Maple Leafs Favoured To Win Atlantic Division In 2017-18

With under a week to go before the start of the NHL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have become the new favourites on the 2017-18 NHL Atlantic Division odds.

As of Thursday, Sept. 28, popular online betting site Bodog was listing the Leafs at +224 odds ($224 return on a $100 bet) to win the division. That was very slightly ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who paid +225.

2017-18 NHL Atlantic Division Odds

2017-18 NHL Atlantic Division odds

Odds on both the Leafs and Lightning have gotten shorter at Bodog as the season has approached. Several weeks ago, Tampa was the Atlantic favourite at +300 odds, with the Leafs paying +375.

While Toronto and Tampa’s stock has risen, the Montreal Canadiens have been downgraded from +400 to +500 odds. Part of that may have to do with the Canadiens’ poor preseason showing, with Montreal losing its first six exhibition games.

However, the Boston Bruins went 4-1 in their first five preseason games, yet have seen their 2017-18 NHL Atlantic Division odds plummet from +425 to +700.

The Ottawa Senators also pay +700 on Bodog’s most recent Atlantic Division odds, a slight improvement on the +800 the Sens paid a few weeks ago.

The best value in the Atlantic Division may be the Florida Panthers, who currently pay +1000. Florida won the Atlantic two years ago and still have a lot of players remaining from that team, though Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith and Jussi Jokinen left town over the summer.