2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Updated Odds for All 16 Teams

OK, you know it's getting close when the odds get posted.

The start of the NHL's postseason tournament is on the horizon, and the folks at DraftKings have obliged the speculators in the crowd with an updated list of what they'd stand to accumulate if they chose the right team to run the 16-game springtime gauntlet.

The B/R hockey team has crunched the numbers and compiled a morning-line listing of the field in descending order from the prohibitive to the probable, with a thought or two added in for anyone seeking counsel.

Take a look at what we came up with and let us know how we did.

Odds updated before games on Wednesday, April 17.

Someone's got to be 16th, right?

That "honor" goes to the Washington Capitals, whose 4-1-0 run through Wednesday night was good enough to clinch the second Eastern wild-card spot that other teams didn't always appear to want.

However, they're a long shot for a reason.

And even though they had a 2-2-0 season series against first-round opponent the New York Rangers, it seems a stretch that their run goes to (or past) six games.

The 2023 bracket yielded a first-rounder matching the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes, and it ended predictably in six games.

There's no reason to think the same won't happen again, but last year's series was closer than it may appear.

Carolina scored 16 goals to New York's 15 across six games last spring, and the Isles reached five goals against them twice this season while splitting four games.

It's highly unlikely New York gets to Round 2 or beyond, but it's at least worth a closer watch at the start.

Teams that play .600 hockey across 82 games are legit. And teams that stretch a hot streak across 18 games (16-0-2) are certainly capable of going on a run whether predicted or not.

The Predators check both boxes, have a series-stealing goalie in Juuse Saros and a pair of alternate captains with Stanley Cup rings on their fingers.

They were skunked in three games against first-round opponent Vancouver, but pay extra attention if they squeak by.

The Kings are good. They've got a core of veteran players who have logged important playoff time, and it would be no great shock if they beat any team in the field in a single seven-game set.

But raise your hand if you see them winning 16 springtime games after an inconsistent (5-5-0) run through Tuesday's games, particularly with a goaltending tandem—Cam Talbot and David Rittich—that has an inglorious 15-18 playoff history.

The further you get into the list, the easier it gets to envision deep and perhaps parade-worthy runs for teams. And the Tampa Bay Lightning may be the first evidence of that phenomenon.

Only two Eastern teams had a better points percentage than Tampa Bay's .675 since February 29, and there are few who would argue that Andrei Vasilevskiy (65 playoff wins, seven shutouts) isn't the best money goalie of this generation.

The Lightning will be a tough out.

If there was a dictionary of hockey, we feel fairly comfortable suggesting the Winnipeg Jets would be firmly stationed alongside the word "enigma."

For several years, they've seemed ready to seriously contend but haven't.

And they turned around this season and won 51 games (through Tuesday) and spent time atop B/R's Power Rankings.

Colorado could roll the Jets in a week or they could be a finalist. Buckle up.

Sorry, Vancouver fans. The belief isn't there yet.

The Canucks won (at least) 50 games, earned a division title and got close to a top seed in the West. But here they are listed as the 10th pick in a 16-team field, behind six teams whose points total they had exceeded through Tuesday's games.

Have some extra cash to throw at a 16-to-1 bargain? This wouldn't be a bad spot for it.

OK, Maple Leafs fans. Here we go again.

You have one of the league's best offensive groups, its premier goal scorer and your team has been particularly good (24-10-6) on the road. Lots to like if you're a half-full type.

It's the playoffs, though, and you know what that means. Also, the late change atop the Atlantic Division yields Boston as a first-round opponent, and the next time you beat them on the 2023-24 league calendar (0-2-2) will be the first time.

Enjoy your stay, but don't get comfortable yet.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Vegas Golden Knights arrived to Wednesday's games neither sure of their standings position nor their first-round foe—beyond knowing they'll begin on the road—but they are the defending champs, and that matters for at least something.

It matters, too, that they'll reach the season finale on a three-game win streak, meaning even if they sneak in with an eighth-seed label attached, any bet against them should be tentative.

There's a lot of parity across the NHL, so when the Boston Bruins reached last year's playoffs as a huge favorite thanks to a historic season, it meant they were something special.

And then they fizzled out in the first round.

So, even though this season yielded 47 wins, 109 points and a number of their players again among league leaders in various stats, it's hard to put a lot of weight behind anything.

And it shouldn't be surprising that a team tied for fifth overall is no better than a seventh pick here.

No, it's not a misprint.

Though the Dallas Stars are tied for second overall, have the best league's road record, the third-best NHL goal differential and no fewer than 11 players with at least 11 goals, here they are as the sixth betting choice overall and the third option in a conference that they lead.

No, it's not a huge price at +850. But if there's a better bargain out there, we've not seen it.

The New York Rangers won the President's Trophy for the first time in nine years and the fourth time since its inception for the 1985-86 regular season.

However, those who follow hockey know precisely what that means. And it's not good.

No team finishing first in the overall standings has hoisted the Stanley Cup since Chicago in 2013, and only one of New York's three previous wins ultimately led to a banner hanging.

So, while the Rangers are a top-tier team, there's a reason why it's a stretch.

It's that time of year for the Edmonton Oilers.

It's when people point out the presence of the world's best player and prolific teammates and suggest a deep title run is imminent, in spite of the fact that Connor McDavid & Co. have never gotten an inch past halfway to a Cup in five attempts.

It's impossible to fully discount No. 97 and his 100 assists this season, though, not to mention a league-best 46-16-5 record since Kris Knoblauch was hired as head coach on Nov. 12.

Buyer beware.

It's easy to be really hot or pretty cold about the Colorado Avalanche.

On the hot side, they went the distance to a Cup hoist the season before last and are led this time around by probable MVP Nathan MacKinnon, who helped them to the league's best home record (30-9-1) and its best offense (3.67 goals per game).

On the cold side, the Avalanche have stumbled toward the finish line with three wins in 10 games (3-5-2) and were beaten, 7-0, last Saturday by first-round opponent, the Winnipeg Jets.

It's easy to see them winning it all or falling quickly to the Jets.

No team got closer to the Cup last season without winning it than the Florida Panthers.

They squeaked into the playoffs as an eighth seed, pulled off the tournament's biggest upset against Boston and then won two more series before falling to the Golden Knights in five games.

Their four-game win streak to end this season yielded an Atlantic Division title and a matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they'll have home-ice advantage through at least two rounds.

Imposing in all on-ice phases, Florida had the best goals-against average (2.41) in the league, its eighth-best power play (23.5 percent) and a 57-goal scorer in Sam Reinhart.

Simply put, there aren't many teams in the field that look any better.

There's nothing we can say here that hasn't been said before.

The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the league's elite teams and they proved it again in 2023-24 by finishing second in the Metropolitan after three straight division titles in the Central (2020-21) and Metropolitan twice (2021-22 and 2022-23).

However, while the regular season has been a playpen, the playoffs have been a torture chamber, with the three high seeds resulting in four combined series wins and 20-20 record in games.

Can it change here? Of course.

They're eighth in offense (3.38 goals scored), fourth in defense (2.57 goals against) across 82 games and have gotten nothing but better since the first time deadline acquisitions Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov played together, going a league-best 13-4-1 since March 12.

The favorite status is well-deserved...and theirs to lose.