Early NHL online betting favorites for 2015. The Los Angeles Kings may have just won the Stanley Cup, but as far as betting online goes, that doesn’t mean they are a shoe in for repeating in 2015. If anything, their status as reigning champions all but precludes them from being championship favorites next year. Insiders like to chalk this up to the salary cap era, but that only came into effect in 2005, and the last National Hockey League team to win back-to-back titles were the 1996-97, 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings. What’s more, only three teams have even made it to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals ever since; the aforementioned Red Wings, the New Jersey Devils, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If not the Kings, then who? The answer to the question would be the Chicago Blackhawks, the Boston Bruins, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and then the current champions. The entire list below:
| Team | Odds |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 15/2 |
| Boston Bruins | 8/1 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 9/1 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 10/1 |
| St. Louis Blues | 10/1 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 14/1 |
| San Jose Sharks | 14/1 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 18/1 |
| Minnesota Wild | 18/1 |
| New York Rangers | 18/1 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 22/1 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 25/1 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 25/1 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 25/1 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 28/1 |
| Dallas Stars | 33/1 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 33/1 |
| Washington Capitals | 33/1 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 40/1 |
| New Jersey Devils | 40/1 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 50/1 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 50/1 |
| Ottawa Senators | 50/1 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 50/1 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 50/1 |
| Calgary Flames | 66/1 |
| Florida Panthers | 66/1 |
| Nashville Predators | 66/1 |
| New York Islanders | 66/1 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 75/1 |
In case you decided to go against the online betting grain and put your money on the Los Angeles Kings becoming the first repeating champions in 16 years and they actually pulled it off, then you’d get a pretty nifty return. However, salary cap or not, the fact remains that it seems almost impossible that that will happen in the near or distant future. On the other hand, these are only predictions to help bettors place their wagers, but fans know where their loyalties lie, and we might still witness a miracle on ice for the 21st century.