NHL Stanley Cup 2023 Odds: Avalanche Open as Early Betting Favorites; Lightning 3rd

The Colorado Avalanche aren't even close to being done celebrating their championship, but sports gamblers can already bet on who will hoist the Stanley Cup next season.

DraftKings Sportsbook released the title odds for the 2022-23 NHL campaign, and the Avalanche unsurprisingly check in as the favorites:

• Colorado Avalanche, +380 (bet $100 to win $380)

• Toronto Maple Leafs, +800

• Tampa Bay Lightning, +900

• Florida Panthers, +1,000

• Vegas Golden Knights, +1,400

• Carolina Hurricanes, +1,400

It is quite early with free agency, the NHL draft and trades to be made before the puck drops next season, but anyone outside of Colorado being atop that list would have been a surprise.

After all, nobody in the Western Conference finished with more than the team's 119 points in the regular season, and it parlayed that into a championship run that never required more than six games in a series.

The Avalanche ended the Tampa Bay Lightning's quest for a third straight championship and will now look to do what the Eastern Conference representatives just did and win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years.

As long as they keep the core of Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and others together, they could do just that.

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