The celebrations might not have even come to an end yet, but newly-crowned 2022 Stanley Cup winners, the Colorado Avalanche, have already been installed as the betting favourites to win again in 2023.
Yes, congratulations to the Colorado Avalanche, who finally got the job done on Sunday night and ended the reign of the Tampa Bay. The Avalanche scored a 2-1 win at the Amalie Arena, giving them a 4-2 series win, and with it, their third-ever Stanley Cup triumph.
The victory brought an end to Tampa Bay’s run of two Stanley Cup wins in 2020 and 2021, and to complete the job in the backyard of the defending champions must make the triumph all the more satisfying for coach Jared Bednar and his team.
In truth, the pressure was on the Avalanche. They had been the favourites in the betting to win the 2022 Stanley Cup all season. Anything other than the sight of Gabriel Landeskog holding the giant cup aloft at the end of the campaign would have been regarded as a huge failure.
Thankfully for Bednar, Landeskog, and everyone else who has invested so much time, effort and money in the project, the Avalanche lived up to their billing of champions-elect and completed the win with a match to spare.
A particular word has to go to Jon Cooper and his Tampa Bay Lightning team. Boy, did they fight and make it hard for the Ave.
Tampa looked down and out after losing Match 2 by seven goals to zero at the Ball Arena and somehow managed to win the third match 6-2. Then after losing Match 4 at home in overtime, and again with the final looking all over, Tampa went and won the fifth match 3-2 at the Ball Arena.
Jon Cooper’s side didn’t know when they were beaten. And they made sure Colorado had to fight to the bitter end to wrestle the Stanley Cup trophy from their grasp.
And it’s this never say die attitude that sees the Lightning installed as second-favourites to win the 2023 Stanley Cup by the best NHL betting sites. As you can see from the latest Las Vegas NHL odds below, Copper’s team is +800, which is still some way off Colorado’s odds of +400, but it makes Tampa Bay the best of the rest in the betting.
| 2023 Stanley Cup Winner Betting |  |
|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | +400 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +800 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +900 |
| Florida Panthers | +1000 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1400 |
| New York Rangers | +1400 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +1400 |
| Boston Bruins | +1800 |
| Calgary Flames | +1800 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +2000 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2000 |
| St Louis Blues | +2000 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2200 |
| Dallas Stars | +3500 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +3500 |
| New York Islanders | +3500 |
A lot of water is yet to travel under the bridge with regards to the 2022/23 NHL season. And who knows where we will be with playing rosters and coaches, etc, come the start of next season. But as of now, these odds look a fair reflection of where teams are at.
Colorado looks to have the strongest team on paper, and they’ve demonstrated that across the just-completed season.
They practically strolled their way through the regular season in the Central Division. While in the playoffs, only the St Louis Blues and Tampa Bay (two wins each) managed to beat them. Nashville and Edmonton didn’t manage to win a single match against the champs in their respective best-of-seven series.
As for Tampa Bay, would it shock anyone if they came back and won the Stanley Cup again next season? Two wins and a defeat in the final from the last three seasons is some record and tells you all you need to know. And as Colorado almost found out to their expense, this Tampa team doesn’t give you anything.
There would have been some nerves jangling in Denver had this series gone 3-3 on Sunday night. That is for sure. Tampa Bay cannot be underestimated, and the +800 at the moment looks like a good value bet.
Elsewhere, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers make up the top 4 in the betting.
The Maple Leafs are a bit of an enigma. They are a household name worldwide but haven’t won a Stanley Cup for over 50 years. 1967 was the last time!
They did show glimpses this season, and they were unlucky in the 1st Round of this year’s playoffs, going down 4-3 to Tampa Bay in an entertaining battle. But when you look at Tampa Bay at +800, and Toronto at +900, why would you wager on anybody other than Jon Cooper’s team?
As for the Florida Panthers at +1000, again, the same questions arise. They had a great regular season, winning the Atlantic Division (finishing 12 points ahead of Tampa Bay). But then managed to lose 4-0 to their cross-city rivals in the 2nd Round of the playoffs.
Something always seems amiss with the Panthers when it comes to the crunch. They have recently hired Paul Maurice as head coach, replacing the interim Andrew Brunette, so they are making positive changes.
Whether Maurice can be that missing ingredient remains to be seen. If he can be that missing piece of glue, then at +1000, the Panthers would be a good call. The problem is, we won’t know for a while.
