With pleasure I am back again with Sporfolio this year to cover the upcoming NHL Season. Make sure you check out my weekly content for the nationally covered games in the NHL starting with the triple header on October 10th, but in the meantime we have some future bets to get you going until then! Make sure you are following @Sporfolio and myself @Daily_Biscuit31 for all your sport coverage needs in the NHL and NFL. Also, you can read my Eastern Conference Preview here.
Central
Colorado Avalanche – Alexander Geogiev 40+ Wins +250
Colorado won 51 games last year of those 51 Geogiev started 62 and won exactly 40. He is their workhorse and will continue to be as that gave up a lot of draft capital for him to the Rangers. There is no reason to think he can not replicate last year’s numbers.
Dallas Stars – No Play
The Stars date the Central division No Play as there is no value in any of there lines in terms of division or points O/U
Minnesota Wild – To Win Central +650
Finishing 3rd in the Division last year and 6 points (3 games) behind last year’s winner (Colorado) is not that far fetched for a team that is very offensively gifted. With Marc-Andre Fleury the main goaltender in Minnesota the sky can be the limit as all he does is win no matter where he goes.
Winnipeg Jets – Over 92.5 Points -125
The Central can have 5 teams make the playoffs as they are almost a complete division outside of the Blackhawks and maybe Coyotes. The point total is below how they finished last year so asking them to be just as good as they were is not a hard ask. It’s just a matter of if the team will sell early if they struggle.
St. Louis Blues – To Make Playoffs +200
Since winning the Cup a few years back the Blues have been in a limbo. As I mentioned above the division can have 5 teams represent it in the playoffs and the Blues will be battling for the final Wild Card Spot with the likes of the Jets and Flames.
Arizona Coyotes Over 79.5 Points -110
I really want the Coyotes to be good, just for the fact that they have the best sweaters in the NHL, but in all honestly they are not as bad as their point total seems to be as i think they can win 5 more games than last season to hit 80 points and clear 79.5
Chicago Blackhawks – Under 71.5 points -115
Asking a team to go from 59 points (26 wins) to 72 points (about 7 wins more at 33) doesn’t sound like a lot but for a team that “tanked for Bedard” is still deep in a rebuild and will continue to lose more games than win.
Pacific
Vegas Golden Knights – President Trophy Winner +1200 / To Win Pacific +260
There are 6 teams ahead of the Knights that have better odds 3 of these teams are in the East and the other 3, Vegas was the best team in the West last year, and outside of the Bruins they were only 1 game behind the best team in the East. So it is not out of the realm of them overtaking the spot that the Bruins held last year. If you see them winning the President Trophy why not put some down on winning the Division also?
Edmonton Oilers – To Win Pacific +165 / President Trophy Winner +600
This play is more of a hedge play and can also go either way. By no means am I contradicting my play of the Knights winning the President Trophy, but it’s the NHL we seen crazy things happen, but I see the division as a two team race between themselves and Vegas and someone needs to win the division so its more of a who you like better Veags or Edmonton.
Los Angeles Kings – No Play
To round out the one team I have no clue what to think about in each division is the Kings. There is no value in any of their futures. As they are projected to do worse than last year with the O/U at 99.5 points (5 wins less). They are improved as we saw below and likely will battle for the playoffs (-400) but the point value is just not there as I’m not a fan of the number.
Seattle Kraken – To Miss Playoffs +100
Regression seems to be a lot of what Vegas thinks when making these lines. Also we don’t know what we will get from this year’s Kraken team. Will we get a team that struggles year one, or will we get a team that made the playoffs and won a series? I think Seattle will regress enough and miss the playoffs as last year they overachieved leaving room for a team like the Predators Flames to slide in this year.
Calgary Flames – Over 95.5 Points -115
As mentioned above with Seattle, the Flames surprised a lot of people by losing their best player in Johnny Gaudreau to the Blue Jackets last season and didn’t look like they missed a beat. They did miss the playoffs(by 1 game) but that is ok for a team that was not expected to compete and looks to finish in the top 3 of the Pacific, or at very least a Wild Card. I love for them to make the playoffs but at -180 it seems like I’m not alone, but for them to make the playoffs they need to improve just enough and at over 95.5 points will get them in.
Vancouver Canucks Under 90.5 Points – 115
Nothing the Canucks did in the offseason makes me think they are 4 wins better than last season. While they are a very weak division and conference, I do not see them taking the leaps to improve this much unless Thatcher Demko becomes the goaltender they expect them to be.
San Jose Sharks – Under 66.5 Points – 120
The Sharks might be this year’s Blackhawks and could very likely be the worst team in the league. They have the lowest point totals in the league and as long as you can get the under at -120 or better they are worth the bet.
Anaheim Ducks Over 70.5 Points -115
Something about the Ducks this season I like as they are trending in the right direction. Will they fight for the Top 3 in the division or Wild Card? No, but they will be better than 23 wins last year and if they get to 35 you are right at the 70 point mark and if things go their way the over will cash!