With the NHL season in the rear view mirror, it is time to gather towards the offseason. The Colorado Avalanche are 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Champions, the third time in franchise history it has happened and for the first time since 2001. Colorado will be one of the favorites to win again next season, along with Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vegas, and Carolina.
However, a few teams with lower odds have great value to bet on to win the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup title. So if you’re a hockey fan doing some NASCAR betting or NFL predictions over the offseason, who are some of the lower-odd teams worth betting on for next season?
New York Rangers +1600
The New York Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Finals. New York had a 2-0 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning before they lost the series 4-2 against them. The one thing that the Rangers have going for them is that they have one of the best goalies in the world in Igor Shesterkin.
Gerard Gallant is one of the better head coaches in the NHL. New York has to figure out this offseason if they want to make any major moves or not. Will some of the kids be on the roster, or will some of them be traded like Kaapo Kakko? Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox, and Artemi Panarin are some of the top players on this roster, though.
Did the New York Rangers already reach their ceiling? We’ll see.
Edmonton Oilers +1800
The Edmonton Oilers reached the Western Conference Finals before getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are some of the top hockey players in the world. Despite getting swept, they both led the Stanley Cup Playoffs in points. They had much better depth this season.
The biggest thing Edmonton needs to do this offseason is not bringing back Mike Smith or Mikko Koskinen in net. They made the right move by bringing back head coach Jay Woodcroft with a three-year contract extension. He did a great job after replacing David Tippet earlier in the regular season.
The Oilers are knocking on the door for a Stanley Cup title. We will see where this all goes for them.
Minnesota Wild +1800
The Minnesota Wild lost to the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Even though Minnesota traded away Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings, the Wild still have a ton of young talent and need to clear up some cap space. They have another ceiling to reach.
Dean Evanson is the head coach of this hockey team, and we’ll see what general manager Bill Guerin has up his sleeve.
Pittsburgh Penguins +2000
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a first-round exit for the last four seasons, and many are wondering if Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are returning or will be re-signed. Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Tristan Jarry will still be around. Mike Sullivan is one of the best head coaches in the entire NHL.
We will see what general manager Ron Hextall has in store in free agency and potentially the trade market. He is usually quiet about his plans, which should lead to an interesting time in franchise history.
St. Louis Blues +2000
The St. Louis Blues can roll out four different lines. They gave the Colorado Avalanche the most fits during the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. St. Louis will likely decide to keep goalie Jordan Binnington over Ville Husso during the offseason. The Blues will be dangerous next season as long as Craig Berube is coaching this hockey team.
Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, and Robert Thomas will be around. The question will be if Vladimir Tarasenko is brought back to this franchise by management or if he is somewhere else next season. We’ll see what happens.
