Golden Knights co-favorites to win 2022 Stanley Cup
The window to win the Stanley Cup is still wide open for the Golden Knights.
The Westgate sportsbook has installed the Knights as the 5-1 co-favorites with the Colorado Avalanche to win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup.
Station Casinos made the Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 co-favorites, with the Knights the 6-1 third choice.
“We’re expecting the NHL to go back to the traditional divisions and conferences,” Westgate vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “We haven’t put up division and conference odds just in case they don’t. But if you look at the Knights’ division, it’s extremely weak. It’s the same for the Avalanche’s division. Those two teams are likely on a collision course.
“If we were much higher on them, we’d probably be inundated with support.”
The Lightning are the 7-1 third pick at the Westgate, followed by the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs at 14-1 and the Boston Bruins at 16-1. Every other team is 25-1 or higher.
“If you look at the other side of the bracket, Tampa’s division and Carolina’s division are much more difficult than the Knights’ and Avs’ divisions,” Sherman said.
Let’s get Kraken
The expansion Seattle Kraken are the longest shots at Station, at 200-1, to win the Stanley Cup. The Kraken are in a pack of eight teams at 100-1 at the Westgate, where the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are the longest shots at 200-1.
Sherman expects bettors to take a shot on the Kraken in the hopes that they will follow the Knights’ lead and reach the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
“We’re expecting some support for them,” Sherman said. “They’re going through a similar draft process that the Knights did, and we expect them to be more competitive than some teams.
“It’s going to be tough to replicate what the Knights did. But people will want to take a flier on them at long odds.”
William Hill has posted the Kraken’s regular-season point total at 66½.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
2022 Stanley Cup odds
Team Westgate Station Casinos
Golden Knights 5-1 6-1
Avalanche 5-1 5-1
Lightning 7-1 5-1
Maple Leafs 14-1 14-1
Hurricanes 14-1 12-1
Bruins 16-1 10-1
Wild 25-1 16-1
Capitals 25-1 15-1
Penguins 25-1 15-1
Islanders 25-1 16-1
Canadiens 25-1 20-1
Rangers 30-1 22-1
Panthers 30-1 15-1
Oilers 30-1 22-1
Flyers 30-1 28-1
Stars 50-1 24-1
Blues 50-1 24-1
Jets 50-1 35-1
Flames 50-1 45-1
Canucks 60-1 45-1
Predators 60-1 35-1
Kings 60-1 75-1
Devils 100-1 125-1
Senators 100-1 60-1
Coyotes 100-1 60-1
Ducks 100-1 100-1
Blackhawks 100-1 45-1
Sharks 100-1 75-1
Blue Jackets 100-1 75-1
Kraken 100-1 200-1
Sabres 200-1 80-1
Red Wings 200-1 125-1
