Making Moves - Betting Analysis for the NHL 2008-09 Season

Although Mats Sundin hasn’t decided his hockey future yet, it doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to sit on our hands. While this Russian Hockey League debacle mounts to hilarious proportions, and everyone gets excited for the coming NFL betting season, the smart betting investors have been keeping their eyes on the NHL market.

Twenty years ago, the Edmonton Oilers did the unthinkable in trading The Great One, Wayne Gretzky. Nothing of that magnitude has transcended this summer, although Jaromir Jagr’s departure for the homeland league sparks some interest. How have teams faired in the offseason? Which ones are looking better than they did? Let’s take a look at the winners and losers thus far before the NHL wagering season drops the puck.

WINNERS

Detroit Red Wings (54-21-7 SU last season)
Detroit landed Marion Hossa in the free agent sweepstakes this summer, making them the heavy favorites to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. They handedly disposed of Pittsburgh and The Kid en route to a hoisting ceremony for the ages. Now they have one of the most talented wingers in the league. Imagine what Hossa is capable of on a good team?

This move overrides any doubts you may have about their goaltending, which remained solid throughout the playoffs. It’s clear cut why Detroit is the +450 favorite to win the Stanley Cup for a second time in two seasons.

Phoenix Coyotes (38-37-7 SU)
Somehow, amongst all the hype of the draft and business of the market, I completely missed the fact that Ollie Jokinen went to Phoenix. Are you kidding me? The Coyotes were one of my favorite dogs last year because of their sheer size. With Ilya Bryzgalov in net, their humungous defense protecting him and one of the elite scorers slicing through defenses, the Coyotes are a great value bet this coming season. Maybe not to win the Cup, but they’re going to be better than you think.

LOSERS

New York Rangers (42-27-13 SU)
They replaced Jaromir Jagr with Markus Naslund, an aging Swede who hasn’t been productive since the dreaded Bertuzzi fiasco. Unless they land Mats Sundin all of a sudden, their chances of coming through on their +1200 chances of winning the Cup are slim.

Vancouver Canucks (39-33-10 SU)
They took a swing for the fences with Mats Sundin, and wiffed. Is there a chance he comes to Vancouver? Probably not. Maybe the Sedin twins can see if they were quintuplets or something. I don’t know. You can bet this is the year that Roberto Luongo loses his mind and gets frustrated about now playing for a contender. Oh wait, they have Pavol Demitra? I take back everything I just wrote (read: sarcasm).

Montreal Canadiens (47-25-10)
They are +600 to win the Cup, finished as top billing in the Eastern Conference last year and resurrected the lost career of Alex Kovalev. So why are they losers? Because they didn’t win last year with this roster, what in hell has them convinced they can get past the Penguins and other brutes of the East? They added Georges Laraque, who has become to slow to be effective, and still need a stiffer defense. This team isn’t going to last down the stretch the way they’re standing right now, even though they added Alex Tanguay and got rid of disappointing Michael Ryder.