NHL 2021-22 Stanley Cup Futures Update

With just under two weeks remaining until the NHL trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche remain the strong favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

In the latest Stanley Cup futures odds at Bovada Sportsbook, the Avalanche are +375 favorites. That’s up from the +500 odds they were getting a month ago.

Avalanche rolling atop Stanley Cup oddsboard

Colorado leads the league with 87 points and continues to dominate at home, losing only three times in regulation all season. If the Avs maintain home-ice advantage, which appears likely right now, they will be hard to beat in the playoffs.

Following the Avalanche on the Stanley Cup futures board are the two teams from the Sunshine State, the Tampa Bay Lightning at +650 and the Florida Panthers at +700. The Lightning have seen their odds improve slightly, up from +750, while the Panthers have dropped from +550.

The defending champion Lightning are looking to become the first team to win three consecutive Cups since the New York Islanders did it in the early 1980s. Since the calendar flipped over to 2022, the Lightning are 16-5-1 and with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point all healthy, the team looks primed for another Cup run.

Explosive Panthers look to produce in playoffs

The Panthers boast a deep scoring lineup and have the top goal differential in the league right now. Could this finally be the year Florida makes some noise in the playoffs? To say the Panthers have been devoid of any playoff success for a while would be an understatement – they haven’t even won a playoff series since reaching the Cup final in 1996.

Rounding out the top five in the Cup futures are the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames, both at +950. If the Flames do go on to win their first Cup since 1989, hopefully you placed a futures bet a month ago.

The Flames have soared up the futures lately after sitting at +2000 just last month. Calgary sits comfortably in first place in the Pacific Division and has a 7-2-1 record in its last 10 games.

Shesterkin makes Rangers a good value pick

If you’re looking for value in the Cup futures, the best odds might be the New York Rangers at +2000. Last year the Montreal Canadiens showed how far a hot goalie can get you in the playoffs when Carey Price carried them to the Stanley Cup Final. Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin has arguably been the best goalie in the league this year. If Shesterkin can keep that going in the playoffs, he could lead a young and talented Rangers squad to a long upset-laden playoff run.