NHL Futures: Toronto is East favorite, but do the Leafs deserve your $upport?

Last two standing

The Tampa Bay Lightning took down the New York Rangers in six games, which advanced the Lightning to their third straight Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning had beaten the Panthers the round prior, while the Rangers advanced over the Hurricanes.

Non-playoff teams that made big offseason additions

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus might have made the move of the summer, signing former Calgary Flame Johnny Gaudreau to a long-term deal. Gaudreau is fresh off a career season and will join up with Patrik Laine and Boone Jenner to form a menacing top line in Columbus. The Blue Jackets finished last season with 81 points.

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit made some big moves this summer and the Wings quietly have positioned themselves as a major contender for a playoff spot this season. The Red Wings added goalie Ville Husso and forward David Perron from St. Louis and signed Andrew Copp, formerly of the Rangers. These additions pair nicely with the pieces already in place. Detroit has two stars on the top line in Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin and youngsters Lucas Raymond (F) and Moritz Seider (D) form a solid nucleus in Detroit.

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa made two huge additions to their top-six forward group, trading for young star Alex DeBrincat and signing veteran Claude Giroux. While the defense needs some work, there's no denying the Senators have some elite firepower on offense.

Odds to win the East in 2023

Betting odds are courtesy of DraftKings.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs (+400)
2. Florida Panthers (+500)
3. Carolina Hurricanes (+550)
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (+600)
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (+1000)
6. New York Rangers (+1000)
7. Boston Bruins (+1200)
8. Washington Capitals (+1800)
9. New York Islanders (+2000)
10. New Jersey Devils (+2200)
11. Ottawa Senators (+2800)
12. Detroit Red Wings (+3000)
13. Columbus Blue Jackets (+5000)
14. Buffalo Sabres (+5500)
15. Philadelphia Flyers (+10000)
16. Montreal Canadiens (+10000)

When you have the reigning Hart Trophy winner in Auston Matthews, your odds to do well in the postseason are going to be low. Toronto is the favorite to come out of the East, but they haven't shown an ability to win in the postseason, so it's hard to get behind the Leafs here at this price.

Florida won the Presidents' Trophy last season, but the year will be remember for being dominated by the Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It'll be hard for the Panthers to match last year's regular-season success, losing Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar and Claude Giroux. The Panthers did trade for Matthew Tkachuk, who will form quite the tandem with Aleksander Barkov.

We have to mention Tampa Bay in more detail. While they lost a few contributors, the core of this roster is still here and has to be considered one of the favorites to make it through the East once again. Seeing the Lightning own the fourth-best odds could be a sign of bettor fatigue, with the market wanting to root on a different outcome. Count me in that camp. The Lightning are a good bet, but I'd rather look elsewhere. 

The New York Rangers deserve some attention as well for their impressive postseason run. Igor Shesterkin is the best goalie in the league, winning the Vezina Trophy this past season. The Rangers did lose some key members in Frank Vatrano, Ryan Strome and Andrew Copp, but Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin are still in town. As long as Shesterkin is playing at the level he displayed last season, New York will be in the mix once again.

Favorite Bets

Carolina Hurricanes to win the East (+550 DK)

Carolina was one of the best teams in the league last season, tight against shots and goals and loaded with offensive talent. The Canes were a game away from the Eastern Conference Finals this past season and made some big additions while retaining their entire roster.

Max Pacioretty is the headlining addition, a star forward Carolina basically got for nothing as Las Vegas needed to clear salary. Pacioretty will not be on the ice until March, most likely, but assuming his health, he is going to bring a massive boost to Carolina for the home stretch of the season.

Carolina also added defensemen Brent Burns, pairing with Jaccob Slavin to form a menacing top defensive group. The goalies, Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, are one of the best 1-2 groups in the NHL, an advantage that cannot be understated.

This is a complete team. Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen all had strong 2021-22 seasons and should pick up right where they left off.

Detroit Red Wings to make the playoffs (+290 DK)

I gave Detroit their shine above, so there's not much I need to say that wasn't recapped above. The Red Wings made some awesome additions to multiple key areas and have an exciting young core that should be able to take that next step together. These are some great odds to consider on a season-long future. Alternatively, Detroit's points total is set at 84.5 for the year. 

The Red Wings haven't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2016. I'm betting on that streak breaking here in our fresh NHL season.