The start of the new NHL season is a week away, with regular-season action beginning Oct. 10.

We'll prep you for the lengthy 82-game campaign by previewing each of the four divisions from a betting perspective and evaluating what the odds say about each team's outlook.

Let's start with the Atlantic Division.

Futures odds

The betting market believes the Maple Leafs are the best team in the Atlantic, making them favorites to win the division at +175 (36.5% implied probability).

Toronto changed its general manager but didn't make any other drastic overhauls to a roster that was bounced in disappointing fashion to the Panthers in the second round of last year's postseason. However, they did add some "snot" - as new GM Brad Treliving likes to call it - with the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Ryan Reaves.

Oddsmakers believe those changes are enough for the team to dethrone the reigning Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins. Boston has some question marks this year after losing captain Patrice Bergeron and longtime centerman David Krejci to retirement. The Bruins were also upset by the 8-seed Panthers in the playoffs last year after setting an NHL record for most regular-season points.

The Panthers appear to be the third-best team in this division based on the odds. They marched to the Stanley Cup Final last season before losing to the Golden Knights.

To make the playoffs

The top three teams in the division are heavy favorites to make the playoffs. The Panthers at -220 (68.8% implied probability) have the worst chance of the trio, according to the betting market.

Oddsmakers seem to believe the Lightning will take a step back in 2023-24. A 59.2% implied probability of making the playoffs is very low for a team that won two of the last four Stanley Cups. The loss of Andrei Vasilevskiy for two months due to back surgery may be a large reason why. However, given the experience of the Lightning's core, they have to be included as favorites to win the division.

There's a gap in the odds of winning the division after the Lightning. The Sabres, Senators, and Red Wings are all trending in the right direction but may be a year or two away from contending with the Atlantic's top teams.

It's worth noting the Senators have better odds of making the playoffs than the Sabres but worse odds of winning the Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup.

After recording only 68 points last year and receiving the fifth pick in the 2023 draft, the betting market is expecting the Canadiens to struggle once again. Their +20000 odds of winning the Stanley Cup are ahead of only the Ducks, Coyotes, and Sharks.

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The New Jersey Devils traded forward Wayne Simmonds to the Buffalo Sabres, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

In return, the Devils receive a conditional 2021 fifth-round pick that could become a fourth if the Sabres make the playoffs and Simmonds plays 10 games, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. The Devils will also retain 50% of Simmonds' $5-million cap hit, TSN's Pierre LeBrun adds.

The 31-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Devils in the offseason. He recorded eight goals and 16 assists in 61 games for New Jersey.

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Despite an unknown future with the New York Rangers, winger Chris Kreider - who has one year left on his contract - is expected to remain with the team through at least training camp.

"I totally expect him to be in camp," Rangers president John Davidson said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "He's got one year left, and that should be a whole lot of importance to him to come in and have a great camp and a great year, and we'll just see where it all goes."

The 28-year-old Kreider is set to be paid $4.625 million for the 2019-20 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. It was reported in late July that no discussions about a contract extension have taken place.

Kreider became expendable once the Rangers signed forward Artemi Panarin to a seven-year deal. New York now has slightly over $1 million in cap space available, according to CapFriendly.com.

In their ongoing attempt to create salary-cap relief, the Rangers cleared almost $5.2 million by buying out the final two years of Kevin Shattenkirk's contract.

Neither Davidson nor general manager Jeff Gorton ruled out the possibility of trading Kreider during the season, according to Rosen.

Kreider has spent his entire eight-year career with the Rangers, collecting 271 points in 460 games. He tallied 28 goals last year to set a career high.

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Although then-Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said Sidney Crosby told him his breath smelled bad during the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, it was Crosby who was left with a bad taste in his mouth.

The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar recently admitted to being bothered by Subban's accusation following the Predators' Game 3 win of that series.

"Yeah, I was a little irritated by it," Crosby said on Barstool Sports' Spittin' Chiclets podcast. "I mean, I think you could tell at the time when I was doing the interviews. It was just the last thing I wanted to be talking about. But I mean, maybe that was part of it.

"(Subban) had said something to (Jake Guentzel while) leaving the ice, and I just went to kind of get in the middle and try to break them up. He kind of kept saying stuff, and him and I went at it. Nothing was said even remotely close to that, but then to read that after, it was like, 'Oh okay, I'm going to have to answer (questions) about this.'"

Crosby, at the time, denied making fun of Subban's breath. In February 2018 of the following season, the blue-liner admitted to making the whole thing up.

The Penguins defeated the Predators in six games in 2017 to give Crosby his third-career Stanley Cup victory. The win likely helped the recently-turned 32-year-old to look back and laugh about the incident.

"He still jokes about it - we were just at the awards and he was still joking around about it. I mean, it is what it is. … That's just mind games, it's nothing. Me and him had some good run-ins throughout the whole series, I was playing a lot against him. I don't have anything against him for that. I just was kind of annoyed that I had to answer about it."

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Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas faced the music on Thursday after being eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins, and did not fully commit to Mike Babcock - or to anyone else - going forward.

