While there may still be some big moves left this summer (Will Connor Hellebuyck get traded? Where is Alex DeBrincat playing next year?) for the most part teams have a strong idea of what their teams will look like when they take to the ice in October. We had our thoughts on how the Lightning did, now what did the oddsmakers think?
It appears they didn’t think the Bolts did enough to jump any of the other favorites. When the first odds were released back in early June the Lightning had the ninth best odds to win the Stanley Cup at +1600. After their signings they dropped to eleventh at +2000.
Vegas, or at least DraftKings, wasn’t impressed with what Colorado did either as they dropped from the top position (+800) in June to tied for second with Edmonton and New Jersey at +1000. The new off-season leaders are Toronto and Carolina at +900. The Leafs odds haven’t moved, but the sharps were fans of what the Devils did as they were at +1200 a month ago.
Unless any of the teams make a big trade (looking at you Willy Nylander) or a key player sustains a major injury windsurfing or golfing, the odds should be pretty close to what we see when training camp starts.
Their full listing of odds:
Seeing three Atlantic teams with better odds than the Lightning isn’t super awesome, and there are definitely some question marks surrounding the Bruins and Panthers. Overall, though, the odds seem about right for the Bolts. They aren’t the best team in the league any more, but they still have a chance, if things break right, to be in the conversation.
If I was to pick one wildly unlikely team to surprise everyone it would be Columbus at +25000. Now I’m not confident to actually cross state lines to make that play, but I still think they’re going to surprise some teams this year.
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Lightning / NHL News
Recapping free agency so far [Raw Charge]
Julien BriseBois retooled his roster with multiple pieces, but are they the right pieces? Only time will tell.
A pair of former restricted free agents head to Europe [EP Transfers Twitter]
The Lightning opted to not offer Grant Mismash or Rudolfs Balcers contracts this summer, allowing bother restricted free agents to become unrestricted free agents. On Tuesday word trickled out that both of them chose to head to Europe. Balcers signed with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League. Mismash is heading to the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan league to play for Osterunds IK.
Highlights from the 3-on-3 rookie tournament [Chris Krenn Twitter]
The kids over at the development camp got a break from drills and had a taste of competition as they started their annual 3-on-3 tournament. Ilya Usau led the way with 6 goals with Lucas Edmonds a close second with 5. They’ll be back on the ice today for more tournament action which should be live-streamed on the Bolts website.
Lightning reputation remains strong in NHL free-agent market [St. Pete Times]
Hockey players talk to each other. So when it’s time for them to make their free agent decisions they often reach out to current or former players on the teams they are interested in to determine the culture and things that happen out of the sight of the public eye. Based on what the new signings had to say in their welcome interviews, the word on the Lightning is that it’s a good place to play.
Filip Zadina clears waivers [ESPN]
In a situation that seemed a little similar to Lightning fans, Filip Zadina was placed on waivers and cleared without any takers. Unlike Tyler Johnson a few years ago, though, the Red Wings don’t need to move their talented forward for salary cap reasons. Perhaps seeing that no team wanted to claim him and his $1.825 cap hit for the next two years might change his attitude about wanting to stay in Detroit.
12 players to watch for the 2025 draft [Daily Face Off]
The banners have barely been stored away for the “Fall Hard for Bedard” tanking campaign, but that’s no reason to not look forward two years to the 2025 NHL Draft (location to be determined). Michael Misa (Saginaw) seems to be the early odd-son favorite.
In a sign that it’s probably time for everyone to head to their summer cottages, head of the PHWA, Frank Seravalli and the agency that represents goaltender John Gibson had a bit of a Twitter squabble. C’mon guys, why waste your limited Twitter views on this nonsense?
Hey Kurt, do you remember the last time you attempted to claim my reporting was false? All the best.https://t.co/pn7lM0gueS pic.twitter.com/ly8ymZumLB
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 4, 2023
