Odds to Win the Stanley Cup After First Wave of NHL Free Agency

With most of the big-name NHL free agents officially signed with teams, FanDuel Sportsbook has already released odds for next year's Stanley Cup champion.

It should come as no surprise to hockey fans that the Tampa Bay Lightning are the favorite to hoist the Stanley Cup next year at +700 after their record-setting performance in 2019. The Boston Bruins are right behind them after losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues this year at +900.

After that, however, the importance of what teams have done this offseason can be clearly put into perspective.

The oddsmakers recognized the Toronto Maple Leafs' work this offseason by giving them the third best odds at +1000, after the team acquired defenseman, Tyson Barrie, and winger Alexander Kerfoot, from the Colorado Avalanche.

Despite winning the Stanley Cup this year, the Blues only have the sixth-best odds to raise the cup next season. They still have some decisions to make about their roster prior to the beginning of next season. They have a number of key players from last year's team still available in free agency, including Ivan Barbashev, Jordan Binnington, Carl Gunnarsson and Oskar Sundqvist.

One intriguing team in the NHL Futures market is the Dallas Stars. After losing to the Blues in the second round of last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, Dallas did well to bring in top San Jose Sharks' goal scorer from last season, Joe Pavelski. Additionally, the team also re-signed former first-round pick, Jason Dickinson. Currently listed at +2100 to win next year's Cup, the Stars could end up paying dividends for bettors who invest in them before the season starts.

While Tampa Bay and Boston certainly look like the teams to beat next year, there is no telling how some of the marquee free agents will change the dynamics of their new teams. For that reason, there could be value in some of the mid-range long shots like Dallas.

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Leo Abbe-Schneider is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Leo Abbe-Schneider also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username leoabbe2. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.