The Colorado Avalanche lifting the Stanley Cup for the third time in franchise history proved to be painful for sportsbooks.
The Avalanche opened the season as the betting favorite by most oddsmakers and remained in that position throughout the season. That included at BetMGM, where Colorado opened at +600 and saw its odds shorten to +375 by the end of the regular season. The Avalanche entered the Stanley Cup Finals at -190 and by the end they had drawn the most title tickets at BetMGM at 25.7 percent as well as the highest handle at 32.9 percent.
“The Avalanche were preseason favorites to win the Stanley Cup and represented a significant liability for the sportsbook all season,” said BetMGM sports trader Christian Cipollini.
The Colorado Avalanche were +600 in the preseason to win the Stanley Cup (odds via @BetMGM)
They're the 5th preseason favorite since 1990 to go on & win the Cup. The previous 4 were…
2019-20 Tampa Bay (+675)
2014-15 Chicago (+700)
2001-02 Detroit (+450)
1996-97 Detroit (+300)— SportsOddsHistory.com (@SOHistory) June 27, 2022
Favored to Repeat
Colorado is the heavy favorite to repeat in the 2022-23 season, opening at +450 at BetMGM, +400 at DraftKings and +450 at FanDuel.
The next shortest odds belong to Finals opponent Tampa Bay. The Lightning’s odds of claiming their third Cup in four years opened at +850 at BetMGM, +800 at DraftKings and +900 at FanDuel.
2022-23 Stanley Cup Title Odds (BetMGM)
- Colorado Avalanche (+450)Toronto Maple Leafs (+850)Tampa Bay Lightning (+900)Florida Panthers (+1000)Carolina Hurricanes (+1200)Vegas Golden Knights (+1400)Edmonton Oilers (+1600)Calgary Flames (+1800)Minnesota Wild (+1800)New York Rangers (+2000)Pittsburgh Penguins (+2000)St. Louis Blues (+2200)Boston Bruins (+2500)New York Islanders (+3000)Washington Capitals (+3500)Dallas Stars (+4000)Los Angeles Kings (+4000)Nashville Predators (+5000)Detroit Red Wings (+5000)Vancouver Canucks (+5000)Philadelphia Flyers (+6600)Winnipeg Jets (+6600)Buffalo Sabres (+6600)Anaheim Ducks (+8000)New Jersey Devils (+8000)Ottawa Senators (+8000)Chicago Blackhawks (+10000)Columbus Blue Jackets (+10000)San Jose Sharks (+10000)Seattle Kraken (+12500)Montreal Canadiens (+15000)Arizona Coyotes (+50000)
–Field Level Media ()