Following the 2023 NHL Draft, the page officially turns to the 2023-24 NHL season and one year after hoisting the Stanley Cup. However, a couple of months after a bruising Round One loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Colorado Avalanche are again Stanley Cup favorites.
The oddsmakers are moving aggressively toward the Avalanche after the week of moves, including trading Alex Newhook for a haul from the Montreal Canadiens, acquiring Ross Colton, and their big splash play by acquiring center Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators.
The NHL odds for next season have the Avalanche at +900. After fumbling for a second-line center last season, Johansen will fill the void behind Nathan MacKinnon, and the Avalanche lineup should have a dramatically different look next season.
Division rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, are close behind at +1000. Western Conference rival and defending Stanley Cup champion, the Vegas Golden Knights, are co-favorites at +900.
The East is going to be loaded, and the playoffs next season could be an absolute war. The top three teams in the Atlantic Division are also favorites. Having finally broken through their Round One curse, the Toronto Maple Leafs are near the top of the heap at +1100. The Florida Panthers, fresh from their Cinderella run through the best of the Eastern Conference to the Stanley Cup Final.
Of course, Florida lost in five games to the Golden Knights.
The next best Central Division odds are the Dallas Stars at +1700.
The Avalanche fell short on their quest to become the third back-to-back champions in the salary cap era and the second team to do so in an 82-game schedule. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the only team to win consecutive Cups in a full season. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the bubble tournament in 2020 and the shortened 56-game season Cup in 2021.
The Kraken, who beat the Avalanche in Round One, are +2900 and are not among the top tier of favorites.
The Avalanche are not only favorites to win it all but to win the Western Conference. The Avalanche are +375 to not touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl and a near runaway favorite as the winners of the Central Division at +135. Dallas is +275 in the Division, and Minnesota is +500.
Conversely, the Pacific Division should be a knock-down, drag-out battle between Vegas and Edmonton. Oddsmakers are undecided about which way the puck will bounce. Both teams are +215 to win the other Western Conference division.
This offseason, the Colorado Avalanche have more work to do. President of hockey operations Joe Sakic told NHL.com that he wants his team to become grittier. Johansen and Colton will go a long way toward that end, but the Avalanche shouldn’t be done.
Bettors might cash in on the higher odds now.
Last summer, the Golden Knights were +1900 to go all the way.
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