NHL 2019-20 Season Betting Guide

Circle October 2 on your calendars because that's when the NHL regular season picks back up. To get you ready for the new year, here are four futures bets you need to make right away and why.

With the 2019-20 NHL season inching closer and closer, now would be a good time to revisit NHL odds, specifically NHL futures. For starters, the NHL Las Vegas odds makers are giving these three teams the best lines to hoist a Stanley Cup at season's end:

Tampa Bay Lightning (+750)
Toronto Maple Leafs (+900)
Las Vegas Golden Knights (+1000)

Before we dive into NHL future odds and the ones worth betting on, it has to be mentioned there are some second-to-none bonus offers on the table while making these NHL wagers. These bonus offers can net hefty payouts — free ones at that — so make sure to leverage them.

Future NHL Atlantic Division Winner

There are future prices for all four NHL divisions, but none will be tougher to pick a winner from than the Atlantic. These five teams are currently pegged with the best odds per online sportsbooks:

Tampa Bay Lightning (+110)
Toronto Maple Leafs (+275)
Boston Bruins (+325)
Florida Panthers (+650)
Montreal Canadiens (+4000)

Between Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Boston, you not only have Atlantic division front-runners, but Stanley Cup title ones, too. That trio has three of the four best Stanley Cup NHL betting odds in the entire league. But just because a bet is tough doesn't necessarily mean you should avoid it.

In our eyes, Tampa is still the team to beat, not just in the Atlantic, but throughout the league. After winning an NHL-record 62 games last year, that's not exactly a controversial opinion, but after its playoff collapse for the ages, some have wrongfully soured on them.

Yes, getting swept out of the first round was historically bad. However, this roster remains stacked from top to bottom.

Nikita Kucherov is the reigning league MVP and scoring champion.

Andrei Vasilevsky is the Vezina Trophy holder among goaltenders.

It's other core pieces — Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman — are in their prime (just as Kucherov and Vasilevsky are). For all intents and purposes, this roster is set up to win not only in 2020 but for years to come. Might as well get used to betting the Lightning because they're a budding dynasty.

Pick: Tampa Bay (+110)

NHL Western Conference Future Odds

The Western Conference is shaping up to be a dogfight. Seven different teams have below +1000 odds to win the conference, compared to just three in the East. Those seven teams are the following:

Las Vegas Golden Knights (+375)
Colorado Avalanche (+500)
St. Louis Blues (+650)
Dallas Stars (+800)
Nashville Predators (+800)
Calgary Flames (+900)
San Jose Sharks (+900)

While everyone talks about wanting to contend for a Stanley Cup title, few teams actually back that claim up with their payroll decisions.

The Golden Knights are one of those few examples this season. After just coming in underneath the salary cap, Las Vegas is firmly in win-now mode — a situation that should be very attractive to bettors. Take them here (we'll explain why in the next section).

But before that, one more thing: throw a little money on Calgary. There's simply too much value in getting a 50-win and second-highest scoring team from a year ago at +900. Like the Lightning, a disappointing playoff performance has swayed opinion on the team, but its core roster remains in-tact and in peak age.

Betting pick: Las Vegas (+375)

2020 Stanley Cup Odds To Win

We touched on this at the start of our guide, but here's the current Stanley Cup championship pecking order:

Tampa Bay Lightning (+750)
Toronto Maple Leafs (+900)
Las Vegas Golden Knights (+1000)
Boston Bruins (+1100)
Colorado Avalanche (+1400)
St. Louis Blues (+1500)

What does one make of co-favorites Tampa and Toronto? On paper, both teams are loaded. But history, including shocking first-round playoff exits for each last season, tells us these teams will find a way to underachieve when it matters most. Then again, we did see a separate underachieving franchise — St. Louis — finally end its Stanley Cup drought in 2019.

So will either the Lightning or Maple Leafs get over the proverbial hump? We're grim on Toronto. They've been one and done from the postseason for three consecutive years now. At this point, they are who they are — chokers. As for Tampa, we're a little more bullish due reasons already outlined. Let's not forget they've played in three of the last five Eastern Conference finals.

Out of the Western Conference, we've already staked our claim for Las Vegas and here's why: in year three of the franchise, its team has finally gelled. We saw the returns with a roster in flux — a Stanley Cup run two years and a controversial playoff exit last season — now imagine the outcome with most players being holdovers? We think it'll be bright just like the city it plays in.

So there you have it, throw separate wagers on the Lightning and Golden Knights. These two are on a collision course for The Holy Grail!

Pick: Tampa Bay (+750) and Las Vegas (+1000)

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