2022 Stanley Cup Odds Tracker: Penguins, Predators Make Big Moves After Hot Streaks

Let’s dive into each team and their odds at PointsBet, starting with the favorite, the Colorado Avalanche.

1. Colorado Avalanche (+500)

The Avs struggled to start the 2021-2022 season, but have remained the Stanley Cup favorite throughout. They're now starting to remind everyone why. Colorado leads the league in goals per game and while they're still fourth in the Central Division, they've got games in hand and are just a few points back.

The Avalanche have been dominant in the regular season over the past two years at a ridiculous 81-33-12 mark. But a deep playoff run has eluded them, with second-round losses to the Stars and Golden Knights in 2020 and 2021. This season they've gotten off to a slow start, but are starting to pick it up.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (+650)

Tampa went through some bumps in the first few weeks of the season, not uncommon for a team that's played a lot of hockey over the last 1.5 years thanks to deep playoff runs. But they're first in the Atlantic Division now, albeit with a few games in hand.

Tampa’s depth took a hit this offseason. Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman are all gone. It’s depth that’s not irreplaceable, but we’ve seen great teams crack a little bit as their bottom six thins out (see Chicago and Pittsburgh last decade).

4.Vegas Golden Knights (+650)

Vegas shares a lot of qualities with Colorado, and fortunately no longer shares a division like they did during the COVID-altered 2021 season. The Knights are deep, skilled, and not bogged down by bad contracts, but the injury-bug has bitten them bad to start the season. 

Still, Vegas has rebounded from a rough start and is now tied for the second betting choice to win the Stanley Cup. They lead the Pacific Division as of Jan. 3.

4.Florida Panthers (+900)

If you didn’t follow hockey much last season, you may have missed the Panthers’ rise to power. And they’ve followed it up with a red-hot start this year, dropping from 20-1 to win the Stanley Cup to around 9-1. They're jockeying with Tampa and Toronto for the Atlantic Division lead.

Florida was fifth in expected goal share at even strength but played Tampa in the first round of the playoffs. Alex Barkov is still underrated by casual fans, and Florida has a core of defensemen who you should get to know, including MacKenzie Weegar, who finished eighth in Norris Trophy voting.

5.Toronto Maple Leafs (+900)

There’s a group of people who think the Leafs aren’t “built for the playoffs,” and there’s a group of people who think that the playoffs are played the same as the regular season. Both thoughts have merit.

But the first camp has the upper hand at the moment. Despite elite offensive marks, this team hasn’t made it out of the first round since 2004. They’ve blown big series leads, and the defense has let them down at times.

Toronto has been great to start the 2021-22 NHL season, right at the top of the Atlantic Division with Tampa and Florida. They've moved from +1200 to win the Cup a month ago to +900.

6.Carolina Hurricanes (+1400)

The league’s analytical darlings have graduated from niche to mainstream. The Canes’ core put it all together last regular season went 36-12-8 last season to win its division, and finished fourth in expected goal share at even strength.

Carolina got by Nashville in the first round last postseason, then ran into Tampa, who made quick work of that series in five games. The Canes will be good for a while thanks to great depth, high-end skill at the top and a core of unheralded defensemen who can both move the puck and defend in their own end.

7.Pittsburgh Penguins (+1600)

Just when it looked like the Penguins were finally aging out of contention, they ripped off seven straight wins in December to get back into the Metro race.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are getting older, and they haven’t been able to develop many high-level players below them. The goaltending has been a rollercoaster in the last five years, as well. There’s still plenty to like about this team, but father time comes for everyone, and an NHL playoff appearance isn’t a guarantee at this point.

8. Washington Capitals (+1600)

The Capitals didn’t improve much this offseason but didn’t have a chance to, either. This team is right up against the salary cap and will try to run it back with this core one more time after losing in the first round in three straight years. We might see some big moves next summer if it happens again.

So far, things have gone as planned for Washington. They're top 5 in goal differential and tied with Carolina for the Metro Division lead.

9.Boston Bruins (+1600)

The Bruins had a busy offseason, adding or replacing depth pieces at every level while retaining key contributors like Taylor Hall and Brandon Carlo.

