NHL hockey is here! There are only three games on the slate, but the matchups we do have certainly aren't lacking in quality.

Let's dive into a couple of them with our first best bets post of the season.

Blackhawks (+200) @ Penguins (-240)

There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Blackhawks, and understandably so. They drafted one of the most exciting and franchise-altering prospects we have seen over the past 20 years.

While Connor Bedard immediately makes the Blackhawks a team worth watching, they have a long way to go before they're more than that. Their roster is bad. Very bad.

Headlined by Bedard and Taylor Hall, the top line should be dynamic and productive. But the rest of the lineup leaves a lot to be desired.

Chicago is very thin down the middle, which is not ideal when heading into a matchup against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The team has very little firepower as well. Outside of Hall, the Blackhawks don't have any above-average contributors on the wing. And things only get worse from there.

The Blackhawks were one of the league's worst defensive sides a season ago. Top prospect Kevin Korchinski should help in the long haul, but there will no doubt be growing pains while he - and other Blackhawks youngsters - adjust to the highest level of hockey in the world.

Petr Mrazek is arguably the worst starting goaltender in the league, so it's not realistic to expect him to bail the team out when mistakes are consistently made in front of him.

Jake Guentzel playing would definitely be preferable, but, even if he's out, the Penguins have more than enough firepower to overwhelm this young Blackhawks team.

Look for Crosby, Malkin, Erik Karlsson, and the Penguins' experienced stars to set the tone.

Bet: Penguins in regulation (-140)

Kraken (+150) @ Golden Knights (-175)

This total does not make a ton of sense to me. The Kraken and Golden Knights are both very strong defensive teams that tend to play slow and suck the life out of their opponents.

The Kraken ranked third last season in expected goal suppression, making life as easy as possible on their shaky goaltending tandem. With the same core and coaching staff, I see no reason to expect any different this year.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights ranked just outside the top 10 in xG suppression a year ago. That's an impressive feat when considering the injuries they dealt with - and to key players.

Bruce Cassidy loves structure, and the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in his debut season with the team. They certainly won't be looking to get away from the formula that worked so well for them.

As you'd expect, there wasn't much offense when these two teams met last year. They faced one another on four different occasions. Three of the games featured six goals or less, and two of them saw the teams combine for just 50 shots. That is unheard of in the modern NHL.

Both of these teams play slow, structured hockey, and both of them enjoyed plenty of success doing so.

The Kraken will be sticking to their guns following their first playoff appearance, while the Golden Knights will do the same after a Stanley Cup victory.

Expect a tight, grind-it-out affair.

Bet: Under 6.5 (-130)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We've identified the best bets for most of the major awards in the lead-up to the 2023-24 NHL campaign.

Now it's time to dig into the best of the rest and some of the niche markets I see value in.

Sharks worst regular-season record (+275)

The Sharks are going to be bad. Next level bad. No team won fewer games than the Sharks last season, and that was while having Timo Meier on the roster for most of his 40-goal campaign. Not to mention, Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson put up more than 100 points.

Both of those players are gone, leaving the Sharks almost completely devoid of high-end talent. Tomas Hertl and an aging, banged-up Logan Couture are all they have left - and they have next to no support.

The likes of Alexander Barabanov, Luke Kunin, Anthony Duclair, and Mike Hoffman are penciled in as top-of-the-lineup wingers, while the projected top pairing features Mario Ferraro skating alongside Jan Rutta, who was a cap dump this past offseason.

This team is going to be at a massive talent disadvantage every single night, and the goaltending is nowhere close to good enough to compensate.

A tandem of Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood is as bad and unstable as you'll find in the NHL. Kahkonen was truly dreadful last season, posting an abysmal .883 save percentage over 37 appearances.

Blackwood isn't exactly a reliable alternative. The 26-year-old once looked promising, but his play has fallen off a cliff in recent years. He's managed just a .893 save percentage over 47 appearances in the last two seasons.

With two goaltenders coming off sub-.900 seasons being relied upon to backstop a team that should bleed chances each and every night, the Sharks will be as close to a free two points as you'll see.

I think they're by far the league's biggest threat to finish dead last.

Kirill Kaprizov over 43.5 goals (-115)

Kaprizov has been a menacing goal-scorer since the day he stepped into the NHL. He's scored 114 goals through 203 regular-season games, which equates to 46 goals per 82 games.

Kaprizov is on an upward trajectory as well. He netted 47 in 2021-22 and took things up another notch last season, scoring 40 times in just 67 games. With better health, he would've flirted with 50.

He's incredibly good at generating shots, and the Wild rely on him more than almost any forward in the league. His usage jumped up two minutes per game last season, with Kaprizov averaging more than 21 minutes per night.

Getting him the puck is priority No. 1 for the Wild. He'll be spoonfed all the ice time he can handle, which is a recipe for gaudy totals with how efficient he is.

If Kaprizov can stay healthy and play in even 70-to-75 games, I think he'll go over this number rather easily.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Last season, Connor McDavid claimed his third Hart Trophy - and in the most decisive fashion yet. He didn't just surpass everyone else; he blew them out of the water.

