"The way I look at it, there's no real clear cut, short favorite. This year, it's more wide open at the top, and then you have a whole second tier of teams that are in that 20-to-40 range. There's another 10 teams there. Could the Stanley Cup winner come from there? Absolutely. But the top tier has eight teams that we believe will contend for the title."
"The Panthers opened as one of the favorites to win the Cup immediately following their second straight championship. They were +600 solo favorites by mid-September following offseason contract extensions for Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, and despite offseason surgery for superstar Matthew Tkachuk, who is expected back before the new year. However, a training camp knee injury to captain Aleksander Barkov, which expects to keep him out for the entire regular season, if not longer, derailed Florida's Stanley Cup lines at most books:"
Bookmakers lack a single preseason Stanley Cup favorite, producing co-favorites and tiered odds across sportsbooks. ESPN BET lists Carolina, Colorado and Edmonton at +800, while Dallas, Vegas and Florida sit at +900 and Tampa Bay at +1000. Individual American books differ on top billing, with Florida and Vegas leading at some shops. The Panthers opened as early favorites after consecutive championships but lost shorter odds after captain Aleksander Barkov suffered a training-camp knee injury expected to sideline him for the regular season. Betting interest in a Panthers three-peat remains high on several sportsbooks.
Read at ESPN.com
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