NHL North Division Season Odds Preview – 01/04/21
by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
You have to go back more than 20 years to find the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs won a division title, capturing the now-defunct Northeast back during the 1999-2000 NHL season. The Maple Leafs have played third fiddle to the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division the past three seasons, but now they have an excellent opportunity to win the All-Canadian North Division without them as the +140 betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Keep in mind, a Canadian team has not hoisted the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens did it in 1993, and all of them have the chance to compete solely against each other in the regular season and first couple rounds of the playoffs, with a guaranteed shot at getting through to at least the conference final for whoever can survive. While oddsmakers at online betting sites are pegging Toronto as that team, there is still plenty of competition from the other Canadian teams in 2021.
Of the seven teams in the North Division, six have odds of +700 or better, with the Ottawa Senators (+8000) really the only one that is truly a longshot. The Senators are clearly in rebuilding mode and will likely not be competitive for a few more years after dealing away their top players. That is not the case for the other teams though, including the Edmonton Oilers (+300), Vancouver Canucks (+500), Montreal Canadiens (+650), Calgary Flames (+700) and Winnipeg Jets (+700). The Maple Leafs ranked third in the league in scoring last season (3.39 goals per game), but the Canucks (3.25) and Oilers (3.14) were not too far behind.
The challenge for most of the Canadian teams in the North Division will be playing good enough defense to make a run at the Stanley Cup, and that starts between the pipes. Toronto’s biggest weakness has been its defense, and goaltender Frederik Andersen (29-13-7, 2.85 goals-against average) has not been good enough to take this team past the first round of the playoffs. It does not matter if you have such dynamic scorers as Auston Matthews (47 goals last season), William Nylander (31) and John Tavares (26) if you give up three goals per game. Edmonton has the same issue despite having two of the NHL’s top scorers in Leon Draisaitl (league-leading 110 points last year) and Connor McDavid (second with 97).
The three teams to watch in the North with betting value are the Canucks, Canadiens and Jets because they all have great goaltending. Vancouver upgraded with the addition of defenseman Nate Schmidt via trade from the Vegas Golden Knights and free-agent goaltender Braden Holtby from the Washington Capitals. Montreal also got a capable backup goalie to spell All-Star Carey Price in Jake Allen, formerly of the St. Louis Blues. And Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, which is awarded to the NHL’s top goalie.
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