4 NHL Stanley Cup Sleepers To Bet On

Anything goes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as we witnessed just last season as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames, the top seeds from their respective conferences, both were ousted from the post-season within two weeks by the second wildcard teams.

With that in mind, here are four sleeper teams with Stanley Cup potential in 2019-20:

Dallas Stars (+1700, DraftKings)  

The Stars made the playoffs last season and reached the second round before being ousted in overtime of Game 7 by the St. Louis Blues, who went on to capture the Cup.

With its core from that team still in place, and with veteran superstars Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry, who’ve combined to score 717 NHL goals, now in the mix, this may be the year Dallas takes a major step forward. Perry (372 goals) and Pavelski (355) are expected to be second-tier linemates for the Stars, who boast a powerful top line that features Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov. 

"What I like is the mix of the youth and the experience we have now," General Manager Jim Nill told reporters. "We're adding some great leaders and guys that know how to win to the core. You mix that in with some of the young kids, and I think it can be a pretty dynamic team that way."  

Ben Bishop ranked second in the NHL with a 1.98 goals-against average and notched a career-best .934 save percentage last season. He was named one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy for a third time, but finished second in the voting behind Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.  With young studs John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen protecting the Dallas zone, look for Bishop to have another stellar season and challenge for the Vezina again.

New Jersey Devils (+2000)

Sure, New Jersey finished last in the Metropolitan Division last season and second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with just 72 points. But the Devils have made some sexy acquisitions this off-season and suddenly are a popular pick to return to the playoffs.

Jack Hughes is expected to make an immediate impact for New Jersey, which surprised nobody by selecting him with the first overall pick in this year’s draft. Hughes produced 112 points in just 50 games for the U.S. National Development Team last season. He’s expected to be New Jersey’s No. 2 center behind Nico Hischier, whom the Devils grabbed with the first overall pick just two years ago.

Newcomers Wayne Simmonds and P.K. Subban will provide grit and leadership for New Jersey, and oh, by the way, recent Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is still in the mix with one year to go on an expiring deal. Big things are expected from Hall as he auditions for his next contract.

“We're going to have more than a couple new faces next year,” Hall told reporters after last season.  “... Just injecting some new blood into the team is going to be really good.”  

READ HERE: More on the Devils (BetQL)

Montreal Canadiens (+2500)

Playing in the brutal Atlantic Division, Montreal earned 96 points last season and missed the playoffs by just two points. The Habs are a young team on the rise with an iconic goalie fresh off a comeback season in 2018-19.

Great goalies can carry mediocre teams deep into the playoffs, and Montreal has one in Carey Price, who played 66 games last season and posted a 35-24-6 record with four shutouts. The Canadiens added backup Keith Kinkaid this off-season to help lighten Price’s load.

Brendan Gallagher, who led Montreal with 31 goals last season, is one of the most underrated players in the NHL and is entering the prime of his career. Max Domi thrived offensively in his first year  with the Canadiens last season, and appears comfortable not only leading the team in points but also as its new face of the franchise. Center Jesperi Kotkaniemi played 79 games as a rookie in 2018-19 and quietly provided solid offense (34 points) and defense (+1). Those numbers likely will improve as the intense glare of the Montreal media spotlight on the third overall draft pick in 2018 dims.

Shea Weber and Jeff Petry are reliable defenders who will get help from newcomer Ben Chiarot, who played 22 playoff games for Winnipeg over the past two seasons.

Edmonton Oilers (+3500)

The Oilers gave their front office a makeover this off-season by adding Ken Holland as General Manager and Dave Tippett as Head Coach.

The hope is the combo will provide stability and structure to a franchise seemingly spinning out of control last season in front of a disappointed and vocal fan base.

The Oilers, of course, have Connor McDavid, who is the game’s most speedy, creative and effective playmaker. They also have Leon Draisaitl, who notched more than 100 points playing alongside McDavid. 

But Edmonton won’t win consistently without secondary scoring and tighter defense, and that’s where forward James Neal and goalie Mike Smith come in. Both are Tippett favorites from their time together in Dallas early in the players’ NHL careers, and both are seeking redemption after sub-par seasons in 2018-19. Here’s betting the reunion with Tippett will spark such comebacks. 

Betting NHL futures is hard, if betting single games is more your style check out our NHL odds page where you can find odds, lines and spreads for Week 1.

Note: All statistics above were found on Hockey-Reference.com. The advice above represents the writer's personal view and does not reflect or represent BetQL's stance or interest in any way.