Bovada: Kings 14-1 to win the 2014 Cup

The Los Angeles Kings have been given 14-1 odds to win the 2014 Stanley Cup, courtesy of betting lines provided by Bovada earlier today.

The full list:

Pittsburgh Penguins 13-2
Chicago Blackhawks 15-2
Boston Bruins 9-1
St. Louis Blues 12-1
Los Angeles Kings 14-1
Vancouver Canucks 14-1
Detroit Red Wings 16-1
New York Rangers 16-1
San Jose Sharks 16-1
Anaheim Ducks 20-1
Toronto Maple Leafs 25-1
Washington Capitals 25-1
Montreal Canadiens 28-1
Carolina Hurricanes 33-1
Edmonton Oilers 33-1
Minnesota Wild 33-1
New York Islanders 33-1
Ottawa Senators 33-1
Philadelphia Flyers 33-1
Colorado Avalanche 40-1
Columbus Blue Jackets 40-1
Nashville Predators 40-1
New Jersey Devils 40-1
Tampa Bay Lightning 40-1
Winnipeg Jets 40-1
Buffalo Sabres 50-1
Calgary Flames 50-1
Dallas Stars 50-1
Phoenix Coyotes 50-1
Florida Panthers 100-1

Observations:

-These lines will be updated over the summer in accordance with player movement. On the day the betting lines were released last year – the day after Los Angeles won the Stanley Cup – the Kings were given 11-1 odds. Chicago was listed at 12-1; Boston was listed at 14-1. Interestingly, three of the four longest shots in Bovada’s preliminary lines last year (Montreal, Minnesota, New York Islanders) ended up making the playoffs, while the fourth (Columbus) missed out on the final day of the regular season.

-This means little in advance of free agency and player movement. That said, the Pacific Division appears top-heavy in the coming year, with Los Angeles (14-1), Vancouver (14-1), San Jose (16-1) and Anaheim (20-1) all ranking amongst the 10 teams with the best odds of winning the Stanley Cup. In the new divisional format, could Edmonton (33-1), Calgary (50-1) or Phoenix (50-1) leapfrog one of the four favorites to sneak into the playoffs?

-It’s interesting that St. Louis was given 12-1 odds and trails only Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston. There is no disrespect meant towards the Blues, who are clearly amongst the Western Conference’s elite, though those odds could change significantly as they work towards contract extensions with Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk and potentially trade some of their depth scoring for the genuine goal scorer that was sorely needed in the first round of the playoffs.

-Minnesota, Ottawa and the New York Islanders are the three playoff teams that face the longest shot of winning the Cup, according to Bovada.

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