Unreasonable Expectations: Despite the Precedent Set by Vegas, Betting on Kraken is Money Out the Window

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Penn and Teller, Cirque du Soleil, Legends in Concert, Wayne Newton… part of the reason they are such difficult acts to follow in Las Vegas is that they never go away.

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The Golden Knights are a different story.

They have set a new precedent for NHL expansion teams.

They went to the championship final in their freshman year.

They set the bar very high for the Seattle Kraken.

In fact, they made it unattainable.

When BetOnline.ag presented their odds of winning the Stanley Cup last week, just before the season began, the Kraken were listed at 33/1, as were the 54-year-old St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Kraken had never played a game, while the Blues were the last unnamed Tampa Bay Lightning team to wear the crown.

The Flyers, who won a pair of Cups in the 1970s, were so insulted that they beat the Kraken 6-1 at their first opportunity, Monday in Philadelphia.

Five Canadian teams were considered longer shots than the Kraken: Winnipeg Jets (35/1), Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens (55-1), Vancouver Canucks (66/1) and Ottawa (150/1).

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So were Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (35-1), as well as the Chicago Blackhawks led by Patrick Kane (45/1).

Forget who had the most talented rosters: Seattle was a sexy pick.

“The Kraken are practically unknown at this point in the season,” said Adam Burns, manager of BetOnline.ag SportsBook. “Even at 3/1, we have spent quite a bit of money on them to the point where they are our third biggest risk to the book in terms of Stanley Cup odds.

“This could be partly due to the fact that Vegas did so well its first season and punters were expecting that same kind of trend. Its actual price or its odds will likely be more apparent based on how we move it in the next few weeks. “

Sure enough, after a 1-2-1 start, the Kraken fell to 40/1 on Tuesday. But while a dollar bet on an expansion team to win the Cup would give you $ 40, the same bet on Montreal would give you $ 55.

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The Habs, who have won more Cups (24) than any other franchise, were in the final against the Bolts last spring.

At the same time, the Kraken was faceless, having yet to sign its first player.

“I wouldn’t consider Montreal a rising team,” Burns said. “They lack scoring power, (Carey) Price is out… the Habs started 0-3 and I don’t see them improving anytime soon. With the Kraken, time will tell. “

How are the probabilities established?

“We looked at rosters, statistical expectations, injuries, trades, free agent signings, and, to a lesser extent, the exhibition season leading up to the season,” Burns explained. “Once we started betting, we have seen a lot of teams move based on the volume of money wagered. For example, the Rangers initially opened on 1/28, and before even playing a game, they went to 1/18, based solely on the volume and exposure we have on them.

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“We update these odds for the Stanley Cup, conference and divisions every day, based on how each team progresses or regresses, game by game.”

At the top of BetOnline.ag’s latest set of odds are the Colorado Avalanche (9/2), Lightning (7/1), Golden Knights (8/1), Toronto Maple Leafs (10/1), Boston Bruins and Florida . Panthers (16/1).

The Edmonton Oilers are at 20/1, while other Canadians have slipped down the list: Jets (45/1), Flames and Habs (66/1).

Vancouver has moved to 60/1, while Ottawa is now 125/1.

Based on the numbers, the Kraken are still considered a playoff team in the Pacific Division, with 14/1 odds that are just behind the Golden Knights (5/7) and Oilers (11/5) but still more popular than the Flames (1/18) and Canucks (1/22).

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They are the seventh favorite on the list of 16 to win the Western Conference.

The truth is, putting cash in the Kraken to qualify for the postseason tournament is like throwing it out the window.

But it wouldn’t be the first time Las Vegas was to blame for people losing money.

HARDWARE DELIVERY

The odds of winning the Hart Trophy as MVP for your team begins, of course, with Connor McDavid, who is 7/4 to take home his third such award. Nathan McKinnon (13-2), Auston Matthews (8/1), Nikita Kucherov (12/1), Artemi Panarin (16/1), David Pastrnak (16/1) and Sebastien Aho (16/1) complete the five firsts (and draws). Nowhere is Jordan Kyrou seen, who has two goals and six points in the Blues’ first two games and is tied for the league lead with a plus-5 … Jon Cooper of Tampa is listed as the favorite ( 5/1) to win the Jack Adams Award. He has won the Stanley Cup twice and is the Canadian team bench chief at the Olympics, but has never been the NHL coach of the year … Colorado’s Cale Makar (7/2) is the favorite to win his first Norris Trophy, followed by Victor. Hedman (5/1), Adam Fox (9/1), Charlie McAvoy (14/1) and Quinn Hughes (16/1). It seems that it is Makar’s turn … Cole Caufield (3/1) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (3/1) are the favorites to win the Calder and Vezina, respectively …

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Hoops, there it is

With the Toronto Raptors opening their season Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, BetOnline.ag has the over / under in their win total at 36 1/2. Prior to a 27-45 record last year, the Raptors hadn’t been below 51 wins since 2014-15. They should be able to hit 37 at 22 … Listed at 50/1 to win the NBA championship on July 21, Toronto will open the season as a 100/1 long shot … Coming off a season in which it had best marks in the whole race. On the board, Raptors forward OG Anunoby is one of the first favorites to be named Most Improved Player of the 20021-22 season. With a career average of 9.2 points per game, he has made steady progress since 2017-18, his rookie year, when he averaged 5.9 PPG. He has followed it up with seasons 7.0, 10.6 and 15.9). Bodog has a bet on whether Anunoby will average 20 PPG in 2021-22. It’s +400 for yes, which means you must risk $ 100 to win $ 400, and -700 for no, which means depositing $ 700 to win $ 100. Yes is very tempting.