The 2019-2020 NHL offseason is reaching its apex as we skate our way through August.
The best sportsbooks currently have the Tampa Bay Lightnin, Vegas Golden Knights, and Boston Bruins leading the pack as the most probable teams to win the Stanley Cup in 2020.
But the offseason has been kind to the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators as well. But do the odds correctly reflect the offseason Power Rankings for the Top 5 during 2019 NHL?
1. Tampa Bay Lightning +700
In the case of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the answer is yes. After dominating the league all season, they got swept by the Blues in the playoffs. But the Lighting is +700 (seven to one) to win it all this upcoming season and for good reason. In addition to Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasililevskiy, Steven Stamkos, Hedman and more, they snagged Kevin Shattenkirk from the NY Rangers. This team is stacked and with their playoff exit, they are going to enter the new season with a massive chip on their shoulders.
2. St. Louis Blues +1400
The reigning champs are campaigning to defend their title. And the offseason did them well. They lost Jordan Schmaltz on defense but gained the former Swedish Hockey League Rookie of the Year, Andreas Borgman. Other than that, they are basically the same team that won the Cup. The Blues climbed from the bottom to win it all, proving pretty much everyone wrong. Now, they have experience and trust/team dynamics on their side and should be quite dangerous again. That said, Las Vegas puts the Blues behind teams like the Golden Knights, Maple Leafs, and Colorado Avalanche, who are ranked way back at No. 14. So, should the Avalanche be on our radar? What do the guys in Vegas know?
3. Boston Bruins +1000
Last season’s runners-up are tied for the second-best odds on the board with the Vegas Knights. Boston is another team that was able to keep its unit mostly intact. That said, they did pick up Par Lindholm over the offseason to bolster their wing.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs +1200
The Leafs made it to the quarterfinals last season and they are in a good position to go even further this year. They have made some massive offseason moves! John Tavares, Austin Mathews, Mitch Marner, and Morgan Reilly are still around, but they dropped a whole mess of players and added the likes of Tyson Narrie, Jason Spezza, Alex Kerfoot and more. The Leafs are tied for 4th on the odds boards to win it all, so it looks like their Power Ranking lines right up with what the guys and gals in Las Vegas think.
5. Nashville Predators +1600
Like the Leafs, the Preds saw their way out of the postseason in the quarterfinals. And looking at their offseason, I wonder if they should be ranked 5th. They did do a good job getting Matt Duchene on the roster but they got a raw deal out of their Subban trade. It seems to me that at this point, the PReds should probably switch places with the No. 6 ranked Golden Knights who also underwent a pretty massive overhaul but are listed at a much shorter +1000.
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