2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Odds for every team and sleeper picks to go the distance
If you’re like me, helicoptering in for the end of the NHL season after not paying much attention all year, you may be wondering how much has changed from the start of the season when the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes were co-favorites at +900 to win the Stanley Cup.
With the season officially over and the playoffs set to begin Saturday, the Hurricanes remain favored at BetMGM, where their +650 odds lead the entire field. The outlook for Colorado remains positive too, though the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers have moved into a tied with the Avalanche for fourth-best odds at +800. Last year’s runner-up, the Florida Panthers, hold the second-best odds at +700 and the Dallas Stars are third at +750.
Stanley Cup odds (BetMGM)
- Carolina Hurricanes (+650)
- Florida Panthers (+700)
- Dallas Stars (+750)
- Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers (+800)
- Boston Bruins (+1100)
- Vegas Golden Knights (+1200)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (+1400)
- Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets (+1500)
- Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning (+2500)
- Nashville Predators (+4000)
- New York Islanders (+5000)
- Washington Capitals (+12500)
As the Panthers showed us last season, no one can be counted out when it comes to making a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida pushed through to the final as an 8-seed, losing just a single game between the second and third rounds.
We’d be foolish to think another lower seed can’t push through in 2024, which is why it’s a good time to sprinkle some action on teams that might be this year’s sleeper. Here are the teams I think might qualify, and for the purposes of this exercise, I only considered teams with title odds longer than 10-1.
Vegas Golden Knights (+550 to win West)
Count out the defending champs if you want, but I won’t. This is just my general philosophy in any sport. Once a team and coaching staff proves they can do it, you have to believe they can do it again.
There’s a little uncertainty over the best option in net for the Knights, but that was a question mark during last year’s title run too. The same pieces remain in place, and they’re just as efficient scoring the puck as they were last season. If Vegas gets in a groove, look out.
Winnipeg Jets (+800 to win West)
It would be quite the leap for Winnipeg to push for a title after holding +5000 preseason odds, but it’s not out of the question for a team that finished with the third-best scoring margin in the Western Conference. The Jets allowed a league-low 197 goals and enter the playoffs on a roll after winning eight straight games since the start of April.
Tampa Bay Lightning (+1000 to win East)
Tampa’s not far removed from three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances with two titles in that span. The Lightning aren’t nearly as dominant, but they still have the NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov and fellow top-10 scorer Brayden Point leading the way.
Washington Capitals (+5000 to win East)
OK, so yes, part of this pick is the Caps fandom in me leaping out. But also, this might just be a team of destiny in the same way the NC State men’s basketball team was in the NCAA tournament.
It took a buzzer-beater in the ACC semis for State to save its season and qualify for the tournament. The Caps needed a similar miracle to qualify for the playoffs, only making it after the Philadelphia Flyers unnecessarily pulled their goalie in an attempt to clinch their own playoff spot. Let’s see what Washington does with the gift.