2024 NHL Futures: Hockey Best Bets, Predictions, Odds on DraftKings Sportsbook

The quest for the Stanley Cup is on! The 2024 NHL All-Star Break is old news and we are past the midseason mark with plenty of teams looking to make playoff pushes with roughly 30 regular season games remaining. The usual top-dogs still sit atop their respective divisions and conferences but some young and upcoming teams have emerged and could make some serious noise.

Let’s take a look at a few of my favorite team futures on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Stanley Cup Winner

Boston Bruins(+850)

The city of Boston has not won a sports championship since 2018, which is far too long for its fans and this Bruins squad is going to be hungry after going out in heartbreaking fashion last postseason. The Bruins were an absolute powerhouse last season but the President’s Trophy curse hit them hard and their season ended in the first round. Luckily, Vancouver is currently ahead of them in terms of points, so Boston’s talented and experienced roster may be able to avoid the bad voodoo and make a deep postseason run this time around. For my fellow historical stat nerds, each of the top five teams on the NHL’s single-season wins list hoisted the Stanley Cup the following season.

The Bruins rank second in goal differential (+48), 10th in goals per game (3.36), third in goals allowed (2.57), eighth in power play percentage (24.0%) and seventh in penalty kill percentage (81.9%). The offense can be deadly and the defense can completely eliminate opposing superstars. They start either Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark on a nightly basis, both of which have allowed fewer than 2.64 goals per game and have posted save percentages of .917 or better this season — proving that they are more than capable of stealing games when things aren’t going well on offense. I’m gonna slap a giant question mark next to the previous sentence, however, as both goaltenders completely collapsed last postseason, allowing over 3.7 goals per game in a seven-game series against Florida.

Atlantic Division Winner

Florida Panthers (+100)

While I’m backing the Bruins to hoist the cup this season, I didn’t say that they had to win the Atlantic Division. The Panthers are only two points behind them and have remained one of the hottest teams in the league. Florida has won three of its four first games since returning from the break and had won 14 of 21 games prior to the break.

Led by Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk, the offense has been humming. Despite both Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad sustaining injuries throughout the season, they're back and producing. Sergei Bobrovsky has been a bit streaky but still ranks third in wins and should be able to handle Florida’s remaining schedule. While there are some quality opponents coming up soon, there are also quite a few rather poor and inferior opponents, too.

Florida is deep and fundamentally sound in nearly all aspects, ranking 12th in goals per game (3.23) and first in shots per game (34.1) while allowing the second-fewest goals per game (2.49) and shots per game (27.3) and fielding the sixth-best power play (25.1%) and penalty kill units (83.1%). All of this is enough for me to back the Panthers to steal the Atlantic Division from the Bruins and even make another deep postseason run (second-highest odds to win the Stanley Cup at +800).

To Make The Playoffs

New Jersey Devils (-120)

I’ve already seen this line move from -115 to -120 overnight and for good reason, as Jack Hughes is back in the lineup and the Devils are just two points out of the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Since the All-Star Break, they’ve won three of their last five games and should be able to build some momentum and stack wins, especially with Hughes getting back in the groove. However, the very poor goaltending and inconsistent defense have also hurt this team’s success.

The offensive numbers look great — ranking fifth in expected goal percentage (53.39%), first in high-danger chances (148), ninth in goals per game (3.38) and tenth in power play percentage (23.7%). But, New Jersey allows the seventh-most goals per game (3.44) and the fifth-highest goals against above-expected average (8.64). The offense should do enough to secure wins but the Devils also have enough cap space to potentially trade for a more consistent and established goaltender. If that’s the case, this bet feels even better and I’d even consider New Jersey’s odds to win the Stanley Cup, which are currently set at +2500 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Remember, this same team was able to knock off a high-powered Rangers squad last postseason and could very well go on a 2023 Panthers-like run.

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is huntersk) and I may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.