NHL Futures: There has not been a repeat winner of the Stanley Cup championship since the Detroit Red Wings won Hockey’s Holy Grail in both 1997 and 1998 but that has not scared off the betting public from taking a good hard look at the 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings who opened at +873 at BetDSI to repeat as 2015 Stanley Cup Champions. The Chicago Blackhawks, who won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and 2013, were the top betting favorite at BetDSI with an opening price of +658 to win the 2015 Stanley Cup while the Boston Bruins, who lost to the Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final and are considered to be the strongest team in the Eastern Conference, opened at +709 to round out the top three chalks on the NHL futures board.
Royal Reign in LA
The Kings have won two out of the last three Stanley Cup championships and were a final four team in 2013 when Chicago won the chalice. Los Angeles is well renowned for being a team that was built for physical and mental grind of playoff hockey and with world class goaltender Jonathan Quick they have the one element that is absolutely necessary to remain a top contender for years to come. The Kings have the core of their lineup locked up contractually and the addition of Marian Gaborik at the trade deadline gave what was a sluggish offense the jolt that it needed to make the team complete and deep again.
Beast of the East
The Boston Bruins did not win the Eastern Conference last year despite being touted as the best team as they showed an alarming lack of discipline against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinal by taking too many misguided penalties. Few experts dispute the Bruins ability but there is some question about defenseman Zdeno Chara getting long in the tooth and lacking the ability to play at an elite level through the grind of 82 regular season games and then of course the playoffs. G Tuukka Rask is among the elite and that keeps Boston as a top shelf pick.
Blackhawks Reload
The Chicago Blackhawks signed their two superstar forwards, Jonathan “Captain Serious” Toews and Patrick Kane, to long term deals after their stunning Western Conference Final loss to the Kings in seven games. This is a team that is deep and dangerous and has one of the top defensemen in the game in Duncan Keith. G Corey Crawford is solid enough to compliment a highly skilled team that is amongst the top scoring units in the game.
Our Pick
The Blackhawks get the call for the 2015 Stanley Cup!
