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Sports Betting Futures Odds: The Quest for Lord Stanley's Cup Begins

by - 4/12/2017

Mikael Granlund Minnesota Wild

The NHL playoffs begin on Wednesday and the usual suspects appear to be prime contenders to lift the Stanley Cup-most notably the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Springtime also means horse racing and clay-court tennis, both of which are about to heat up.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

Stanley Cup

Washington Capitals (+300) - Washington rolled to the best record in the NHL. Of course, that is nothing new for the Capitals. They are often the most dominant team in regular seasons, but the playoffs have been a different story. Washington has not even reached a conference final since 1998 and has never won the Stanley Cup.

Chicago Blackhawks (+450) - Unlike the Capitals, Chicago has been consistently outstanding of late in both regular seasons and the playoffs. The Blackhawks have won three of the last seven Stanley Cups, most recently in 2014-15. They went 50-23-9 this season for the most points in the Western Conference.

Pittsburgh Penguins (+800) - The defending Stanley Cup champions have reached the finals in three of the last nine seasons, lifting the cup twice. Doing so again would not come as a big surprise, because Pittsburgh went 50-21-11 this season for the second-most points in the NHL behind Washington.

Minnesota Wild (+850) - One of the streakiest teams in the league, Minnesota won 12 in a row at one point and ended the regular season on a four-game surge. The Wild also endured skids of four games and five games last month. They have reached the conference finals only once since their inaugural 2002-03 campaign.

Kentucky Derby

Classic Empire (+525) - Classic Empire is the son of Pioneerof the Nile, who finished runner-up at the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Who else did Pioneerof the Nile sire? That would be none other than 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Classic Empire won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall.


McCraken (+575) - Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. had a choice between two Kentucky Derby contenders and he went with McCraken, which says something about this horse's quality. McCraken won four consecutive races last fall but he missed last month's Tampa Bay Derby with an ankle injury.

Always Dreaming (+650) - Always Dreaming was sired by Bodemeister, who finished second at both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2012. This horse has a chance to do one better at the Run for the Roses. He has won two straight races, including the Florida Derby earlier this month.

Irish War Cry (+750) - Irish War Cry won the Wood Memorial last week, giving him two victories in 2017 and four wins in his last five starts. He is the son of Curlin, who won the Preakness and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2007. Gunnevera is a +775 fifth choice.

French Open

Rafael Nadal (+220) - The clay-court swing is underway, and that means the French Open is not too far off on the horizon-next month, to be exact. Nadal, a nine-time champion at Roland Garros, finished runner-up to Roger Federer at the Australian Open and in Miami earlier this season.

Novak Djokovic (+250) - Djokovic lost his No. 1 ranking to Andy Murray last fall and he is off to a far-from-ideal start in 2017. The Serb bowed out early at the Aussie Open and in Indian Wells before missing Miami with an elbow injury. Perhaps some good news is that he is the defending French Open champion.

Andy Murray (+350) - The top two players in the world have been nothing of the sort this year. Not unlike Djokovic, Murray was bounced from the Australian Open and Indian Wells much earlier than expected before skipping Miami because of an elbow injury. And clay has always been his worst surface.

Stan Wawrinka (+800) - Wawrinka triumphed at Roland Garros in 2015, taking down Djokovic in the final. The third-ranked Swiss also won the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2014 and owns six clay-court titles in his career. Still in fine form at 32 years old, Wawrinka finished runner-up to Federer in Indian Wells.

RBC Heritage

Matt Kuchar (+1400) -Kuchar aced the 16th hole while firing a Sunday low 67 to finish tied for fourth at the Masters. That gives him plenty of momentum heading into one of his favorite tournaments. Kuchar won the RBC Heritage in 2014, finished fifth in 2015, and tied for ninth last season.

Brandt Snedeker (+1800) -Like Kuchar, Snedeker is past champion of this event (2011). He placed T26 two years ago but missed the cut last spring. In fine form this season, Snedeker has three top-10 performances dating back to late January and finished T27 at the Masters.

Russell Henley (+2200) - Henley needed to win earlier this month in Houston to get a spot in the Masters and that is exactly what he did. The Macon, Georgia native made the most of it, too, placing T11 at Augusta National. Henley was a decent T23 at last year's RBC Heritage, which included a second-round 67.

Branden Grace (+2200) - Arguably no one other than Kuchar likes this event more than Grace. He was T7 in 2015 and won it last year. The South African shot a 74 on Friday but also carded rounds of 66, 69, and 66. Grace has not done much this season but bounced back from a missed cut at Bay Hill to finish T27 at the Masters.

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