The Tampa Bay Lightning are fresh off winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup, but they aren’t favored for a three-peat.
Early odds on the 2022 NHL champion have the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights favored ahead of the Lightning.
Tampa Bay beat the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday to wrap up their latest championship. The Canadiens, who entered the playoffs with the fewest points of the 16 competing teams, are not listed among the top 10 betting favorites for next season’s crown by most sportsbooks.
The Avalanche are the favorite at BetMGM (+500), Bovada (+500), DraftKings (+500), PointsBet (+550) and FanDuel (+650). Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy for posting the best regular-season record in the just concluded campaign before falling to Vegas in the second round of the postseason.
The Golden Knights, who matched the Avalanche with 82 regular-season points, lost to the Canadiens in the playoff semifinals.
Vegas is listed at +550 at PointsBet, +600 at Bovada, +650 at BetMGM, +750 at FanDuel and +800 on DraftKings.
The Lightning are the second choice at DraftKings (+600) and FanDuel (+700). Tampa Bay is posted at +650 at PointsBet, +700 at Bovada and +750 at BetMGM.
The Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are widely listed as the next three favorites after Colorado, Vegas and Tampa Bay.
The expansion Seattle Kraken, who will mark their NHL debut in 2021-22, are offered at +5000 at BetMGM and FanDuel and at +10000 at Bovada, DraftKings and PointsBet.
However, Seattle does not have the highest odds at most books. The Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are considered the biggest longshots.
–Field Level Media