The NHL season has arrived, and the Vegas Golden Knights are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. While they return much of their championship core, bookmakers aren’t sold on them repeating this season.
Below we will break down what we like about the Knights, what we don’t like, and who NHL betting sites view as the early favorites to capture the Cup in 2024.
The Vegas Golden Knights are one of the best built teams in all of sports. All four of their lines are reliable, meaning they are deeper than 90% of the teams they will face this season. One reason for that is their ability to build in the AHL, leading to an elite batch of young prospects in Logan Thompson, Zach Whitecloud, Nicolas Hague, and Keegan Kolesar.
Vegas will return eight of their top ten-point leaders from last season, led by Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, and Jonathan Marchessault. That also includes winger Mark Stone, who stepped up to post 24 points in their Stanley Cup run. The team will also have center Ivan Barbashev for the full season after acquiring him from St. Louis at last year’s deadline.
The Knights’ offense is supported by one of the best blue lines in the league. While Zach Whitecloud will open the season on IR, goalie Logan Thompson will be back between the pipes after missing much of last season with an injury. He and Aidan Hill could be the best goalie duo in the league, which would combine with their talented offense to make them the league’s top teams.
This team will be good this season, but their road to repeating as Stanley Cup champions is difficult. US sportsbooks have a few of concerns that have led them to favor other teams.
One is the loss of forward Reilly Smith. The 32-year-old could usually be found on the second or third line, but he was a big reason for Vegas’ impressive depth. While the loss of Smith won’t cause Vegas to miss the playoffs, it will be a factor in the postseason. The teams depth was a big reason for their magical run last season, and that took a hit with the loss of Smith.
Another concern about the Knights is their health. We talked about Zach Whitecloud opening the season on the IR, but there are concerns around Logan Thompson and Jack Eichel as well. Thompson played just two games after the All-Star break last season due to injury. Eichel was healthy last year, but he has a long history of serious injuries that could resurface this season.
Lastly, several NHL teams have gotten far better. Bookmakers are very high on the Canes and Maple Leafs in the East and the Oilers and Avs in the West. Colorado was plagued by injuries last season, easing Vegas’ path to the Stanley Cup Finals. Once they reached it, they faced a Florida team that was the bottom seed in the East. This year’s path will be far more difficult.
Now we have discussed the case for and against the Knights repeating as champions, it is time to look at the odds. Several bookmakers have the Knights as the sixth favorite to win in 2024, so we are look at the top six betting favorites.
Here are the six favorites to win the Stanley Cup according to DraftKings Sportsbook:
Michael is an avid sports fan and a veteran bettor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He learned the trade from his grandfather in Las Vegas as a kid. As an adult, Michael started picking games for a small sports betting site and has built it into a career. His experience allows him to provide tips and information to help other bettors improve their game. Michael cheers for all Wisconsin pro teams, the Arizona State Sun Devils (his alma mater), and the Ottawa Senators. He specializes in baseball betting but has extensive experience in football, basketball, and hockey. When he isn’t pouring over stats, he’s spending time with his two young children or hiking and enjoying the outdoors.
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