The Chicago Blackhawks are among the most successful franchises in the National Hockey League, but they’ll head into the new season as one of the biggest underdogs to lift the Stanley Cup.
One week after the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens to be crowned 2021 champions, sportsbooks have already priced up the NHL’s 32 teams in the race to win next season’s title.
And while the Colorado Avalanche are leaders of their field at +600 out of the gate, no team comes in at longer odds than the Buffalo Sabres, who are an impossible +25000 to win their maiden championship.
Despite winning six Stanley Cup series to date—including three since 2010, the most of any team in the past decade—Chicago’s +100000 price with some sportsbooks isn’t far superior.
The Illinois franchise isn’t that far removed from the last of their titles in 2015, but the Illinois Betrivers oddsmakers don’t fancy a return to ice hockey’s peak after failing to make the play-offs last season.
Blackhawks locals who do fancy the franchise to make a run at the crown can visit
IllinoisGambler for information on where and how to legally bet on the Chicago outfit this season.
TheReporterTimes recently explored the must-know tips to consider before one invests in sports betting, with the NHL season an annual favorite for gamblers in the United States and Canada.
Chicago are under pressure to bounce back after trading 15-year veteran Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers during the off-season, a decision that didn’t come about lightly:
The 37-year-old—who was selected by the Blackhawks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft—has since explained the reasoning behind the move.
Keith requested a trade to be closer to his son, whom he saw only once in a five-month span during the league’s quarantine phase last season, per NBC:
“I’d like to thank the Chicago Blackhawks and the Blackhawk organization, Rocky Wirtz, Danny Wirtz, and the entire Wirtz family for allowing me to be on their team for the last 16 seasons.
“We had great memories and a great run and Chicago Blackhawks are always going to be in my heart.”Having said that, at this point in my career, I feel that being closer to my son, Colton, here, he lives here in Penticton [in British Columbia], that was a huge thing for me, and I just felt like the Edmonton Oilers, right now it was a good fit, a great fit, and I’m excited to start this new chapter of my career and try to win a Cup in Edmonton.”
it speaks volumes that the Blackhawks—who have failed to make the post-season in three of the previous four campaigns—are valued level with teams who each won fewer games than them in 2021. That suggests the bookmakers are backing the franchise to take a backwards step in 2022, with the loss of Keith certain to rob the team of one of their most important leader figures.
The Tampa Bay Lightning prepare for the new NHL season—which gets underway in October—hoping to become the first three-peat champions in almost 40 years.
No team has won three Stanley Cups in succession since the New York Islanders clinched four in a row between 1980 and 1983, but this will be hockey’s first true, full-length campaign since the 2018-19 season.
The Lightning could still offer value despite being among the leaders at +700, while Chicago head into the 2021 term as a shockingly large underdog in their effort to bring a championship back to Illinois.
2022 Stanley Cup Odds Leaders
| Team | Odds |
| Colorado Avalanche | +600 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +650 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +700 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +1400 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +1500 |
| Boston Bruins | +1700 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2500 |
| Florida Panthers | +2500 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2500 |
| New York Islanders | +2500 |