After the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, it seems that the public believes the defending Western Conference Champions will come back strong and win it this season. This is something that the Panthers just accomplished, as they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 before winning it this past season. Apparently, this narrative is running strong right now, even though there really isn’t a strong recent history of it.
The Oilers, narrative or no narrative, are still one of the most talented teams in the NHL. They have the best player in hockey, Connor McDavid, leading the charge every night, even though a single player rarely can do it all by himself. Luckily, the often-forgotten-about parts of the team are also doing their jobs in supporting McDavid, which makes for a very good team.
At BetMGM, the Oilers have moved from +1000 to +800 to win the 2024-2025 Stanley Cup. Not only that, but 12.4 percent of the tickets are on the Oilers and a whopping 25.4 percent of the handle is on them to bring home the hardware. Now, while that is easily the most wagered on team to win the Cup this season, that does not necessarily mean that they are the biggest liability for the sportsbook.
Seeing as how Edmonton is one of the biggest favorites, their odds of 8/1 aren’t nearly as large as many other teams, so the payout isn’t as drastic if they won the Cup compared to a team getting 20/1 odds. Many times, the book actually finds themselves rooting for the chalk in these situations because of increased big payouts on larger underdogs.
The Oilers have been one of the best teams in the NHL for years now, but the biggest issue with them has been the inconsistent goaltending that they have gotten. While their offense has been top notch with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, they have not been able to stop opposing teams from scoring against them. Last year, they finally got some solid goaltending from Stuart Skinner in the net.
He was great until he got to the Stanley Cup Final, where he crumbled in the first couple of games as the Oilers went down 3-0 in the series. He managed to bounce back, and the team tied it up at three games a piece, but they couldn’t secure the comeback and lost in Game 7 to Florida.
As the season grinds on, I’ll be interested to see where the liability starts to set in for the books, and if Edmonton will actually be a bad result for them. I have a feeling that even with all of that money and the high ticket percentage, another team might be worse for them at larger odds.
Get up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets at BetMGM! All you need to do is CLICK HERE, sign up for a new account, make your first deposit and bet! Don’t miss out!
Related
