Avalanche fans are down on their team’s chances next season, especially with the uncertainty around Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin, but oddsmakers are still very high on Colorado compared to other NHL teams.
While they’re not the favorites heading into next season, they’re pretty close. DraftKings currently has the Avalanche at +1300 to win the Stanley Cup in 2024/25, which has them tied for the fourth best odds in the league. This is actually down from where Colorado was last month by a fair bit. A lot of that probably has to do with their relatively quiet off-season, compared to a team like Edmonton, who are the odds-on favorite to win it all next season.
The NHL Awards futures are a little bit more interesting.
Nathan MacKinnon walked away with his first Hart Trophy last month, and did so by receiving the majority of the first place votes. Oddsmakers like his chances of going back-to-back, but there is one overwhelming favorite to win the Hart next season, and it shouldn’t be a real surprise. Connor McDavid, fresh off a Conn Smythe Trophy win, is listed at +175 to win the Hart, while MacKinnon sits in second at +700.
A relatively large gap between first and second, but given McDavid’s history and the love that voters have for him, not a huge surprise. If you’re looking for tips on awards like this or anything else, you can check out MightyTips, who are the experts in sports predictions.
There’s a similar situation developing with the Norris Trophy. Quinn Hughes took home his first Norris this past season, but Cale Makar is the clear favorite next season, sitting at +250 right now. Hughes is at +800, and he’s not even the only one with the second-best odds, as Miro Heiskanen and Adam Fox are right there with him. I guess oddsmakers just really like Makar’s chances of coming back and winning his second Norris. Even in a “down year,” he put up career high numbers offensively. Devon Toews is down at +7500 if you really want to get frisky.
If you’re looking for any other interesting bets, there is the Jack Adams, which has Jared Bednar at +2200. That award usually goes to the coach who takes a bad team and sneaks them into the playoffs, so maybe not the best bet. They also have MacKinnon at +1500 to lead the NHL in goals, while Mikko Rantanen sits at +4000.
We’ll continue to monitor this all summer, because what else is there to do?
