Can Colorado Avalanche lift the Stanley Cup this season again?

Last season, Colorado Avalanche clinched the Stanley Cup with a 4-2 win in the finals series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Will they be able to defend their title or can the great competition for the Bolts fight back this season?

Who will win the 2023 Stanley Cup?

As the favorite of Betandyou, the best ice hockey betting provider, for the 2023 Stanley Cup victory, the reigning champion, the Avs, is listed at the top before the start of the season. And they still remain top favorites. 

They are followed by a number of strong co-favorites, such as the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and also with the last season’s finalists Tampa Bay Lightning.

Surprises are not uncommon in the NHL. This was shown, for example, in the 2018/19 season, in which there was a veritable death of favorites in the first play-off round.

At that time, the Tampa Bay Lightning, as the best team of the regular season, were kicked out in the first round of the playoffs. Eventual winners were the St. Louis Blues. In the following season, however, things looked different - Tampa Bay Lightning (finally) lived up to the role of favorite and won the Stanley Cup 2020! In the following season they even managed to defend their title.

That streak ended last season when the "Bolts" lost 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche in the finals series. The Lightning missed the feat of three Stanley Cup victories in a row. The New York Islanders last managed to do this in the 1980s - from 1980 to 1984 there were even four (!) championship titles in a row!

But is the Colorado Avalanche on its way to success now?

With the NHL odds for the 2023 Stanley Cup victory, the Colorado Avalanche are traded as the great title contenders. Here at Betandyou we see the reigning champion as a very clear top favorite in our NHL and Stanley Cup 2022 forecasts. The reason why things could go very well again this season:

Almost everything has remained the same for the Avs - top stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen as well as the goalie team and head coach. With this continuity, which means that the team can go into the new season fully rehearsed, Colorado is not only expected to make it through to the Stanley Cup Playoffs 2023 again, but also to win the Stanley Cup.

All Stanley Cup winners since 2010:

Tampa Bay Lightning – The finalists

In the last 20 years, only the Penguins have been able to defend their title in 2017. The Tampa Bay Lightning did the same in 2021. The Bolts missed their third straight title in the Stanley Cup Finals against Colorado.

Reaching the final series three times in a row shows how good this team has been for years. The champion team with top stars Andrei Vasilevskiy (goal), Victor Hedman (defense) and star strikers Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos has stayed together. With this well-established team, TB Lightning is one of the favorites for the title. This is also shown by the NFL betting odds before the start of the season. Later in the season they dropped a bit in the favorites list. 

 The 5 most successful teams in the NHL (since 1915)

• 24 titles: Montreal Canadiens (last 1993)
• 13 titles: Toronto Maple Leafs (last 1967)
• 11 titles: Detroit Red Wings (last 2008)
• 6 titles: Boston Bruins (last 2011), Chicago Blackhawks (2015)

Another favorite: The Vegas Golden Knights

In addition to the reigning champion from Florida and the favorite from Colorado, there are quite a number of other Stanley Cup contenders. The New York Rangers can be found in the NFL odds in the extended circle of favorites. Why? After missing the playoffs in three of four seasons, the Rangers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, losing 4-2 to Tampa Bay after two opening wins. 

Another title contender is the Florida Panthers. In the regular season, they had the highest scoring team in the entire NHL and defeated the Washington Capitals in the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but then lost 4-0 to Tampa Bay.

Edmonton Oilers have also some chances to lift the Stanley Cup. The 0-4 in the Western Conference final against the Avalanche gave the Canadians a sobering elimination. Still, it was their best season since 2006, when the Oilers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup finals.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Las Vegas Golden Knights are also traded high in the NHL title odds before the start of the season . The Knights have finished in the top four in two of the last three seasons and during this season they’ve improved their position!