The Tampa Bay Lightning are once again the preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup, but the Vegas Golden Knights are a close second. The Lighting are the 6/1 choice to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, while the Golden Knights are 7/1, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche are next at 10/1. The Boston Bruins are 14/1, while the defending champion St. Louis Blues are at 16/1.
Preseason hockey games begin this weekend. The first game is the Arizona Coyotes at Vegas on Sunday. There are 11 games on Monday, including the Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals, and the Bruins at the New Jersey Devils.
Tampa Bay Trying to Overcome Disappointment
The Lightning are trying to put another postseason failure behind them, and are focusing on winning the organization’s second championship. The team is a 3/1 pick to win the Eastern Conference, and 11/1 to win the Atlantic Division.
Stanley Cup Odds
Team                                             Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning           6/1
Vegas Golden Knights          7/1
Toronto Maple Leafs           10/1
Colorado Avalanche           10/1
Boston Bruins                14/1
St. Louis Blues                16/1
Washington Capitals           20/1
Dallas Stars                  20/1
Calgary Flames               20/1
Nashville Predators            20/1
Pittsburgh Penguins           25/1
Florida Panthers              25/1
San Jose Sharks              25/1
Winnipeg Jets                25/1
New York Islanders           30/1
Carolina Hurricanes           30/1
Arizona Coyotes             30/1
New York Rangers           30/1
New Jersey Devils           30/1
Vancouver Canucks          40/1
Chicago Blackhawks         50/1
Philadelphia Flyers           50/1
Edmonton Oilers            50/1
Montreal Canadiens          60/1
Buffalo Sabres              80/1
Columbus Blue Jackets      100/1
Minnesota Wild             100/1
Detroit Red Wings          100/1
Anaheim Ducks            100/1
Los Angeles Kings                  100/1
Ottawa Senators            500/1
Odds Courtesy of Westgate LV SuperBook
Last season, the Lightening were the preseason favorite to win the Stanley Cup at 8/1, and 4/1 to win the conference. Those odds only improved as they scored the most points of any team with two months remaining in the season. Tampa was 9/2 to win the Cup, and 9/4 to win the conference.
But the playoffs were a disaster for the team. They were heavy favorites in the first round against the Columbus, but were swept by the Blue Jackets.
The team made goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy the third-highest paid net minder in the NHL with a new contract worth $76 million over eight years. Vasilevskiy won the Vezina trophy last year as the league’s best goalie, but said the ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup.
“The regular season wasn’t bad, the Vezina Trophy is good too,†Vasilevskiy said. “But the main goal is to win the Stanley Cup, and I won’t be happy until I win it. I’m the same guy and I’m going to continue to work hard. This [contract] motivates me to work even harder.â€
Vegas Must Look Past 2019 Playoffs
The Golden Knights were the second pick to win the Stanley Cup at 10/1 last year, and were also bounced from the first round. Their elimination was far more controversial, however.
Vegas had a 3-2 lead over the San Jose Sharks, then lost the Game 6 in double overtime, and Game 7 on a controversial call.
The Golden Knights must now find a way to rebound from that heartbreak. They return two of the strongest lines in hockey with William Karlsson, Jonathan Marrchessault, and Reilly Smith on the first line, and Mark Stone, Paul Stastny, and Max Pacioretty on the other.
