What Does Carlyle Firing Mean For Leafs Bettors?

It doesn't appear that the Toronto Maple Leafs will be adding any more Stanley Cup banners anytime soon. (Photo credit: OliverN5 / Foter / CC BY-ND)


Our Sports Interaction NHL betting expert regularly joins us to offer his thoughts on the NHL betting scene.

This week, he addresses the Leafs’ coaching situation, the Stanley Cup favourites at the midpoint of the season and which players would make for good picks on NHL player props:

 

Many NHL bettors saw the writing on the wall long ago, but Toronto Maple Leafs management finally had enough of the team’s inconsistent play and fired coach Randy Carlyle this week. With the Leafs traditionally being one of the most popular teams in the league, what does this move mean to daily hockey bettors?

Yes, the Leafs remain one of the most popular teams in the league, but bettors have a breaking point. Toronto had won just two of nine games before Carlyle was fired and even the team’s most dedicated supporter will only take so much.

In the game following Carlyle’s dismissal we had the Leafs as a Pick ‘em against the Capitals at the open, but that line moved quickly to Washington -120 after a flood of Caps money.

We saw a little more action on the Leafs before the puck drop as some bettors hopped on the underdog line, though nothing outrageous.

Expect to see more changes, which probably won’t help this team be more consistent in the second half.

Smart hockey bettors will continue to look at this team as a puckline option when it is set as an underdog. Despite all the media scrutiny, the Leafs do rank fourth in the league on the puck line, up 9.93 units.

 

We’re about halfway through the NHL season so let’s take a quick look at some of the contending teams as of now. The Anaheim Ducks lead the league at 26-10-2, followed by a bunch of teams including Chicago, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. Is the Stanley Cup winner among this group of front-runners and will these teams be good bets in the second half?

Any of these teams could contend for the Cup, but bettors need to separate elite NHL teams from elite NHL betting teams. Often those are two completely different things.

Betting the Ducks every night is a great way to burn through your bankroll. Anaheim may lead the league right now, but this squad also sits dead last having lost more than 21 units for puckline bettors. That’s a major red flag.

So far the Ducks have been able to win a lot of close games but they may not be nearly as good in the second half.

Chicago and Pittsburgh are risky bets when seeing a lot of chalk each night. Nashville will likely remain a good bargain and the Preds could be the best Stanley Cup darkhorse bet in the West.

In the East, the Rangers are still flying under the radar despite going to the Cup finals last year and seem to be just getting better as the season wears on.

 

For daily player props bettors, who should they keep a close eye on for the next little while?

Corey Perry just returned to the Ducks’ lineup and he’ll be back to top form before too long. When you have Perry and Ryan Getzlaf on the same line at full strength and on the power play, betting at least one of them to score each night isn’t a crazy proposition.

David Perron, who was just traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, might be a smart bet too. He has bundles of talent and is currently riding shotgun on Sidney Crosby’s wing. As guys like Pascal Dupuis will tell you, there are worse place to be slotted in the lineup.

 

Updated Stanley Cup NHL Betting Odds

(as of Thursday, Jan. 8 at Sports Interaction)

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