The Calgary Flames have got their season off to a flying start in the NHL, so with their odds drastically slashed after just three matches in the Stanley Cup futures betting market; we look at their prospects of causing a major upset in the 2022/23 ice hockey season.
Two weeks ago, the Calgary Flames were +1800 to win the 2023 Stanley Cup. Okay, that’s not major outsider territory, but it left eight teams ahead of them in the betting. Now, after a blistering start to the new season, Darryl Sutter’s team finds themselves third in the betting to win the Stanley Cup, at odds of just +1000.
Before we go on any further and look at their longer-term prospects, let’s first look at the latest futures betting odds to win the 2023 Stanley Cup.
The Colorado Avalanche are still the favorites, but we have seen their odds drift from +400 to +475 with the best NHL betting sites. It’s not just Colorado, though. The second favorites in the betting at the start of the season were the Toronto Maple Leafs. They started at +850 and have now also slightly drifted to +900.
Third, in the betting is the Calgary Flames at +1000, and as we’ve mentioned, they have seen their odds drastically move. The Flames are on +1000 with the Carolina Hurricanes, who always seem to be in the betting, just keeping themselves beneath the radar.
| 2023 Stanley Cup Winner Betting Odds |  |
|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | +475 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +900 |
| Calgary Flames | +1000 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1000 |
| Florida Panthers | +1100 |
| New York Rangers | +1200 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +1400 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1400 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +2000 |
| Boston Bruins | +2200 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2200 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2500 |
| Dallas Stars | +3500 |
BetOnline provides all the odds in this article. You can read more about this bookmaker in our BetOnline sportsbook review.
It’s not just winning the opening three games of the season that has been impressive for the Flames, it is when you look at who they’ve beaten. Wins of 5-3 over Colorado (Sutter’s 700th as a coach), the Oilers (4-3), and the Golden Knights (3-2) are setting a high standard.
No matter what happens in the next few matches, Sutter’s team has already alerted the rest of the NHL to this season. They have now shown they have the pedigree to compete with the best, but I still think they will need a helping hand from some of the other main players in the NHL when it comes to competing for the Stanley Cup.
And it just so happens that some of those main players who should be in the mix at the end of the season aren’t quite having things all their way now.
The Colorado Avalanche have had an indifferent start to the 2022/23 season, but it doesn’t seem to have affected their odds too badly in the NHL futures betting markets to win the 2023 Stanley Cup.
Just two weeks ago, before the season got underway, Jared Bedner’s team was +400 to defend the Stanley Cup in 2023. They have slightly drifted out to +475 on the back of an indifferent start to the season.
So is this slight drift in the latest NHL odds a sign of things to come for the Avalanche, that they might not have things all their way this season? Or is it just a reaction to the indifferent start we referred to?
The start hasn’t been a total disaster, that’s for sure. So far, Bednar’s team has won twice and lost twice (one in O|T). They sit second in the Central Division, and some of the teams expected to try and take their Stanley Cup off them this season have also struggled to get going.
For example, the Tampa Bay Lightning have lost three of their first four, and the Maple Leafs have won two and lost two of their opening four. So there is no reason for Colorado fans or backers to start worrying just yet, but it’s not the start they would have wanted.
A further blow that might have played a part in the drift on the Avalanche is the news that Gabriel Landeskog will be out until the new year. It was hardly a surprise, but it was still a blow.
Landeskog’s absence also plays into the narrative that it’s just not happening for the Avalanche at the moment, and it’s something else that helps the Flames.
And if further proof were needed that all is not well at Colorado, we’ve now also seen coach Jared Bednar publicly challenging his players to step up in the absence of their injured captain.
With Landeskog undergoing surgery to keep him out of the team until January 2023, coach Bednar has said it’s up to others to step up and replace him. This is pretty routine stuff, in fairness, but the fact that it has been stated so publicly could suggest Bedar is already having to try and motivate his players.
Landeskog was also missing for a large part of the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup-winning season last year, and it didn’t seem to affect them too much. So I wouldn’t let that put anybody off from backing them.
However, I would still pick the Colorado Avalanche over the Calgary Flames when it comes to the crunch. The season is long, players will get injured, and teams will also show indifferent form. A lot would have to change over the next few weeks for me to consider picking the Flames, so for now, at least, I’m backing the Avalanche.
