NHL Futures To Miss Playoffs: 3 Teams to Fade in 2023-24
The end of August is near, which means hockey season is right around the corner. We’ll be seeing training camps open up later this month, with preseason games shortly thereafter. It’s time to start looking at some NHL futures markets, particularly teams to make or miss the playoffs.
After looking at a few points totals last week, here are three teams to fade in the 2023-24 NHL season.
NHL Futures To Miss Playoffs: 3 Teams to Fade in 2023-24
Pittsburgh Penguins to Miss Playoffs (+200)
The Penguins have a few factors working against them here.
First of all, the Penguins missed the playoffs last season due to some turmoil in the front office. Sure, they’ve brought in Kyle Dubas from Toronto (who named himself GM) and added Erik Karlsson, but that isn’t enough to warrant this price.
The Penguins are in one of the toughest divisions in hockey. The Hurricanes and Devils are essentially locks to make the playoffs, with the Rangers not too far behind them. That would leave Pittsburgh battling for one of two wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference alongside the Islanders (among Metro teams, that is.)
Over in the Atlantic Division, there are a few shoo-ins for the playoffs in Toronto, Boston, and Tampa Bay, with Buffalo and Ottawa on the come-up. You can’t forget about Stanley Cup runner-up Florida as well, but we’ll get to them in a bit.
So, for the eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, six of them are more or less spoken for, with last season’s top three-quarters in the East. The Penguins may be the best team on paper after that, especially after adding Karlsson, but they’re an injury or two away from crashing and missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2004 lockout.
Florida Panthers to Miss Playoffs (+180)
Yes, the Panthers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season. But at the same time, the Panthers needed a miraculous stretch at the end of the regular season to earn a playoff berth.
Florida then put everything on the line trying to win the Stanley Cup, as it should. That has resulted in longer-term injuries to top defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. There is also the wear and tear that those extra games take on a body combined with the shortened offseason — rather than the season ending in mid-April, the Panthers played into June.
We went through how tough the Eastern Conference is going to be above, and while the Panthers should be in the mix, they shouldn’t be over -200 to make the playoffs. Honestly, I don’t see a path for both the Penguins and Panthers to make the playoffs in the East.
Calgary Flames to Miss Playoffs (+145)
Calgary missed the playoffs last season, and it appears that the Flames would still be behind Vegas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, and Seattle in their division.
Quite a few players have voiced their concerns with staying in Calgary which could lead to some in-season movement with guys like Elias Lindholm or Noah Hanifin. If the Flames get off to a rough start, it could be a long season in Calgary.
Of course, you have to be wary of Jacob Markstrom having a bounceback season in net. He was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy two seasons ago with a .922 SV%, but that dropped 30 points to .892 last year.
Ironically enough, despite the Flames having the worst odds of missing the playoffs out of these three teams, they might be the least confident bet of the three at these prices.
