The NHL’s trade season unofficially opened in January with a major deal that saw Nashville and Columbus swap former fourth-overall picks Seth Jones and Ryan Johansen. While that move didn’t start an avalanche of trades, a number of pieces have been shipped around since then, culminating in last week’s nine-player deal that sent Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa. With all this action over and done, it’s setting up to be a pretty uneventful trade deadline day on Feb 29.
But, as we look towards the playoffs, can most NHL teams afford to stand pat? Washington is the heads-above-the-rest favorite to win the Eastern Conference, while the Western Conference will belong to the battle tested Chicago Blackhawks until someone can knock them off the top. There’s a crowd of teams in the middle of each conference that could challenge the respective favorites, but with some of the big injuries that have hit the Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and New York Rangers, it’s a little tougher to like their chances unless they can shore up their depth before the postseason.
Big names like Andrew Ladd, Dan Hamhuis, and Jonathan Drouin have been floating around in trade talks for months. Can a contending team snatch up these talents and help bolster their chances of winning a Cup? Until another big move is made, here’s our take on the current NHL futures.
Odds to win 2016 Stanley Cup:
Chicago Blackhawks: 4/1
Washinton Capitals: 4/1
Los Angeles Kings: 15/2
Dallas Stars: 8/1
New York Rangers: 13/1
Tampa Bay Lightning: 13/1
Anaheim Ducks: 15/1
St. Louis Blues: 15/1
Boston Bruins: 18/1
Florida Panthers: 18/1
Detroit Red Wings: 20/1
Pittsburgh Penguins: 20/1
Minnesota Wild: 25/1
New York Islanders: 25/1
Montreal Canadiens: 33/1
San Jose Sharks: 33/1
Colorado Avalanche: 40/1
Nashville Predators: 40/1
New Jersey Devils: 40/1
Arizona Coyotes: 60/1
Vancouver Canucks: 60/1
Philadelphia Flyers: 70/1
Ottawa Senators: 70/1
Calgary Flames: 100/1
Carolina Hurricanes: 100/1
Edmonton Oilers: 200/1
Columbus Blue Jackets: 500/1
Buffalo Sabres: 500/1
Winnipeg Jets: 750/1
Toronto Maple Leafs: 1,000/1
(Photo credit: Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], from Wikimedia Commons)
