The Pittsburgh Penguins swung a blockbuster trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs to add Phil Kessel to their forward ranks for the 2015/16 NHL season, but that still doesn’t have them sitting as the favourite on the odds to win the Stanley Cup next spring at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Pittsburgh fell early in the playoffs this past spring, losing in just five games in the first round against the New York Rangers. The Penguins are hoping that adding Kessel to a lineup that already includes Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will give them the punch needed to advance through the Stanley Cup playoffs in the season ahead.
However, the latest odds to win the 2016 Stanley Cup have the defending-champion Chicago Blackhawks still sitting as the betting favourites. Chicago got past the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games last season in the Stanley Cup final, and the sportsbooks have them set as the 11/2 favourites to repeat as the champion next season.
The Lightning are then tied with the Anaheim Ducks at 10/1 on the latest Stanley Cup betting lines, followed by the New York Rangers and the Penguins just a step behind those teams at 11/1.
Pittsburgh managed to score just eight goals in their five-game loss to the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs, which included a 4-3 Penguins victory in Game 2 of the series. Crosby had 84 points in 77 games during the regular season, with Malkin picking up 70 points in 69 games, and Kessel good for 61 points in 82 games in a down year for the Maple Leafs.
And how will Toronto do without Kessel in their lineup next season? According to the oddsmakers they’re a big longshot to win the Stanley Cup, with the sportsbooks pegging them at 66/1 on those NHL futures along with the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche.
In fact, only five teams have worse odds to win the 2016 Stanley Cup than the Maple Leafs heading into the summer, with the Florida Panthers and the New Jersey Devils both at 75/1, and each of the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, and Carolina Hurricanes set at 100/1.
As for the other six Canadian teams, the Montreal Canadiens lead the way at 16/1 on the latest 2016 Stanley Cup odds, with the Winnipeg Jets a step back at 28/1, and the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers both at 33/1. The Ottawa Senators and the Vancouver Canucks hold down lines of 40/1 at the sportsbooks.
