Avs, Lightning early ’21 Stanley Cup favorites

As Tampa Bay celebrated the return of the Stanley Cup with a socially distanced celebration on Wednesday, the Lightning have already been installed as one of the favorites to win the Cup next year.

The Colorado Avalanche have the shortest initial odds at several sportsbooks, including being offered at 700 by SportsBetting.com. That was slightly ahead of the Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights at 750.

There was room between the top three and the Boston Bruins (1000) and Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals at 1800. No other team was being offered at shorter than 2000.

The once-mighty Detroit Red Wings were by far the longest shots at 15000, with the Ottawa Senators at 10000 bringing the next longest odds.

The Lightning won their second Stanley Cup final on Monday night, defeating the Dallas Stars in six games. The Avalanche finished second in the Western Conference with 92 points, but were eliminated by Dallas in overtime of Game 7 in the conference semifinals.

2021 Stanley Cup odds

Colorado Avalanche: 700

Tampa Bay Lightning: 750

Vegas Golden Knights: 750

Boston Bruins: 1000

Philadelphia Flyers: 1800

Washington Capitals: 1800

Dallas Stars: 2000

Toronto Maple Leafs: 2000

Edmonton Oilers: 2500

Pittsburgh Penguins: 2500

St. Louis Blues: 2500

New York Islanders: 2500

Vancouver Canucks: 2500

Carolina Hurricanes: 2800

New York Rangers: 2800

Calgary Flames: 3300

Nashville Predators: 3300

Winnipeg Jets: 3300

Arizona Coyotes: 4500

Columbus Blue Jackets: 4500

Florida Panthers: 5000

Minnesota Wild: 5000

Montral Canadiens: 5000

San Jose Sharks: 5000

New Jersey Devils: 6600

Buffalo Sabres: 6600

Los Angeles Kings: 6600

Anaheim Ducks: 8000

Chicago Blackhawks: 8000

Ottawa Senators: 10000

Detroit Red Wings: 15000