That’s Odd, Vegas Has Devils 17th Most Likely To Win Cup In 2012-2013
The 2012-2013 Stanley Cup odds have finally been released. While no one expects the New Jersey Devils to be the favorites to win the Cup, they should be somewhere near the top, right? Wrong.
The bookmakers over at Bovada.lv have the Devils checking in at 17th on the list, with 28/1 odds. 17th?!? I realize Zach Parise is no longer with the team, but a little more respect should be shown here.
They’re behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (at 25/1). Really? Their big free agent signings were Matt Carle and Sami Salo; both solid defenseman. Their starting goaltender, however, is Anders Lindback, who has made 28 career starts in the NHL. All of this comes about for a team that was 18 points in back of the Devils last season and missed the playoffs. Ok then…
They trail the Washington Capitals (also 25/1), a squad that barely snuck into the playoffs in early April. They lost sniper Alexander Semin and have added little over the first month over free agency. Yup, makes sense.
There are teams that I am totally fine with them being behind. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the hottest team in the league over the last few months. The New York Rangers were the top seed in the East and just added Rick Nash. The Vancouver Canucks were the top team in the West. The LA Kings just won the Cup. Those are all OK in my book.
Nashville, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis and Boston all finished around the same regular season point total as the Devils and have better odds. No problem.
Even a team like the San Jose Sharks (20/1) being ahead of the Devils is fine, because they haven’t lost anyone important from their team and play in a tough Western Conference.
On the flip side, there are a lot of questionable teams above the Devils. Flyers at 13/1? They were manhandled by the Devils in the playoffs and lost Carle and Jaromir Jagr. They made a rather fair trade in shipping out James van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn. They always end up near the top of these lists, though, because of their market.
Sabres are at 22/1? They swapped Derek Roy for Steve Ott from the Stars as their headline offseason move. They certainly have an up-and-coming team with young stars like Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta to go along with goalie Ryan Miller. It’s reasonable to have them check in among the best in the East, but higher than the Eastern Conference champs? I don’t see it.
Include the Carolina Hurricanes as well, as they come in at 22/1. They acquired Jordan Staal, but had to unload Brandon Sutter to get him. They did win the Semin Sweepstakes, but that’s it! The Devils finished 20 points ahead of them last season. To make things even more confusing, Bovada has the Devils as slighty higher favorites to win the Eastern Conference than the Hurricanes (12/1 compared to 15/1). You try and figure it out.
While in the end, this really doesn’t matter much, it’s something for us Devils fans to chat about now that the first month of free agency is in the books. What say you Devils fans? Who should the Devils NOT be behind? Should NJ crack the Top 10?
Here’s the entire list:
Pittsburgh Penguins 8/1
New York Rangers 9/1
Vancouver Canucks 11/1
Los Angeles Kings 12/1
Philadelphia Flyers 13/1
Chicago Blackhawks 14/1
Detroit Red Wings 15/1
Boston Bruins 16/1
St. Louis Blues 16/1
Minnesota Wild 18/1
San Jose Sharks 20/1
Buffalo Sabres 22/1
Carolina Hurricanes 22/1
Nashville Predators 25/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 25/1
Washington Capitals 25/1
New Jersey Devils 28/1
Edmonton Oilers 30/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 35/1
Florida Panthers 40/1
Anaheim Ducks 40/1
Colorado Avalanche 40/1
Montreal Canadiens 40/1
Ottawa Senators 40/1
Phoenix Coyotes 40/1
Calgary Flames 50/1
Dallas Stars 50/1
Winnipeg Jets 50/1
New York Islanders 75/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 100/1
Thanks for reading. All feedback is appreciated.