The top line can go toe-to-toe with anyone on both ends of the ice, making Boston a tough out in the postseason, but the offense hasn't quite clicked so far this regular season.

10.Minnesota Wild (+1800)

The Wild have been a bit of an analytics darling in the past few years, consistently turning strong underlying metrics into average results.

Last year Minnesota finally broke through a bit thanks in part to Kirill Kaprizov and his finishing ability. The Russian rookie flirted with returning home this offseason but signed a five-year deal with the Wild instead.

So far this season, the Wild have built on that success. They're just three points back of the Central lead.

11. Calgary Flames (+2000)

The Flames were great 2018-19 and 2019-20, but departed the postseason early, and struggled in an easy Canadian division in 2021.

Calgary has shown it patched some holes in its roster and has been one of the league's best teams to start the season. The Flames have moved from 40-1 to 18-1 then back to 20-1 through the first two months and are vying for the Pacific Division lead behind Vegas.

12. St. Louis Blues (+2200)

Late in the preseason, the Blues dropped from 33-1 to 40-1 before even playing a game. After a strong start, they're in the 22-1 range.

The Blues’ core has come apart a bit since their Stanley Cup run, and not just through roster attrition. Vladamir Tarasenko has fallen off, Ryan O’Reilly hasn’t replicated his playoff performance from 2019, and St. Louis was carried by some younger, unknown players in 2021 like Jordan Kyrou.

St. Louis had the fifth-worst expected goal share in the NHL last season, somewhat of an anomaly for this group, but they've rebounded nicely through the first 2.5 months.

13.Edmonton Oilers (+2500)

If NHL players could be on the ice as much as NFL quarterbacks or NBA point guards are on their playing surfaces, Edmonton would be the Stanley Cup favorite.

Connor McDavid further cemented himself as the league’s best player last year, with 105 points in 56 games and the Art Ross Trophy. But he’s just one of 20, and the rest of the Oilers have struggled to help him out. Edmonton was middle of the pack in expected goal share at 49.57%, and scored just one playoff goal in the postseason in a sweep by the Winnipeg Jets.

Edmonton started red-hot this season but has come back to earth a bit. They got as high as +1300 to win the Stanley Cup and now sit at +2500.

14.New York Rangers (+2500)

The Rangers started a rebuild three years ago, then accelerated it, then abandoned it. But whatever they did appears to be working. The Rangers are a few points back in the Metro and have taken care of business against the teams they're supposed to beat.

New York fired the core of its front office and head coach despite accepting three years ago that a rebuild would take some time. There’s a sentiment that ownership thought the team wasn’t tough enough, made evident by the Tom Wilson fiasco late in the year. So they got tougher this offseason, at the expense of some skill. Pretty much the opposite of how the NHL is trending.

15. Nashville Predators (+5000)

Nashville’s moves this offseason do not signal that they believe they’re a contender. The Preds sent Viktor Arvidsson to the Kings for picks. They moved Ryan Ellis to the Flyers for two younger players. Had goalie Juuse Saros not played at, this team would have missed the playoffs by a mile.

So it’s unlikely this team has Stanley Cup dreams as it’s constructed now, but there is a future worth betting on this team.

16. Anaheim Ducks (+4500)

The Ducks have been one of the biggest surprises in the NHL so far and have gone from 150-1 -- grouped with the worst teams in the league -- to 80-1, then 60-1, now 40-1. They're right there with Vegas in the Pacific Division.

17. Winnipeg Jets (+5000)

The Jets rely on elite goaltending and finishing skill — not the modern formula most people think — but it’s been working for a few years. Maybe not worth a bet on the Stanley Cup, but game-by-game, this team has been underrated because of its poor underlying possession metrics.

18. Dallas Stars (+5000)

The Stars finished third in expected goal share at even strength last season but missed the postseason. They got hit hard by COVID, and missed a stretch of the season because of a storm in Texas. They’ll be back in the hunt this year, thought PointsBet did drop them from 25-1 to 30-1 before the season. After a middling start, they're back at 50-1. 

