Odds and Ends: Preseason in Bako, 2016 Cup odds

-Some teams have elected to announce their preseason schedules in the past two weeks, though the Kings’ slate as of this morning hasn’t been published. Having spoken with executives in both business and hockey operations over the last two weeks, I can confirm the report that came out this morning that the Kings, as the road team, will face the Coyotes in Bakersfield. I’ve also learned that there won’t be a split squad game against the Coyotes, going against the trend of recent years. In addition to the Bakersfield game, and the Frozen Fury game against Colorado on October 3 (a ticket pre-sale starts Thursday), there’s expected to be a home-and-home with Anaheim and a second Staples Center game against Arizona. The full preseason schedule is expected to be released later today.
UPDATE, 10:00 a.m.: It’s out.

-Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, courtesy Wikipedia / Bobak Ha’Eri

-Thank you, Jimmy Shapiro of Bovada, for the regular stream of content. The Stanley Cup was awarded to the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t start looking ahead to 364 days from now. They mean very little, but here are the 2016 Stanley Cup odds from our friend Jimmy:

Odds to win the 2016 Stanley Cup
Chicago Blackhawks 7/1
New York Rangers 8/1
Anaheim Ducks 10/1
St. Louis Blues 12/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 12/1
Los Angeles Kings 14/1
Minnesota Wild 14/1
Montreal Canadiens 14/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 14/1
Boston Bruins 16/1
Nashville Predators 16/1
Washington Capitals 18/1
New York Islanders 22/1
Winnipeg Jets 25/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 33/1
Detroit Red Wings 33/1
Edmonton Oilers 33/1
Calgary Flames 40/1
San Jose Sharks 40/1
Vancouver Canucks 40/1
Ottawa Senators 50/1
Colorado Avalanche 66/1
Dallas Stars 66/1
New Jersey Devils 66/1
Philadelphia Flyers 66/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 66/1
Florida Panthers 75/1
Buffalo Sabres 100/1
Carolina Hurricanes 100/1
Arizona Coyotes 100/1

-Edmonton and Detroit, both 33/1. Hmmm.

-Be on the lookout for a story on UFA/RFA contract updates shortly. A tease:

Told by hockey ops that #LAKings and Martin Jones are "close" on a new contract. As has been noted, his contract will be the first to drop.

— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) June 16, 2015

-And, finally, with the Monarchs about to hold their championship rally at Verizon Wireless Arena this afternoon, here are two more KingsVision videos that you may not have seen. The first, which shall be known as “Barto! Barto!” is Ryan Horvat, with a GoPro camera strapped to his chest, sprinting across the ice to meet his teammates for the championship celebration. It’s awesome:

“Tonight the final jewel is placed in the crown.” Congratulation, Ken Cail and congratulations, Monarchs. Here’s his call, as heard on ESPN New Hampshire radio: