All season long the Colorado Avalanche have been the odds on favorite to win the Western Conference. With less than three weeks to go in the season, the Avalanche remain favorites to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. That being said, I’m going to give you a look at every team’s odds to win the conference and rank them by the betting value they have.
Betting Odds to Win Western Conference
- Colorado Avalanche: +140
- Calgary Flames: +370
- Vegas Golden Knights: +800
- Minnesota Wild: +900
- Edmonton Oilers: +1200
- St. Louis Blues: +1200
- Nashville Predators: +1400
- Dallas Stars: +2400
- L.A. Kings: +2400
Despite being behind Nashville and Dallas in the standings, and currently not being in the playoffs, the Knights still have the third best odds to win the Western Conference. I think the Knights are the worst value bet here because they have a sub .500 record in their past 25 games and are still fighting for their playoff spot.
The Knights are the worst bet in my opinion, but which bets have the most value? I’m going to give you my top five bets and let you know why they’re such valuable picks. We have a few Western Conference teams that are very hot right now and could upset some of the favorites.
Best Bets
5) Minnesota Wild, +900
The Wild are a very good hockey team, and I only expect them to improve over the next couple of years. I feel they have potential to go decently far in the playoffs and are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games.
Minnesota is a great team and they are peaking at the right time, but they’ll have a tough first round matchup against the Blues who beat the Wild on April 8th. I think +900 are still decent odds for Minnesota.
4) St. Louis Blues, +1200
The Blues are very hot right now and have wins over the Capitals, Wild, Rangers, Flames, and Predators in their past 15 games. They currently have won 5 straight games and are being propelled by the excellent play of Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Vladimir Tarasenko. At +1200, I love the value presented on them.
The Blues win by committee, meaning they get help from pretty much every player on the bench. They have good depth and have nine players with 40+ points, the best in the league. I think the Blues could win their first round matchup and potentially upset a highly ranked team in the second round.
3) Edmonton Oilers, +1200
At the same odds as St. Louis, Edmonton presents just a bit more skill on the ice. The Oilers have the league’s two leading point scorers in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and have gone 6-0-1 in their last 7 games, the only loss being in a shootout to the Colorado Avalanche.
Edmonton is a skilled team that’s playing their best hockey right now, which is important. You can be the best team in the league from October to March, but if you don’t perform in April and May it doesn’t matter. Edmonton could sneakily make a run to the Finals if they get a little bit of luck on their side.
2) Calgary Flames, +370
The Flames are so good at hockey. Really, they are. They’ve been overlooked for most of the season due to the Colorado Avalanche’s historic season, but Calgary has quietly been the second best team in the conference all season long.
The Flames are led by phenomenal goaltending from Jacob Markstrom and incredible playmaking from Johnny Gaudreau. The Flames are 1-2 against the Avalanche this year with two of those being one-goal games. We’ll be in for an amazing Conference Finals assuming we see them play once more.
1) Colorado Avalanche, +140
Was there ever any doubt who this spot belongs to? Despite being a ridiculous +140 to win the conference, I still think this is the best value bet of the lot. Colorado is unbelievable this season and have only lost 7 games against the Western Conference all season.
Colorado being +140 gives me a lot of hesitation, but at the end of the day they’re heavy favorites for a reason. They’ve won 11 of 13 and are ready to make another run to the Stanley Cup. The Avs haven’t made it past the second round since winning the cup in 2001, and I think this is the year they break the curse.