19. Vancouver Canucks (+5000)

The Canucks were the worst even-strength team in the league last season, so it’s not surprising that a lot of models project them to be among the worst teams in the league again. But since firing coach Travis Green, the Canucks have been much better and are 8-1-1 over their last 10.

20.New York Islanders (+9000)

New York started its season with 13 games on the road as its new arena is finished, and before the year, we highlighted that there might be a buy-low opportunity. Well, if you believe, that opportunity is now.

PointsBet dropped the Isles from the 20-1 range to 70-1 in mid-December after they picked up just 22 points in 26 games to start the year. They're playing better, but still dropped to 90-1 because they have a big hill to climb to get in the postseason.

21. Los Angeles Kings (+20000)

The Kings were bad last season, finishing second to last in expected goal share at even strength. But they’ve got really exciting group of prospects in the pipeline and should work their way into contention at some point in the next few years.

22. San Jose Sharks (+20000)

The Sharks played well down the stretch last season, and even as the core ages, it’s not hard to imagine San Jose making the playoffs in a bad division. They don’t want to rebuild, so this is a big year for the franchise.

23. New Jersey Devils (+25000)

The Devils had quite possibly the best offseason in the NHL. They added Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Graves to the blue line, Tomas Tatar up front, and should get improved play from their young core, led by Jack Hughes.

But things haven't panned out yet. NJ has just 33 points in 31 games, down with the Islanders at the bottom of the Metro.

24. Columbus Blue Jackets (+20000)

The Jackets are undergoing a shakeup, moving Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson this summer. Perhaps the most notable move was bringing back executive John Davidson, who built the team that made the postseason four straight years, after he was fired by the Rangers.

So far, it hasn't been a bad season. Columbus is ahead of the Devils and Islanders in the Metro.

25. Philadelphia Flyers (+25000)

The Flyers overachieved a bit last season despite disastrous goaltending from starter Carter Hart — seriously, an .877 save percentage and 3.67 goals against.

They did bring in Ryan Ellis and Cam Atkinson to shake things up, but it hasn't worked, and coach Alain Vigneault is out. They've fallen from around 33-1 to 250-1.

26. Seattle Kraken (+50000)

A lot of models liked the Kraken this offseason, but the goaltending has been so bad its prevented them from building any momentum. The Kraken are pretty much cooked in their first season, down to 500-1.

I’ll let my colleague Mike Leboff explain why the Kraken had 50-1 odds to win the Cup, to start the season, and not 100-1, as the league’s newest team.

27. Detroit Red Wings (+50000)

Detroit has things moving in the right direction under Steve Yzerman, and have been one of the bigger surprises so far. The Red Wings sit fifth in a loaded Atlantic Division.

28. Chicago Blackhawks (+50000)

The Blackhawks started the year in rough shape but have rebounded a little bit. Still, they're way outside Stanley Cup contention.

29. Montreal Canadiens (+100000)

The Habs are down to 1000-1 and look like one of the worst teams in the league. They have 18 points in 34 games, and the second-worst goal differential in the league behind only Arizona.

30. Ottawa Senators (+100000)

The Senators take the brunt of plenty of jokes on Hockey Twitter, but there’s some interesting talent here. It’s a team to bet on as a 3-1 underdog on the road on a game-by-game basis, probably not to win the Stanley Cup. Track NHL odds here or in The Action Network app.

31. Buffalo Sabres (+100000)

The Sabres finally offloaded disgruntled captain Jack Eichel, and are basically starting over at this point.

32. Arizona Coyotes (+100000)

The Coyotes are clearly the worst team in the league but now have company at 1000-1, at least.

Futures Odds of the Past Five Stanley Cup Champions

Compare Stanley Cup Odds

Below are the best prices for the NHL futures from a wide range of U.S. Sportsbooks. BetMGM has the best odds on many of the favorites, but DraftKings Sportsbook has a few advantageous lines in the mid-tier, especially.

Pointsbet offers the best odds so far with +600 for the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers have been the biggest surprise to sports bettors with their odds currently at +900 with their incredible start to the season.