With the regular season of the NHL running on full throttle, fans are going crazy over who’s going to win the 2023 Stanley Cup Championship in the end.
While the defending champions were a bit sloppy in the middle because of injury problems, the threat of their comeback was still looming. And the odds-setters were scratching their heads off trying to set the right odds.
The betting scene is alive as more people think they know who’s going to win the cup. Though it’s easy enough to find the NHL odds at betJACK.com, along with regular betting previews and news updates, you’ll still need to predict the winner yourself.
So, here’s your NHL betting guide. We’ll try our best to give you a detailed walkthrough of the NHL betting scene and talk about the odds and possible changes in the future. So, stick around and make the most of your stake.
What’s Going on In the NHL Betting Scene
The odds were looking quite unstable last year. But, Boston Bruins rose to the top as the favorite to win the cup. Following their +550 odds closely, there are the defending champions, Colorado Avalanche, with +650 odds.
The Bruins are having an outstanding ride, conceding only five losses in regular time this entire season. With off-the-chart scoring averages and a rock-solid defense that has conceded the fewest goals among all the teams, they seem to be favorites. You can take a look at this year’s NHL stats here.
With less than half of the season left, the points table doesn’t look like it’s going to change any time soon unless some top teams decide to start losing in a row, which is very unlikely. But the championship is a completely different story.
Even though the Avalanche had a sloppy early and mid-season, with uncertainty surrounding the possibility of them not even qualifying for the playoffs, the bookies still put them high on the odds for winning the championship. And it’s said the bookies know best. Or at least better than 99% of punters. Or else, they would long be out of business.
How to Read NHL Odds
NHL odds function similarly to other odds used on betting platforms for various sports. Generally, there are three systems used to represent odds: the American system, the decimal system, and fractions. We’ll be using the American system for the odds we’ll present later.
The same odds expressed in different systems might look like different numbers, but they imply the same value. Let us explain the three systems in brief so that you can understand them better. You don’t need to worry, though. Because you won’t have to calculate it yourself, the betting agent or platform will do it for you.
American system
The odds in this system are whole numbers—positive and negative. A negative value indicates the favorite, and a positive value indicates the underdog in a 1v1 situation.
To translate them into money, a negative number indicates how much you need to wager for a successful bet to win $100 in reward. A positive number indicates your possible reward amount for every $100 you wager.
For example, if a team’s odds of winning a 1v1 are -200, this means they are favorites, and if you successfully bet $200 on them, you’ll win $100. Also, if the underdogs win with +300 odds, you'll win $300 for every $100 you wager. In other words, you’ll win $600 for that same $200 when you place it on the underdog, giving you $800 in total.
Decimal system
You simply need to multiply whatever amount you wager by the odds to find out the total amount you’ll be paid back, which includes your initial stake. Simple enough?
Fractional system
These odds represent your winnings in proportion to your wager. With ¼ odds, a successful $100 bet would result in a $25 reward, or one-fourth of the wager.
Stanley Cup 2023 Winner Odds
Let’s finish up with the odds for the Stanley Cup Champions. Know that odds can be subject to change according to various factors, like teams’ form, records, injuries, player trades, etc. These are the odds at the time this article is being written. For the latest odds, make sure to visit your bookmaker.
Boston +550
Colorado +650
Vegas +750
Toronto +900
Carolina +1000
Dallas +1600
Tampa Bay +1600
New Jersey +1700
Los Angeles +1900
Minnesota +2000
Calgary +2100
Seattle +2100
Edmonton +2300
NY Rangers +2300
WPG Jets +2300
Pittsburgh +2700
Washington +3000
NY Islanders +4000
Florida +4500
Nashville +7000
St. Louis +7500
Buffalo +8500
Detroit +12500
Ottawa +15000
Vancouver +15000
Philadelphia +30000
Montreal +50000
San Jose +50000
Arizona +75000
Columbus +150000
Anaheim +200000
Chicago +300000
