Despite Jack Eichel to Vegas, Colorado Avalanche remain bookies’ choice for Stanley Cup

Usually, the sportsbooks are pretty quick to adjust futures odds when a team makes a big acquisition, like Vegas did with Jack Eichel Thursday. But, three days later, there has been no change in the Stanley Cup futures odds. Your Colorado Avalanche are still the bookies’ favorites to win it all.

At some of the betting sites, the Avs are still the favorites on futures odds. There are many NHL betting sites to check the odds on. Most of them, including SuperBook Colorado, have the Avs at +600. Vegas is +900.

That’s pretty much across the board with the other big sportsbooks, too.

Maybe that will change by this week, we’ll see. And, hey, if Vegas becomes the favorite? So what. The Avs were the favorites or whatever most of last year too, and look how that turned out. Being the odds-on favorite doesn’t often mean much when it comes to the Stanley Cup.

Other teams in the top levels for Stanley Cup futures include the Florida Panthers, at +700. That is quite a jump in prestige for a Florida Panthers franchise that has had almost no playoff success since the mid-1990s. The Panthers have had some upheaval, though, with the recent loss of Joel Quenneville because of the Chicago Blackhawks scandal.

It remains to be seen whether the Panthers will name another head coach, or just continue with interim coach Andrew Brunette.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are at +900, which might surprise some that they are not the favorites. They are the two-time defending Cup champions, after all, with a roster that mostly is the same as last year.

The Lightning is not off to a great start, however, and some believe they may have run their course as a champion.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are high in the mix as well, even though the team still has not a playoff series in the Auston Matthews era. Toronto still has some issues with goaltending, but they are a good team.

The Edmonton Oilers, with Connor McDavid, are also high in the mix of futures bet favorites. With McDavid being the unquestioned best offensive player in the league, the Oilers are always a threat to win. McDavid is far and away the futures bet favorite to win the NHL Art Ross Trophy as top scorer.

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the mix as well. They entered this week still undefeated on the season. Another team to keep an eye on are the St. Louis Blues. At +2200, the Blues are a potential diamond in the rough as a futures play. The Blues won the Stanley Cup just three years ago, and still have top players such as goalie Jordan Binnington and Ryan O’Reilly, along with newcomers Brandon Saad and James Neal. The Blues are off to a very hot start, and it seems like management will add to the roster by the NHL trade deadline.