Bruins Listed At 25/1 Odds To Win Stanley Cup, Rask 5/1 To Win Vezina
BOSTON (CBS) -- How do you feel about the Bruins' Stanley Cup chances right now?
In Boston the optimism doesn't feel as strong as previous seasons, with the team's apparent half-rebuild and their top-two defensemen getting a year older with little depth behind them. Bovada feels about the same for the Bruins' odds of going all the way.
Their assessment? Meh.
The popular online sports betting site released their odds for NHL awards for the 2015-16 season, including Cup and conference odds and individual awards. The Bruins sit at 25/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, 13th-highest in the league and seventh-highest in the Eastern Conference, just behind the New York Islanders (22/1). Who could have predicted that two years ago?
As for individual awards, Tuukka Rask is a 5/1 favorite to win the Vezina Trophy for the league's best goaltender (h/t Puck Daddy). That's the third-best odds in the league, behind Carey Price (7/2) and Henrik Lundqvist (9/2). Of course, there are no Bruins to be found on the list of odds for the top scoring awards, the Art Ross Trophy and the Rocket Richard Trophy for the top goal scorer. The respective favorites for those two awards are Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
Considering the current makeup of the Bruins roster, I believe Rask deserved a spot on the odds to win the Hart Trophy for league MVP. Crosby is the favorite to win that. Oh, and it's not really worth betting on phenom Connor McDavid to win the Calder Trophy (4/7 odds).
The Bruins' odds seem like a fair and accurate assessment. Entering the season, the general expectation (at least mine) is that they will battle for one of the final playoff seeds and hopefully sneak into the postseason. And of course, anything can happen from there.
But for the team as currently constituted, the best-case scenario for the Bruins is to finish middle-of-the-pack in the standings. Their meager Stanley Cup odds reflect that expectation.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com and a 3/1 favorite to be the loudest one at the Bruins home opener. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
