Future Watch
We are down to just four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals are set!
On one side, you have Nathan MacKinnon and the loaded Colorado Avalanche taking on Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers. The Avalanche open up the series as pretty big favourites coming in at -270.
The Avalanche are also the betting odds favourites to win the Stanley Cup coming in at +120. Not great value there.
They are -115 to win this series against Edmonton in six games or less though so if you like the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup, I think just betting on them to beat the Oilers in six games or less and then rolling that money into a Stanley Cup Finals bet is actually the way to go.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are second on the Stanley Cup odds board at +220. If I was going to bet on a team to win the Cup, this would be the spot I go with. The Lightning are favourites to win their series against the Rangers at -180 and they’re also a well-rested group right now after sweeping the Florida Panthers in round two.
They also have Andrei Vasilevskiy, who once again appears to be nearly unbeatable in big games. +220 is actually a pretty good spot.
The Rangers are coming in at +500 while the Oilers are +550. I don’t mind the price of the Oilers here, but again, the best strategy here might be to just bet on them to win this round at +210 then roll over that money in the Stanley Cup Final since they’d likely be underdogs against both Tampa Bay and New York.
The other big futures bet right now is the Conn Smythe trophy winner.
Nathan MacKinnon leads the way right now at +300, which is also probably a solid pivot play if you like the Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup. I just can’t see them winning it all and MacKinnon not being named the MVP. His teammate Cale Makar is second on the list at +450.
Vasilevskiy is third on the list at +600 and this is my favourite Conn Smythe bet. The payout is much better than the Lightning’s +220 to win the Cup and Vasilevskiy has been lights out through two rounds. Getting 6-to-1 odds on a former Conn Smythe trophy winner, who plays the most important position in the game, to win again feels like a bargain.
Connor McDavid is fourth on the list at +650 and while he deserves to be the highest Oiler on this list, I don’t mind the +2000 that’s attached to Leon Draisaitl’s name. He has just as many points as McDavid through two rounds and is coming off a series against the Calgary Flames where he was Edmonton’s most valuable player. If you wanted to toss a little fun money on a Conn Smyth longshot, Draisaitl seems like the best option.
It should be a wild two weeks with these two Conference Final matchups! All four of these teams are capable of playing very exciting brands of hockey and things are always widely unpredictable this time of year. Remember last year when the Montreal Canadiens pulled off the stunning upset over the Vegas Golden Knights? Madness.
Will we see another stunning result this time around? It’s certainly possible!