2022 NHL Betting Preview – NHL Odds and Picks for Jack Adams, Rocket Richard, Art Ross Trophy and More

• The NHL season begins Tuesday, October 12th with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins
• NHL odds on individual games and futures bets are now available
• Below are in-depth breakdowns and NHL predictions for the Jack Adams Award and Rocket Richard Trophy

NHL odds have been released and there’s no better way to prepare for the new season than to take a deep dive into some intriguing futures bets.

Unlike some other leagues, NHL predictions are tough when it comes to futures with so much parity between the star players and teams. The good news though, the odds reflect just how tough making the correct pick can be. The most important thing to remember is making your decision early can pay dividends. NHL odds makers tend to make quick changes, so this is the best value you’ll see all year.

Here’s a look at two awards in particular that could result in handsome pay days if you lock in your wager before the season begins.

Jack Adams Award Odds

All Odds as of October 10th at DraftKings

The Jack Adams can be tougher to predict than many other awards because it’s a bit of a moving target. While other awards are given to the best at a specific skill, defining the best coach comes with some level of opinion. While Jon Cooper of the Lightning is listed as the favorite, the award very rarely goes to the coach of the clear best team in the league. Tampa Bay has won back-to-back Stanley Cups, so is seems unlikely Cooper will be able to coach his team to the level they’ll be seen as overachievers.

With that in mind, move farther down the list and take a look at the new coach in New York Gerard Gallant. He won the award in 2018 after coaching the biggest group of underachievers in league history, the Vegas Golden Knights. Now with the Rangers, this is a prime position for him to capture the award yet again.

Meant to be a Ranger. 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/CXpSy8NKP7

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 10, 2021

The Rangers are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs but have a loaded roster in a division that could see some turnover. Defenseman Adam Fox is the reigning Norris Trophy winner, forward Artemi Panarin is once again expected to contend for league MVP and the Rangers have two good goalies in Igor Shesterkin and Alexander Georgiev. Add to that last year’s number one overall pick Alexis Lafreniere having a disappointing rookie reason, there’s lots of room for this team to improve.

The Pick: Gerard Gallant +1100

Rocket Richard Trophy Odds

NHL public betting is going to be all over the map when it comes to the leagues top scorer. The Rocket Richard Trophy odds have the reigning winner Auston Matthews as the favorite followed by some of the leagues heaviest hitters. It’s tough to argue against Matthews and his scoring prowess but he did miss the entire pre-season recovering for off-season surgery. Taking a long look, there does appear to be one bet on the board offering better value.

Oilers superstar Connor McDavid finished second in the Rocket Richard race last season, finishing with 33 goals in 56 games. That’s a 48 goal pace if you project over a full 82 game schedule and it’s reasonable to assume he takes another step forward this year. This is the only major award McDavid has yet to win, unless of course you’re including the Stanley Cup. Is it possible that McDavid and Matthews are dueling it out for this trophy again this season? It seems so, and McDavid is paying a much better price.

This Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97) guy. 👌 pic.twitter.com/1VkI8gyNIT

— NHL (@NHL) October 8, 2021

One last note about this award, Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is trying to win it for the 10th time. That’s not a typo, this trophy will likely be named after him one day. Ovechkin was banged up in Washington’s final pre-season game but appears to have avoided major injury. If you’re looking for a player with greater than 10/1 odds, he’s likely the best choice on the board.

The Pick: Connor McDavid (+750)