We’re mere days away from the start of the 2024/25 NHL season. Kinda. The first regular season games will be played on October 4th and 5th in Czechia between the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils. The rest of the league starts on October 8th. Regardless of the start date, we’ve got our 2024 NHL Division Preview & Betting Guide for you right here.

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2024 NHL Division Preview & Betting Guide

Atlantic Division

Florida Panthers +250

Toronto Maple Leafs +325

Tampa Bay Lightning +550

Boston Bruins +650

Ottawa Senators +1600

Detroit Red Wings +1600

Buffalo Sabres +1600

Montreal Canadiens +15000

We start in the home of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions – the Atlantic Division. And, not surprisingly, the champion Florida Panthers are the odds-on favorite to win this division for the second straight year – unfortunately for those who want to bet on them this season, they aren’t closing at +550 for the division like they did last year.

This is probably the NHL’s deepest division, with even the bottom-feeder teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators expected to be improved and on the rise this season. But for the top of the division, this is pretty much a two-horse race between the incumbents and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

While Florida isn’t expected to be as good this season, they’re still my pick to win the Atlantic Division. I just can’t put faith in the Maple Leafs getting the job done despite their roster tinkering, and the always-dangerous Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins seem to be slowly fading away from their eras of dominance. Or you can hedge your bets and play the Panthers and the Leafs to win and still come out on top.

Atlantic Division Winner: Florida Panthers (+250)

Metropolitan Division

New York Rangers +270

Carolina Hurricanes +280

New Jersey Devils +300

New York Islanders +1500

Pittsburgh Penguins +1500

Philadelphia Flyers +2000

Washington Capitals +3000

Columbus Blue Jackets +20000

The NHL’s Metropolitan Division is very much a division of ‘have’ and ‘have not’ teams. The New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, and New Jersey Devils are clearly the cream of the crop, with none of the other eight teams in the division in their stratosphere (and Columbus surely among the worst teams in the whole league).

But which of the Big Three will win the Metropolitan Division this season is the question. I’m going to go with the New Jersey Devils, who much was expected of last season on their way to a disappointing seventh-place finish in the division. But their young talent now has another year of experience under their belts, they’ve upgraded their goalie position, and this team should be gunning to rebound from last year.

Metropolitan Division Winner: New Jersey Devils

Central Division

Dallas Stars +230

Colorado Avalanche +250

Nashville Predators +500

Winnipeg Jets +800

Minnesota Wild +1300

Utah Hockey Club +2500

St. Louis Blues +2500

Chicago Blackhawks +12500

Like the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, the Western Conference’s Central Division appears to be a two-team race for the divisional title. The Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche have combined to win the division for the past three years, and this season appears to be more of the same.

Once again like the Atlantic Division you probably can guarantee a small profit by putting money on both the Stars and the Avalanche to win the division and feel pretty safe about it (although the Nashville Predators have an outside shot at scuppering those plans). As for my pick, it has to be the Stars to repeat as Central Division champs. They really have no holes and are strong at everything, while the Avalanche and the Predators have some question marks heading into the season.

Central Division Winner: Dallas Stars

Pacific Division

Edmonton Oilers +125

Vegas Golden Knights +450

Vancouver Canucks +500

Los Angeles Kings +800

Seattle Kraken +2000

Calgary Flames +4500

Anaheim Ducks +2000

San Jose Sharks +27500

Finally, we head out west to the Pacific Divison, which unfortunately isn’t too interesting to preview. It’s the Edmonton Oilers division to win, and win it they surely will. Big surprise.

After last year’s Stanley Cup Final heartbreak, you have to expect Connor McDavid and company to be extremely motivated to get over the hump this season and lift the cup. And that starts with winning the Pacific Division for the first time since 1987. Yes, that’s not a typo – it’s been 37 years since Edmonton’s name was on top of the standings at season’s end.

Other than a catastrophic injury to McDavid (knock on wood), I don’t see a scenario where the Oilers don’t snap that ignominious streak this season.

Pacific Division Winner: Edmonton Oilers

If you’d like even more NHL talk, be sure to check out the Hockey Gambling Podcast. The guys are dropping multiple episodes a week to make you the smartest guy at the bar.