Pittsburgh Penguins Favoured To Repeat As Stanley Cup Champions

The Pittsburgh Penguins went on an amazing run in 2016 and may have the talent to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. 

Which of the four major American professional sports leagues has the longest drought of a repeat champion? That would be the NHL, with the last team to win back-to-back  Stanley Cups being the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 & ’98. But on Sports Interaction’s NHL odds for the 2016-17 season, the reigning champion Pittsburgh Penguins are the +800 favourites to hoist the Cup again next June.

Pittsburgh Penguins Top Stanley Cup Odds Again

The Pittsburgh Penguins were a completely different team after firing coach Mike Johnston in mid-December with the club at 15-10-3 and fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Pens replaced Johnston with Mike Sullivan, a former Boston Bruins head coach who had been serving as the coach of the Penguins’ affiliate in the American Hockey League. Pittsburgh took off almost immediately.

Sidney Crosby and Co. finished the regular season at 48-26-8 (104 points), second in the Metropolitan behind Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington. The Pens beat the New York Rangers in five games in the conference quarterfinals, the Capitals in six games in the conference semi-finals and then the Tampa Bay Lightning to reach their first Stanley Cup Final since winning it over Detroit (back when Wings were still in the Western Conference) in 2009. The Penguins then took out the San Jose Sharks in six games for the fourth title in franchise history. Crosby won his first Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, finishing with 19 total points. Crosby scored three game-winning goals against the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, including one in overtime.

What does the offseason bring for the Penguins? They are very tight up against the salary cap. Many believe they will try to trade former No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who is scheduled to count $5.75 million U.S. against the cap. The Calgary Flames could be a potential fit. Fleury has essentially lost his job to 22-year-old Matt Murray, a Thunder Bay native who was 15-6 with a 2.08 goals-against average in the postseason. There have also been rumours the team might shop Evgeni Malkin and his $9.5 million salary, but I doubt that. Crosby is going nowhere. He’s also a finalist for the Hart Trophy (regular-season  MVP), which will be presented on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Crosby already has two of those.

Montreal Candiens Are Canada’s Best Bet

The Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks are each +1000 on NHL odds to win the 2017 Stanley Cup. Hard to believe that Caps star Alex Ovechkin still hasn’t even played in a conference final. He played well in that series loss to the Penguins with seven points (two goals).

The Blackhawks have won three Cups this decade but lost in seven games in the first round of the 2016 playoffs against the St. Louis Blues. The Hawks also have some salary-cap issues, which forced them to trade promising young winger Teuvo Teravainen to the Carolina Hurricanes last week so Carolina would also take overpaid forward Bryan Bickell and his $4 million salary. Chicago GM Stan Bowman had little choice as he hopes to re-sign restricted free agent forward Andrew Shaw. The Blackhawks will be Cup contenders as long as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are in their prime. Kane is the favourite to win the Hart Trophy after leading the NHL in scoring.

No Canadian teams made the Stanley Cup playoffs this past season, the first time that’s happened since the 1969-70 campaign. The NHL was a 12-team, two-division league back then with only the Habs and Maple Leafs from Canada. The Canadian team with the shortest 2017 Stanley Cup betting odds is Montreal at +2000. If goalie Carey Price can stay healthy, the Canadiens should be contenders. They started the 2015-16 season 17-4-2 before Price got injured and didn’t play again.