2021-22 Stanley Cup Odds: Colorado Avalanche Open as Favorites and Seattle Kraken Enter the League

The 2021 NHL season is in the books, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are Stanley Cup champions for the second straight season.

As the NHL begins to get back to its normal schedule and format, this year’s offseason is going to be a short one. With a targeted opening day for the 2021-22 season being set for October 12, it will be a fast-forwarded edition of the offseason, which will include an upcoming expansion draft as the league welcome’s it’s 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken.

Despite being back-to-back champions, the Lightning don’t find themselves atop the odds list to win their third straight cup. Instead, it’s the Colorado Avalanche who are the betting favorites at +475.

Odds to win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup

Listed below are the opening odds to win the 2021-22 Stanley Cup as per WynnBET:

Colorado Avalanche +475
Tampa Bay Lightning +600
Vegas Golden Knights +600
Toronto Maple Leafs +1100
Carolina Hurricanes +1200
Boston Bruins +1300
Edmonton Oilers +2000
Florida Panthers +2000
Minnesota Wild +2000
Montreal Canadiens +2000
New York Islanders +2000
New York Rangers +2000
Pittsburgh Penguins +2000
Washington Capitals +2000
Philadelphia Flyers +2500
Calgary Flames +3000
Dallas Stars +3000
St. Louis Blues +3000
Winnipeg Jets +3000
Los Angeles Kings +4000
Nashville Predators +4000
Vancouver Canucks +4000
Chicago Blackhawks +5000
San Jose Sharks +5000
Seattle Kraken +5000
Anaheim Ducks +7500
Arizona Coyotes +7500
Columbus Blue Jackets +7500
New Jersey Devils +7500
Ottawa Senators +7500
Buffalo Sabres +10000
Detroit Red Wings +10000

We’ll see a different Tampa Bay Lightning team next season

A big reason why the Lightning aren’t favored to win the Cup despite entering the season as back-to-back champs is their salary cap situation. Tampa Bay’s management put on a salary cap masterclass performance this past season, by keeping their entire team entact for their postseason run.

The Lightning kept their top goal scorer Nikita Kucherov out for the entire regular season due to an injury, but brought him back to the roster for the playoffs in which he played a big role. The move caused them to be above the salary cap for the postseason, and while the rest of the league may not have liked it, it was completely within the given rules.

The plan worked for Tampa Bay, but now it has a salary cap situation that will leave it having to significantly change its roster in order to be compliant for next season’s opening day.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans once again given false hope

As a Maple Leafs fan myself, I’ve been outspoken about what life has been like cheering for a team that’s incapable of giving their fanbase any sort of happiness. After once again blowing a big lead in the first round of the playoffs, WynnBET has them listed with the fourth-shortest odds to win the Cup next season.

General manager Kyle Dubas has stated that next year’s team will look very similar to the team that blew a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens, but can they be trusted to go on a playoff run and win their first postseason series since 2004? I’m not falling for it this time.

Welcome to the Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken are set to become the 32nd NHL franchise, following the entry of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. While you may think that a brand new team to a league would have the longest odds to win the Stanley Cup, that’s not the case for the Kraken.

WynnBET has the Kraken set at +5000 odds, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. There are seven total teams with longer odds than the Kraken, and it makes sense when you look at the history of expansion teams.

The Golden Knights made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year of existence, so if the Kraken management does a good job with their expansion draft that’s set to take place on July 21, Seattle could make noise in its first season in the NHL.

Get in on the action with the WynnBET app in New Jersey, Indiana or Colorado.

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