by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
The Vancouver Canucks finished the 2019-20 regular season with a 36-27-6 record and then went 10-7 during the postseason. The Canucks will try to build on their 2019-20 campaign with another playoff run in 2021.
Vancouver is going off at +2500 on the 2021 Stanley Cup odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The team advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2015 and won a series for the first time since 2011 this year, dispatching the Minnesota Wild and the defending champion St. Louis Blues before eventually losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games. The experience earned from the Canucks’ impressive run should give this young group a nice boost of confidence heading into the upcoming season.
Vegas is one of the three top favorites at online betting sites to win the Stanley Cup next season at +800, sitting atop the board with the current champion Tampa Bay Lightning (+750 to win the Stanley Cup) and the Colorado Avalanche (+800). The Golden Knights figure to be a major obstacle in Vancouver’s path this season as the clear favorites to win the Pacific Division.
The Edmonton Oilers (+2200) are the only other team in the Pacific Division with better odds than the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup. The Calgary Flames (+4000) and Arizona Coyotes (+4000) are the most likely underdogs to crack the projected top three in the Pacific as the San Jose Sharks (+5000), Los Angeles Kings (+6600), and Anaheim Ducks (+8000) are all expected to be in the rebuilding phase this season.
The Dallas Stars (+2000), St. Louis Blues (+2200), Nashville Predators (+3300), Winnipeg Jets (+3300), Minnesota Wild (+5000), and Chicago Blackhawks (+8000) will be jostling for position in the Central Division. Oddsmakers clearly see the Western Conference as a two-horse race between the Avalanche and the Golden Knights, but only time will tell what other legitimate Stanley Cup contenders emerge out West.
Top contenders behind Tampa Bay on the NHL odds to win the Stanley Cup out of the Eastern Conference include the Boston Bruins (+1200), Pittsburgh Penguins (+1800), Toronto Maple Leafs (+1800), Philadelphia Flyers (+2000), Washington Capitals (+2000), and New York Islanders (+2200). Boston had the best record in the NHL at 44-14-12 last season when the COVID-19 pandemic brought the regular season to an early end.
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