NHL is back, opening the new season with a triple-header on Tuesday night, including the Vegas Golden Knights hanging their Stanley Cup championship banner.
When the league played its first season in 1917, there were just four teams (only three finished the year), and the winner of each half of the 22-game season played for the NHL Championship and the O’Brien Cup.
Toronto beat Montreal for that inaugural NHL title and then advanced to play the winners of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, which was won by Vancouver.
Up for grabs in the meeting between Toronto and Vancouver was a trophy that had first been commissioned in 1892 and was known by the 1917-18 season as Lord Stanley’s Cup.
NHL Odds to Win the 2023-2024 Stanley Cup
- Carolina Hurricanes (+800)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (+900)
- New Jersey Devils (+900)
- Edmonton Oilers (+1000)
- Colorado Avalanche (+1000)
- Vegas Golden Knights (+1200)
- New York Rangers (+1300)
- Dallas Stars (+1400)
- Boston Bruins (+1600)
- Florida Panthers (+1600)
The Hurricanes won the Metropolitan Division last year but were knocked out of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers. Carolina is the preseason betting favorite to win the Cup this year, just ahead of Toronto and New Jersey.
The Oilers and Avalanche have the shortest odds in the Western Conference, followed by the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights.
NHL Odds to Win Hart Memorial Trophy
- Connor McDavid (-105)
- Nathan MacKinnon (+900)
- Leon Draisaitl (+1000)
- Matthew Tkachuk (+1200)
- Kirill Kaprizov (+1600)
- Auston Matthews (+1600)
- Jack Hughes (+1800)
There are a number of good players in the NHL that you can bet on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the league’s MVP. None of them are as good as Connor McDavid, who won this trophy last season for the third time.
He led the league in goals and assists, and his 153 points last season was the most in the NHL since Mario Lemieux had 161 in 1996. Only Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, and Steve Yzerman have scored more points in a season than McDavid.
NHL Odds to Win Vezina Trophy
- Ilya Sorokin (+400)
- Juuse Saros (+600)
- Igor Shesterkin (+600)
- Connor Hellebuyck (+700)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy (+800)
- Jake Oettinger (+1200)
- Linus Ullmark (+1800)
Ilya Sorokin is an Olympic gold medalist, and the Islanders goaltender is the favorite to win this Vezina Trophy, given each season to the best goalie in the league.
Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers also won a gold medal in 2018, and he is paying +600. Andrei Vasilevskiy, the great goaltender in Tampa Bay, is paying +800.
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