Nearly a day after the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks for their fourth Stanley Cup title, the odds of winning the 2017 Stanley Cup have been released. Nevertheless, it’s never too early to speculate who can win, right?
After losing in the first round to the St. Louis Blues, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves tied in second place with the Washington Capitals with 10/1 odds of lifting Lord Stanley next season. Despite their failing efforts of a long playoff run, their immaculate success in previous years sustains them a spot in the top odds, as seen below, via Bovada.
Blackhawks Share Second-Best Odds to Win 2017 Stanley Cup
Odds to win the 2017 Stanley Cup, according to Bovada: pic.twitter.com/wKizgokNBF
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) June 13, 2016
Having won the Stanley Cup 3 times in six years as well as getting to the conference finals three years in a row (2013-15) with the core of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Brent Seabrook, they’re guaranteed a spot in at least the top five.
The wonders of next season are a bit of a struggle for the Hawks. Their cap situation is a serious issue regarding Bryan Bickell‘s obnoxious $4 million cap hit with $5,541,540 cap space, according to GeneralFanager. Regardless of what happens with Andrew Shaw‘s contract negotiation, or Bickell’s placement, the Hawks have a lot of room for cheap young talent to join the team and increase the odds of becoming champions once again in the form of Furthermore, who wouldn’t want to play alongside the best forwards in the NHL and get an outstanding chance to lift Lord Stanley at such a young time in their career? We all know how that worked out for Brandon Saad.
It’ll be an odd off-season recharge for the Hawks, but fans should be confident in what GM Stan Bowman can do, as he’s fixed cap crunch situations in the salary cap era before bringing consistent success. Regardless of what happens, there will be new and fresh faces in the Hawks lineup in October. With the right additions, the Hawks will most likely just increase their odds of lifting the Stanley Cup a year from now.
Parity is high in the league, but they’ll have to prove once again that they’re the top dogs next season.
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