Welcome to the 2022-23 season preview as brought to you by Betway Sports. We’ll be taking a dive into each teams offseason and what their Stanley Cup odds are for next season from the worst odds to the best. All odds current as of the time of writing.
Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup Odds: +8000
Quietly, I’m a fan of the offseason the Anaheim Ducks had.
They made big splashes in bringing in Frank Vatrano, Olli Juolevi, Ryan Strome, and John Klingberg, as well as a bunch more minor leaguers. Both Vatrano and Strome enjoyed solid years last season playing for the New York Rangers. Vatrano, who joined the team by trade from the Florida Panthers, scored eight goals and 13 points in 22 games in the Big Apple, while Strome had one of the best years of his career.
In 74 games, he scored a career-high 21 goals while chipping in 33 assists for 54 points. Now, he cashed in with a nice five-year, $5-million AAV deal. He’ll be a solid addition to the Ducks’ top six.
Klingberg, meanwhile, is a great pickup on a one-year deal. He’ll have a chance to join the Ducks and play big minutes and will become a top trade target towards the NHL’s trade deadline. After misreading the free agency market, Klingberg let go his agent and got a new one not long before inking this deal.
At the draft, the Ducks had two first round picks. They used No. 10 overall on defenceman Pavel Mintyukov and at 22, they took centre Nathan Gaucher.
With a young superstar in Trevor Zegras and another on the way in Mason McTavish, this team will be on the up and up sooner rather than later.
Are we betting on the Ducks to win the cup? No. While I expect them to take a step forward this season, they’re not a playoff team in what will be a strong Pacific Division this season.