With the NHL All-Star weekend and bye weeks in the rear-view mirror and the league’s Feb. 24 trade deadline nearing, it’s a good time to check in on the NHL futures market. Let’s check in on a couple favorites and a couple longshots on the board for winning the Western Conference.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Monday at 11 p.m. ET.
2019-20 Western Conference favorites
St. Louis Blues (+360)
The defending Stanley Cup champions don’t need a miraculous second-half turnaround to vault into spring-time bracket play this year. St. Louis is leading the tough Central Division and should be in position for a slew of home games on the Western Conference side of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Blues are a deep team, and with D Alex Pietrangelo leading the way, the St. Louis power play has been clicking along at a 24.4% success rate. The wild card with the Blues is star RW Vladimir Tarasenko. The steady winger has been out since having shoulder surgery in late October. He could return late in the regular season or just in time for the playoffs. That could effectively make him the best acquisition any contender could be making for the stretch run.
Colorado Avalanche (+400)
Nathan MacKinnon and company are leading the Western Conference with 3.64 goals per game. Over the last couple months, Colorado has overtaken St. Louis on the analytics side – the puck-possession and shot-position numbers underpinning goals for, goals against, wins and losses.
The Avs’ power play would figure to have some upside. Colorado ranks 22nd in the NHL with an 18.9% conversion rate. Something close to the 22% (seventh) the team posted last season would be tremendously impactful.
Of all the contenders, the Avalanche have the most available salary cap space, too. That could mean a significant add at the trade deadline. Some veteran blue-line help would make sense. Of the top four or five favorites in the West, Colorado’s +400 price has the best value.
Place a sports bet on the 2019-20 Stanley Cup winner or other NHL games at BetMGM.
2019-20 Western Conference longshots
Vancouver Canucks (+1100)
The Canucks are solidly in the playoff picture, and they’re a couple clicks south of their Pythagorean expectation (comparing goals against goals allowed to predict a won-loss record).
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been sharp for long stretches and can be a sneaky-good weapon come playoff time. Despite having a lot of young players in key slots, the team as a whole fits that same M.O. If Vancouver can put it all together more consistently, the makings of a team that can make a run are there. GM Jim Benning may not have many attractive draft picks to play with when it comes to trade talks, so the current squad might not get much of a boost from the outside.
Chicago Blackhawks (+2200)
The Chicago Blackhawks are a fun bad-defense-good-goaltending mix of youth and seasoned vets which is surging offensively (3.70 GPG since Dec. 18). Playing in a balanced, less top-heavy conference, the ‘Hawks could turn out to be a fun bag of mystery fireworks at their current outsider-looking-in price.
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