OK, our good friends at Bodog like to keep us in the loop with their odds that involve the Canucks.
The first one to mention, with the Canucks’ season opener nine days away, is Bodog’s take on which Canadian team will have the most points in the NHL’s regular season.
Despite the off-season changes, and the fact few people consider the Canucks Stanley Cup contenders these days, they lead the way, with Bodog offering them at 7/4. (If you bet four dollars and the Canucks do in fact finish first among Canadian teams, you’ll win seven bucks.)
The Ottawa Senators are next at 3/1, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens at 4/1. The Edmonton Oilers are at 7/1 (I’d put a few dollars on that; you have to think it will come true at some point!) and the Winnipeg Jets are at 12/1.
The Calgary Flames are last at 20/1.
Do you think Bodog’s odds are an accurate reflection of what will actually happen in the NHL this year?
Bodog has also taken a preseason stab at the NHL’s annual awards, predicting that Sidney Crosby (at 3/1) is most likely to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league MVP, ahead of Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos. Daniel Sedin is tied, at 11th overall, at 30/1 odds; interestingly enough, among all players listed up to 75/1 (Detroit’s Jimmy Howard? Say whaaaaaaat?), Daniel’s brother Henrik does not appear. That’s the same Henrik who won the Hart Trophy in the spring of 2010.
Other Canucks on Bodog’s awards list? Alex Edler is listed at 20/1 for the Norris Trophy as best defenceman, with leading candidates being Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson (4/1), Montreal’s P.K. Subban (9/2) and Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang (13/2). Roberto Luongo is at 12/1 to win the Vezina Trophy as best goalie, tied with Howard, Chicago’s Antti Niemi and Montreal’s Carey Price. Bodog’s top three choices there are the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist (4/1), the Kings’ Jonathan Quick (5/1) and Boston’s Tuukka Rask (7/1).
Henrik Sedin, interestingly enough, is listed alone at 15/1 to win the Art Ross as the NHL’s top scorer. Only six players rank higher than Henrik: Crosby (9/4), Stamkos (11/2), Ovechkin (6/1), Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (13/2), the Islanders’ John Tavares (8/1) and the Lightning’s Marty St. Louis (10/1). Daniel’s not on the list. Hmmmmm. Is it possible that Bodog’s Hart rankings mistakenly include Daniel and exclude Henrik?
Bodog also has the over/under on points scored in the regular season at 81.5 for Henrik, 76.5 for Daniel, 59.5 for Ryan Kesler and 45.5 for Alex Burrows.
