Each year at the NHL all-star break, TSN’s Bob McKenzie polls all of the NHL coaches to get their predictions on who will win the Stanley Cup and other major awards.
27 of 30 coaches participated in the poll, with the only restriction being they couldn’t vote for their own team or players. It’s always an interesting read, and you can check out the entire article here.
We thought we’d take the results from the poll and compare them to the actual 2016 Stanley Cup odds to see if there’s any value out there.
2016 Stanley Cup Odds
No surprises from the coaches, as 16 of 27 picked Washington to win the Cup and another 9 picked Chicago. The Capitals and Blackhawks are the 2 biggest favourites on the 2016 Stanley Cup odds.
However, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay earned one vote each. These teams are much more enticing on the Stanley Cup odds, with the Kings paying +950 and the Lightning – last year’s Eastern Conference champs – paying +1400.
In the Eastern Conference, Washington and Tampa Bay were the only teams voted to reach the Stanley Cup final. In the Western Conference, Chicago and LA combined for 26 of 27 votes – but the other one went to the Dallas Stars, who pay +900 on the Stanley Cup odds.
