Minnesota Wild Have 30:1 Odds To Win Stanley Cup

So the NHL lockout is still ongoing despite some optimism that a deal is in the works.  With that optimism comes great speculation and perhaps none better than the odds on who will win the Stanley Cup (in the event there is a 2013 season).
After sifting through the Gone Puck Wild Twitter account, something caught my eye that I thought was quite entertaining.  Given the lack of entertaining content that the lockout has produced I was intrigued enough to dig into it a little bit more.

Turns out, Jesse Spector, a writer for thesportingnews.com, retweeted the odds that were updated today via The Vegas Insider. Spector did clarify that he has no insider knowledge as to if or when a new CBA deal would be completed, he was simply relaying what he had read on Twitter.

After checking out the complete list, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the odds on favorite to win the Stanley Cup in 2013 with 8:1 odds.  The New York Rangers are second with 9:1 odds, followed by the Canucks, Kings and Blackhawks at 10:1.

Interestingly enough, the Wild are in the middle of the pack at 15th with 30:1 odds.  The Ducks, Hurricanes and Devils are also listed as 30:1 favorites which could spark the debate as to whether the Wild are better than these three other clubs, at least on paper.

Despite loading up during the offseason when the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, it doesn’t appear to be enough to bump their stock with the Vegas odds makers.  The Wild are ahead of the other Northwest divisional foes except for the Vancouver Canucks who, as mentioned before are in the top five.

It doesn’t state as to what is factored in to these odds, but surely the Wild have to be considered as legitimate contenders to at least give the Canucks a run for the division title.

After scrolling down the VegasInsider.com page they went ahead and set the odds on favorite as to who would the two conferences, Eastern and Western.

Pittsburgh is again the top seed in the East at 4:1 while the Kings are top in the West at 5:1.  If these rankings mean anything the Wild aren’t considered legit contenders with the 8th place listing in the West at 15:1 odds, the same as the Ducks.

But if last year’s playoffs taught us anything it’s that it doesn’t matter where you sit when the playoffs start, just as long as you qualify.  And with a shortened season becoming more and more of a possibility, the Wild may have that opportunity.

In case you’re interested, the bottom three teams of the list with 100:1 odds to win the Cup include the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders and oddly enough the Calgary Flames.