Updated Stanley Cup Odds Roundup Following 2021 NHL Draft, Seth Jones Trade to Blackhawks and More

• The 2021 NHL Entry Draft took place July 23rd-24th
• Seth Jones was traded to Chicago in one of several blockbuster deals
• See the updated Stanley Cup odds following the 2021 NHL Draft

The 2021 NHL Draft proved to be one of the craziest weekends in hockey in quite some time. The Buffalo Sabres drafted defenseman Owen Power with the first overall selection, but multiple blockbuster trades made all the headlines.

The Colorado Avalanche remain favored in the 2022 Stanley Cup odds after a wild weekend that saw Philadelphia, Chicago and Vancouver make big splashes. The Seattle Kraken were surprisingly non-active after drafting an underwhelming roster at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

We layout the updated 2022 Stanley Cup odds following draft weekend and provide betting analysis.

2022 Stanley Cup Odds

Odds as of July 25th at DraftKings

Draft Weekend Full Of Trades 

The 2021 NHL Draft Weekend produced a plethora of trades across the league. Despite the movement, there was no one team that saw a significant bump in their odds to win the 2022 Stanley Cup. Several of the blockbuster trades were done by teams who failed to make the playoffs in 2021.

The lack of movement in the Cup odds tells you that oddsmakers don’t believe one team fleeced another in a trade — at least in the short term. Some of the biggest deals saw the Panthers land Sam Reinhart, the Blackhawks acquire Seth Jones and the Canucks get Oliver-Ekman Larsson and Conor Garland.

Welcome to the Territory, Sam!! 😸 pic.twitter.com/nPAp8sjPnp

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) July 24, 2021

The Flyers were the most active team during draft weekend, trading away Shayne Gostisbehere and Jakub Voracek and landing Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam Atkinson in separate deals. They also acquired Ryan Ellis from Nashville  prior to the Seattle Expansion Draft. Despite the moves, the Flyers remain +3000 longshots in the Cup odds.

The most shocking trade saw the Hurricanes trade away Calder finalist goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the Red Wings in exchange for Jonathan Bernier. Carolina has always appeared a goalie away from being true contenders, so trading away their promising starter makes little sense. Their odds will lengthen if they don’t improve the goalie situation.

Avalanche Remain Favored 

The Avalanche remain the favorites in the 2022 Stanley Cup odds following the 2021 NHL Draft. Colorado didn’t make any big trades, but they did re-sign top defenseman Cale Makar to a six-year contract extension. The 23-year-old opened as the favorite in the 2022 Norris Trophy odds and is one of many reasons to consider betting on Colorado.

Today is a GR8 DAY!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/ixqtcU4wmo

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 24, 2021

Colorado is also sitting atop the Cup odd because the other contenders weren’t too active this weekend. The Lightning are close to Colorado, but they’ve lost Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow this offseason. The Bolts are likely to lose even more players this summer as they struggle to create a cap compliant roster.

Vegas is intriguing as they’re reported to be frontrunners in the Jack Eichel trade sweepstakes. While they weren’t too active at draft weekend, they made a big move prior to the Expansion Draft. Vegas traded forward Cody Glass to the Nashville Predators and landed Flyers’ forward Nolan Patrick in a three-team deal.

Are Blackhawks Smart Longshots?

The Blackhawks are listed as +6000 longshots in the 2022 Stanley Cup odds after acquiring Seth Jones from the Columbus Blue Jackets. While Jones is a potential franchise-changing blueliner, he certainly didn’t come cheap. The Blackhawks had to cough up Adam Boqvist and multiple premium draft picks in order to pry him from Columbus.

Chicago acquiring Jones helps them in the short term, but this is a huge gamble. Not only did Chicago pay with their future to acquire him, but they also gave Jones an eight-year extension that will pay him $9.5M per season. The Blackhawks aren’t close to being contenders right now and have missed the playoffs in three of the last four years.

Welcome to Chicago, Seth Jones! pic.twitter.com/m4RZ6tQaCl

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 23, 2021

Chicago didn’t see any immediate improvement in its Cup odds following the Jones deal, which tells you plenty about the state of the franchise. Boqvist was a promising young blueliner, and acquiring Jones doesn’t magically solve all their issues. They have the advantage of playing in a weak Central Division, but there are still much better Stanley Cup longshots.

The Panthers (+2200 ) are the best longshot bet following the 2021 NHL Draft. They landed a very underrated goalscorer in Reinhart, who could become even better now that he’s out of Buffalo. Although Florida lost goalie Chris Driedger in the Expansion Draft, they have a top goaltending prospect in Spencer Knight. The acquisition of Renhiert and the emergence of Knight makes Florida a true sleeper team in 2021-22.