"I wouldn't give any guarantee to anybody in our whole organization, starting with me," Dubas replied when asked about Babcock's job security at his end-of-year press conference, via Sportsnet. "We'll do what we think is best and we'll let you know when we know."

Dubas prefaced his non-guarantee of Babcock's job security by saying team president Brendan Shanahan must first evaluate his work as the general manager.

"The way I look at that is (Shanahan) has to decide on me first, and do an evaluation on me," Dubas said. "And once that's done we evaluate everybody."

Babcock, who has four seasons remaining on his eight-year, $50-million deal, insisted earlier that his relationship with Dubas is "really good," according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.

On Thursday, Dubas also took responsibility for the William Nylander contract saga during the season and for the Maple Leafs' poor penalty kill in the playoffs.

"The blame for the (Nylander) situation going that far has to go to me," Dubas said. "I don't think it set William up to have a good season, and I accept that."

The 33-year-old Dubas added that he's hoping for better things next season after another first-round playoff exit.

"I know that I have to do a better job, continue to improve and help our players," he said. "And hopefully we meet under a different set of circumstances in about 13 months from now, or more, we hope."

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The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators have both asked to speak with Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin for their respective head coaching vacancies, Sportsnet's John Shannon reported.

Martin has spent the last six seasons with the Penguins, which included two Stanley Cup victories. Previously, his lengthy head coaching career started in 1986 with the St. Louis Blues and he notably oversaw the Senators from 1995-2004. Overall, he's a four-time Jack Adams Trophy nominee and won the award as the league's top coach in 1999.

The Sabres fired Phil Housley earlier in April after two seasons in charge. He failed to turn around the struggling franchise, missing the playoffs in both campaigns.

The Senators moved on from Guy Boucher in March during a disappointing campaign. Marc Crawford took over on an interim basis en route to a last-place finish in the NHL.

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The Edmonton Oilers will request permission from the Vegas Golden Knights to interview Kelly McCrimmon for their general manager vacancy, TSN's Darren Dreger reports.

It's expected the Oilers will ask for and receive permission to speak with the Golden Knights assistant general manager soon. However, right now the team is giving Vegas time to sort through its end-of-season procedures after being eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday night.

Keith Gretzky has acted as interim general manager since the Oilers fired Peter Chiarelli in January.

In early March, Dreger reported Edmonton narrowed its search for a replacement down to six candidates, which included McCrimmon and Mark Hunter, who reportedly completed his second interview with the Oilers last week.

The Golden Knights hired McCrimmon in 2016, and he's been with them since their inception. Prior to Vegas, he spent 28 years with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings as majority owner and general manager, and 10 years as the team's head coach over two separate stints.

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Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler had no time for a reporter who implied his team may not have been at its best after being eliminated from the playoffs by the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

Wheeler reeled it in after telling the reporter to "f--- off," adding that the Stanley Cup "is a tough trophy to win" and perhaps the Jets' best effort "just wasn't good enough."

Winnipeg bowed out of the postseason with a 3-2 loss in Game 6 in St. Louis, the first road loss by either team in the series. The club's exit in Round 1 comes a year after reaching the Western Conference Final in 2018.

Wheeler recorded five points during his short six-game stint in the 2019 playoffs.

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Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov claims Alex Ovechkin initiated the lopsided fight in which he fell victim to the powerful right fist of the Washington Capitals' captain.

"He did ask me first for (a) fight," Svechnikov said in broken English, according to The News and Observer's Luke DeCock. "I am not (a) superhero, (not going to) ask first for (a) fight."

The 19-year-old Svechnikov was knocked out by his fellow countryman during the first period of Game 3 after the two dropped the mitts. He suffered a concussion and remains unable to return for Saturday's Game 5.

Here's a video of the bout:

"I just wanted to stand up for myself," Svechnikov continued, justifying his decision to accept the fight offer. He said the tilt resulted from "back and forth all series."

Ovechkin reached out to the rookie after the game to apologize for the outcome.

"He called me right after (the) game, we talked a bit," Svechnikov added. I said 'sometimes (that) happens, you never know.'"

Svechnikov skated at Saturday's practice with a non-contact jersey and says he "hopes" to return for Game 6.

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The Detroit Red Wings will announce the hiring of franchise legend Steve Yzerman as the club's next general manager at a press conference Friday, TSN's Gord Miller reports.

Yzerman, 53, spent the last eight years as the general manager and vice president of the Tampa Bay Lightning before resigning from the role in September of 2018 with one year remaining on his contract.

The Red Wings announced they will hold the press conference at 3:00 p.m. ET with Yzerman, current general manager Ken Holland, and owner Christopher Ilitch in attendance.

Holland is expected to remain with Detroit and become the team's senior vice president, per Miller. However, Holland has been contacted by other teams, including Edmonton and Seattle, according to TSN's Darren Dreger. He served as the Red Wings' general manager since 1997.

Yzerman led the Lightning to one Stanley Cup final in 2015 and won the NHL General Manager of the Year award that season. The Hall of Famer spent his entire 22-year playing career with Detroit, winning three Stanley Cups as captain and amassing 1,755 points.

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