2017-2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Futures and Proposition Odds
–Stanley Cup futures odds for the 2017-2018 NHL season are already available.
–The Stanley Cup playoffs bring the intensity from the opening round due to the highly competitive nature of the NHL.
–The defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins are the favorite to win the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup.
It’s been just over 24 hours since the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the plucky Nashville Predators in six games to win their second straight Stanley Cup. Despite the fact that the 2016-2017 season is barely ‘in the books’ that’s not stopping bettors, bookmakers and analysts from looking ahead to next season.
It’s de rigueur for sports books all over the world to post their ‘to win’ futures odds for next season almost immediately after the championship has been determined. Super Bowl futures often go up minutes after the game is completed and the other ‘stick and ball’ sports are not far behind. There’s no shortage of bookmakers posting numbers on the 2017-2018 NHL Stanley Cup championship but we’re going to do them better with futures markets for the Stanley Cup, Eastern and Western Conferences and a nice assortment of 2017-2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs futures betting odds.
If you’ve been paying attention you’ve no doubt noticed that almost always the futures odds for *next* season have the champion or runner up for *this* season as the favorite to repeat. There are exceptions–for example, the Denver Broncos who won Super Bowl 50 but were a decided longshot to win Super Bowl LI. That had everything to do with the retirement of Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ muddled quarterback situation. In other cases, it’s simply the best ‘public’ team available. That’s what happened after the 2015-2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks in the finals but the role of favorite for the 2016-2017 title was the Chicago Blackhawks.
NOT A GOOD TIME TO BACK THE FAVORITE
In terms of a recently crowned champion being the favorite to repeat next season the explanation can be found in an extremely valuable handicapping concept–the ‘public’ overreacts to what they’ve just seen. The Penguins should have a solid team and will definitely be ‘in the mix’ to repeat but by no means are they a ‘lock’ or even a solid favorite to do so. It’s tough enough to repeat as champion in any sport and particularly in hockey. Prior to the Penguins’ back to back wins the last team to repeat as Stanley Cup champion was the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998. A Penguins’ Cup victory next season will give them three straight and that’s even more difficult no matter how good the team. The last time a NHL team won three straight? The great Al Arbour coached New York Islanders teams that featured Mike Bossy, Brian Trottier and Dennis Potvin. The Islanders would go on to win four straight Stanley Cups in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983. In other words, it hasn’t been done in 34 years.
The ‘recency bias’ means that the favorite is drastically overvalued in the futures betting to win the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup. If you think Pittsburgh will win three straight you’ll have countless better value opportunities where you can back them financially. This is also true in the Eastern and Western Conference futures markets. If you like any of the other teams this might be a good opportunity to lock in an advantageous price. Case in point–Stanley Cup runner up Nashville was 25/1 before the 2016-2017 regular season began but by late in the campaign had been bet down to 7/1.
2017-2018 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS FUTURES ODDS
TO WIN 2017-2018 STANLEY CUP
Pittsburgh Penguins: +750
Edmonton Oilers: +1150
Chicago Blackhawks: +1150
Washington Capitals: +1250
Tampa Bay Lightning: +1250
Nashville Predators: +1250
Anaheim Ducks: +1500
Montreal Canadiens: +1650
Dallas Stars: +1650
Toronto Maple Leafs: +1650
New York Rangers: +1750
Columbus Blue Jackets: +1750
Minnesota Wild: +2150
Los Angeles Kings: +2500
San Jose Sharks: +2500
Boston Bruins: +3250
Calgary Flames: +3250
Ottawa Senators +3500
St. Louis Blues: +3500
Florida Panthers: +5000
New York Islanders: +5000
Philadelphia Flyers: +5000
Winnipeg Jets: +6500
Buffalo Sabres: +6500
Carolina Hurricanes: +6500
Arizona Coyotes: +7500
Vancouver Canucks: +9000
Detroit Red Wings: +10000
Colorado Avalanche: +10000
New Jersey Devils: +10000
Vegas Golden Knights: +15000
TO WIN NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE 2017-2018
Pittsburgh Penguins: +450
Washington Capitals: +650
Tampa Bay Lightning: +650
Montreal Canadiens: +650
Toronto Maple Leafs: +750
New York Rangers: +900
Columbus Blue Jackets: +900
Boston Bruins: +1500
Ottawa Senators +1500
Florida Panthers: +2150
New York Islanders: +2150
Philadelphia Flyers: +2150
Buffalo Sabres: +3250
Carolina Hurricanes: +3250
Detroit Red Wings: +5000
New Jersey Devils: +5000
TO WIN NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE 2017-2018
Edmonton Oilers: +450
Chicago Blackhawks: +450
Nashville Predators: +750
Anaheim Ducks: +750
Dallas Stars: +950
Minnesota Wild: +950
Los Angeles Kings: +950
San Jose Sharks: +950
Calgary Flames: +1250
St. Louis Blues: +1250
Winnipeg Jets: +2500
Arizona Coyotes: +2500
Vancouver Canucks: +3500
Colorado Avalanche: +5000
Vegas Golden Knights: +7500
2017-2018 NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS PROPOSITION ODDS
How many Canadian teams will advance to the 2017-2018 Conference Finals?
Over 1.5: +225
Under 1.5: -250
Will a Canadian team play in the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup Finals?
Yes: +300
No: -450
Will a Canadian team win the 2017-2018 Stanley Cup?
Yes: +1150
No: -2300
Will the winner of the 2017-2018 Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP come from a team that didn’t win the Stanley Cup?
Yes: +550
No: -950
Which position will the 2017-2018 Conn Smythe Trophy winner play?
Centre: +175
Goaltender: +175
Left Wing: +1750
Right Wing: +500
Defence: +400
Will the 2017-2018 Conn Smythe Trophy be won by a Canadian born player?
Yes: -950
No: +600
Will the 2017-2018 Conn Smythe Trophy winner also be awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Regular Season Player)?
Yes: +4500
No: -9000
Will the 2017-2018 Conn Smythe Trophy be awarded to a previous winner?
Yes: +2500
No: -5000