NHL Best Bets: Stanley Cup Winner (2020-21)
Now that the Tampa Bay Lightning reign supreme and the dust from free agency has settled, we can begin to shift our focus towards the 2020-21 regular season. Sure, the Start date, division structure, and schedule length have yet to be decided. Regardless, we have a solid understanding of roster construction for nearly all teams as only a few notable free agents remain on the market. With that, let’s analyze our best bets to win the Stanley Cup.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
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Favorites
Eastern Conference: Tampa Bay Lightning (+950).
Western Conference: Colorado Avalanche (+750) & Vegas Golden Knights (+750).
Values
Washington Capitals (+1700)
After a disappointing early playoff exit against the New York Islanders, the Capitals will look to rebound in 2020-21. While the playoffs didn’t go swimmingly, the regular season went well, as Washington finished just two points behind the eventual Stanley Cup Champions: the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Now 35 years old, Alex Ovechkin is still playing at an elite level, tying for the league-lead in goals last season with 48. Fellow core players Niklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie are also a couple of years into their thirties, but the window is still very much open for this team to make a deep playoff run.
John Carlson is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, and the team added further depth in free agency by signing Justin Schultz and Trevor van Riemsdyk. They also re-signed trade deadline acquisition Brenden Dillon to a four-year extension, solidifying the blue line.
The departure of Braden Holtby, veteran goaltender, opens the door for sophomore Ilya Samsonov to start. Samsonov had a solid rookie season, where he posted a 16-6 record with a 2.53 GAA. Additionally, the team signed former New York Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist as a backup, and he will offer stability and leadership in the crease.
The infusion of new bench boss, Peter Laviolette, should bring a breath of fresh air to a lineup that seemingly went stale in the postseason last year. Look for the Caps to make a run in 2020-21.
Vancouver Canucks (+3100)
The Canucks are fresh off an impressive playoff run that saw them knock off the defending champion St. Louis Blues before falling in Game 7 to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference semi-final.
The additions of Nate Schmidt and Braden Holtby will help fill the vacancies left by goaltender Jacob Markstrom and defenseman Chris Tanev – both of whom left in free agency. Letting Tyler Toffoli walk suggests the team is quite confident that winger Jake Virtanen will take the next step to solidify secondary scoring along with the promising Adam Gaudette.
The biggest factor is the playoff experience gained last year for this team’s core, Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes. If the emergence of rookie goaltender Thatcher Demko against the Knights wasn’t a mirage, look for this team to again be a serious threat out of the West.
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Jordan Anderson is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jordan, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Jordan_A03.