Following a breakthrough campaign that featured their first NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance since 2006, the Edmonton Oilers enter the off-season as the top Canadian team at +1200 on the 2018 Stanley Cup odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Oilers finished the 2016-17 regular season with 103 points but failed to get past the second round of the playoffs, falling to the Anaheim Ducks in seven games after knocking off the defending Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks in the first round.
Edmonton is closely followed by another Canadian team that ended a lengthy playoff drought. Powered by the rookie trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, the Toronto Maple Leafs silenced the naysayers by earning their first playoff berth in four years, and look toward next season as a +1600 bet to claim their first Cup victory since 1967.
The Maple Leafs eventually fell to top-seeded Washington in a six-game, first-round matchup for their fifth defeat in their past six playoff series, but the club’s talented offence ranked fifth in the NHL this past season, raising expectations for the upcoming campaign.
The Montreal Canadiens enjoyed another strong regular season, finishing atop the Atlantic Division standings with 103 points to claim their third divisional title in five years, and sit alongside the rival Maple Leafs at +1600 on the Stanley Cup odds.
The Canadiens then made a disappointing first-round playoff departure, falling to the New York Rangers in six games – marking their third loss in their past four playoff series. But Montreal’s offence received a boost this week with the acquisition of gifted playmaker Jonathan Drouin in a deal with Tampa Bay.
The Ottawa Senators were the Cinderella story of this year’s playoffs, knocking off Boston and New York to reach the Eastern Conference final, but enter the offseason in the middle of the pack on the Stanley Cup odds, joining the Calgary Flames at +3300. The Winnipeg Jets closed out the regular season with seven straight wins but fell well short of a playoff spot and trail at +4000, while the Vancouver Canucks sit at a distant +7500.
The Pittsburgh Penguins lead the way as early +900 favourites to become the first team in 35 years to win three straight Stanley Cup titles, followed by the Capitals and Lightning, who join Edmonton at +1200.
The Ducks, Nashville Predators, and Chicago Blackhawks are knotted at +1400, while the Rangers, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars are deadlocked with Toronto and Montreal at +1600, followed by the Los Angeles Kings at +1800, the Columbus Blue Jackets at +2000, and the Sharks at +2200.
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