Cups in a row
- Avalanche open as the favourites at odds of +500
- Stanley Cup runners up Montreal Canadiens opened at +2700 but are now trading at +2000
- New franchise Seattle Kraken among the +10000 underdogs
2022 Stanley Cup Betting – Vegas Odds
Here are the latest 2022 Stanley Cup odds for all 32 NHL teams via Bovada Sportsbook.
Can Lightning Strike Thrice?
The last team to win three Stanley Cups in a row was the New York Islanders in the 1980’s.
With Andrei Vasilevskiy, forwards Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and defender Victor Hedman on the roster and with lots of miles still left on the clock the Bolts will be many bettors Stanley Cup picks to land the historic treble.
Tampa Bay Lightning Facts
- Lightning have made the Conference Finals in five of the past seven seasons
- Lightning have now won 3 Stanley Cups (2003–04, 2019–20, 2020–21)
- Lightning joined the NHL in 1992
- Their name is based on Tampa’s reputation as North America’s “Lightning Capital.”
Stanley Cup Longshot Bets
One of the best strategies for obtaining some early betting value is via the NHL Futures markets. At this early stage there are opportunities to secure those bigger odds in the hope of a bumper payday in the future.
Early support for the Habs
The Montreal Canadiens opened up at attractive odds of +2700 after losing out to the Lightning in five games in the Stanley Cup Final but these were quickly trimmed into +2000 on Bovada’s Stanley Cup winner odds.
The main reason for the big odds available on the Habs is largely due to fact that their Atlantic Division competition now contains Tampa Bay, Toronto, Boston and Florida following the removal of the all-Canadian division. It’s anyone’s guess who will make the NHL playoffs in 2022.
Race for Jack Eichel
The New York Rangers (+2800) and Los Angeles Kings (+7000) are rumoured to be the front-runners in the race to sign Buffalo star Jack Eichel which would see their odds shorten considerably if either team is successful.
Who are the Seattle Kraken?
Finally, keep an eye on Seattle Kraken (+10000). The Kraken are a new NHL franchise and being an unknown quantity to the oddsmakers they could be an interesting outside bet at this stage.
They will enter their first season in the NHL in 2021-22 as one of the outsiders according to Bovada’s hockey odds. Kraken haven’t even drafted their team yet but there will be a Seattle expansion draft taking place on July 21.
Let’s not forget that the last NHL expansion team, Vegas, went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their very first year. The Vegas Golden Knights (+600), whose 13 playoff wins en route to the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals are the most for a team during their inaugural postseason run, are among the favorites for next season.
* 2022 NHL odds correct at the time of writing. All betting odds are subject to changes.
An iGaming industry veteran with a background in poker, David covers the latest sports, casino and industry news for Vegas-Odds.com. Contributor at GamblingIndustryNews.com & USA-Casino.com
