With the puck drop on the NHL season only two weeks away just three of Canada’s seven NHL teams are favoured to advance to the playoffs next spring, with the Toronto Maple Leafs leading the way as a -350 wager on that prop at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Maple Leafs have enjoyed a strong run over the past two regular seasons. Toronto recorded a team-record 49 wins and 105 points in 2017/18, and followed that with a 100-point campaign last season, earning the team a playoff berth in three straight seasons for the first time in the NHL’s salary cap era.
Toronto has emerged as a -130 bet to tally OVER 102.5 points in the upcoming campaign, and trails only the Tampa Bay Lightning as a +900 second favourite on the Stanley Cup odds.
The Winnipeg Jets sit second to Toronto among Canadian-based NHL squads, sporting -250 odds of advancing to the postseason, just ahead of the Calgary Flames, who sit at -205 on those NHL season props.
The Jets took a step back last season after racking up 114 points in 2017/18, compiling 99 points, which was good enough to earn a second-place finish in the Central Division standings for a second straight year.
[snippet id=4167285]
However, the Jets have endured a number of personnel changes during the offseason, and with the status of Dustin Byfuglien and restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor still uncertain as opening night approaches, the Jets are a +195 wager to finish this season outside the playoff picture.
The Flames are coming off their best season since their lone Stanley Cup win in 1989, finishing atop the Western Conference with 107 points. And while Calgary is set as a -120 bet to tally OVER 96.5 points this season, they lag behind the favoured Vegas Golden Knights at +450 odds to repeat as Pacific Division champions.
The Montreal Canadiens fell just two points short of a playoff berth last season and return to action with +115 odds of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2016/17. Relying on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to generate offence, the Edmonton Oilers sport -190 odds of missing the playoffs, while a flurry of signings have failed to boost the Vancouver Canucks, who are a -175 wager on those NHL odds to come up short in their playoff bid.
And last-place finishers in the NHL standings last year, the Ottawa Senators hope to turn the corner on their rebuild this season. However, they sit at the bottom of the odds to make the NHL playoffs at sportsbooks heading into the campaign as +625 longshots.
[relatedlinks]