NHL Futures Odds Update: Favorites and Sleepers
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Believe it or not, the NHL betting regular season is almost half over. Some major contenders have lived up to their promise; others, like the Philadelphia Flyers, have flopped.
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Some preseason laughing stocks have been just that all season; others, like the Phoenix Coyotes, have opened our eyes. Here are some teams to watch in your futures betting going forward – favorites and sleepers.
FAVORITES
Chicago Blackhawks
The Hawks are hockey’s most complete team. They boast the deepest, most talented top-four defensemen in the league in Norris Trophy candidate Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell and Cam Barker. They have top-notch scoring talent with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. They have solid role players like Patrick Sharp, John Madden and Dustin Byfuglien. Their only question mark was goaltending and Cristobal Huet has shown that it isn’t a weakness after all; he has a 2.01 goals against average and .915 save percentage. The only problem for the Hawks going forward; they’re so good that half their team will travel to Vancouver for the Olympics and burn some serious energy before the playoffs.
New Jersey Devils
There’s no one happier to see Jacques Lemaire back behind the bench than Martin Brodeur, who is breaking goaltending records left and right now that his Devils are back playing their vintage shut-down style. Sniper Zach Parise has still managed to click with Travis Zajac and score plenty of goals in a defensive system. That makes the Devils especially dangerous, as they can back up their stellar defense with sufficient offense.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin’s injury earlier this season showed that the Pens are nowhere near the same club if he or Sidney Crosby goes down. But, as long as both superstars are in the lineup and Marc-Andre Fleury keeps making game-changing saves, the Pens are serious threats to repeat as champs. The Pens’ unsung heroes continue to be their outstanding checking forwards, including Jordan Staal, Maxime Talbot and Mike Rupp.
San Jose Sharks
Time to start the “is this the year?” campaign again, it seems. As expected, Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau have formed hockey’s best line. But this isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. Until the Sharks show some semblance of a backbone come playoff time, your futures bets are better spent elsewhere.
Washington Capitals
There isn’t a trendier pick at the sportsbook than the Caps right now. It’s hard to resist hockey’s “sexiest” team. It’s no longer just Alexander Ovechkin; Nicklas Backstrom is blossoming rapidly and Alexander Semin is an outstanding young sniper. If Semyon Varlamov is healthy for the playoffs and if the Caps acquire help for their blueline, they could end up playing well into June this season. They’re hockey’s most explosive team; no lead is safe against them.
SLEEPERS
Calgary Flames
They’re big, tough and deep on the blueline thanks to the Jay Bouwmeester acquisition. Under Brent Sutter, they’re playing shutdown “D” and making Miikka Kiprusoff look like a star again. But it seems that when they fix one problem, a new one arrives. Last year it was all offense, no defense. This year, the offense is unreliable.
Detroit Red Wings
They’re on no one’s radar right now, and for good reason. They’ve battled injuries to Franzen, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Filppula and Cleary, among others. They lost Hossa, Hudler and Samuelsson to free agency. This is an entirely different team even compared to last year’s group. That said, they still have the decade’s best defenseman in Nick Lidstrom and an outstanding coach in Mike Babcock. If they can sneak into the playoffs through the back door, they could give you a heck of a return on your investment. Would you bet against them if they drew the choker Sharks as a No. 8 seed?
Vancouver Canucks
Everyone’s favorite sleeper of a year ago could make another deep run this year. They’re only seventh in the Western Conference but they were worst off last Christmas and wound up winning the Northwest Division. The Sedins are taking their game to a new level, Ryan Kesler is one of hockey’s best two-way forwards and Roberto Luongo still has that ability to steal a game. The Canucks offer good Sportsbook value right now, too. There’s a lot to like.
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Shea Matthews lives and breathes sports. He made the transition from athlete to sports journalist at a young age, writing in TV & national newspapers. He now applies his knowledge to sports betting and handicapping every day, and shares his winning picks with the world.
One reply on “2009/10 Hockey Lines: NHL Future Odds”
I think this could be the year for the Blackhawks as they have been very consistent through the early part of the season. I would still never count out the Devils as long as Marty Brodeur is back to his old form.