McDavid scored more goals than anybody and, excluding teammate Leon Draisaitl, recorded 40 more points than the next-closest player.

McDavid made a statement that the league is his and left no room for anybody to suggest otherwise.

He rightfully enters this season as a heavy favorite to win another Hart Trophy. That being said, there isn't much value in laying a +100 price for him to do so.

Let's examine a few players worth considering if you choose to dive into the Hart Trophy waters.

Leon Draisaitl (+1400)

Draisaitl is the most productive player in the NHL outside of McDavid. He has only scored three fewer goals than No. 97 over the past three seasons and is nearly 60 points clear of Nathan MacKinnon, the closest non-Oiler to Draisaitl.

He's a lethal finisher, the go-to shooter on a historically dominant power-play unit, and he carries a ridiculously large workload for a forward. Draisaitl doesn't even need to be that efficient to put up huge numbers because of how many minutes he plays seemingly every night.

Just a few years ago, Draisaitl won a Hart Trophy despite playing on the same team as McDavid. It's hardly impossible to think he could do so again - especially if McDavid were to miss any time.

Let's say McDavid misses 15 games, and Draisaitl leads the league in points while carrying the Oilers (as he and McDavid always do). I would think he'd be first in line to get the Hart Trophy, and the odds don't reflect that. At +1400, I think Draisaitl is a strong value.

Jack Hughes (+1600)

Hughes took the league by storm a season ago, producing at better than a 100-point pace. He did so despite spending much of the year on a line with Erik Haula - who couldn't finish anything for the majority of the season - and not getting a ton of help from a mediocre power play.

The picture looks much brighter for Hughes in 2023-24. He'll play with some combination of Jesper Bratt, Tyler Toffoli, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer at even strength - he's starting out with the former two - and has a lot more talent around him on the man advantage.

While Hughes has developed into a quality finisher, he didn't have a ton of shooting talent around him on the Devils to finish the chances he created. With 40-goal man Meier expected to be a fixture on the top power play, that should be much less of an issue.

Hughes is one of the most puck-dominant players in the league. He plays on a very strong up-and-coming team and has a lethal supporting cast around him.

If he could produce at a 100-plus-point pace in his age-21 season, it's exciting to think about what he can accomplish with another year under his belt and a better supporting cast around him.

Nikita Kucherov (+2200)

Kucherov is a dark horse I really like. He's averaged 116 points per 82 games the past two seasons, which is about the best production clip you can expect from someone not named McDavid or Draisaitl.

With goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy set to miss at least a couple of months, the Lightning are going to need to score a lot of goals to stay afloat. Simply put, Jonas Johansson and his career .887 save percentage isn't going to be good enough for the Lightning to grind out low-scoring wins.

I expect a heavy workload for Kucherov as Jon Cooper looks to squeeze every bit of juice he can possibly get from the offense.

If the Lightning remain a playoff team despite missing one of their key cogs for a healthy chunk of the season, Kucherov is going to play a big part - and no doubt get a lot of attention as a result.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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This year's rookie class is loaded with as much depth and high-end talent as any in recent memory.

Connor Bedard is rightfully the heavy favorite to take home the Calder. But there isn't a ton of value in backing the young phenom since there are a lot of other quality rookies in this class, and considering one unlucky injury could take the Blackhawks center out of the race.

With that in mind, let's look at a few rookies worth considering beyond Bedard.

Note: Only listed players 50/1 or shorter.

Logan Cooley (+1000)

There's a lot to love with Cooley. He's a supremely talented center who should take on a huge role with the Coyotes from the word go. For years, Arizona has lacked talent down the middle and a dynamic center who can break a game open on any given shift. Cooley is that guy. He's an exceptional playmaker who possesses great hands in tight and a dangerous shot.

He'll be a staple in the top six, and it's not as if the Coyotes are devoid of talent around him. He should play with some combination of Clayton Keller, Jason Zucker, Nick Schmaltz, and former Canadian world junior standout Dylan Guenther on any given shift. Cooley will also skate on the top power play and no doubt do a lot of the facilitating.

Arizona may be flawed defensively, but its offense - at least at the top of the lineup - is legitimately good. Cooley is going to play a lot of minutes and put up a lot of points in his debut campaign.

Adam Fantilli (+1200)

Fantilli is in a very similar situation to Cooley. He's coming off an absolutely dominant season in college hockey and is stepping onto a roster where he should get all the opportunity in the world.

Much like the Coyotes, the Blue Jackets have long lacked a dynamic, top-tier center. They have some useful pieces like Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic to take some of the load off Fantilli, but those guys don't carry anywhere close to the same explosiveness and upside - even at this stage in Fantilli's career.

With the likes of Patrik Laine, Johnny Gaudreau, and Zach Werenski on the roster, the Jackets have the pieces to score goals in bunches on the power play. Fantilli is expected to skate on that top unit, which will give him a very high floor and ceiling for production.

Brandt Clarke (+3500)

Clarke is a very smart and talented offensive defenseman who just put up two - yes, two - points per game with the OHL's Barrie Colts after the Kings returned him to junior.

Clarke is unlikely to quarterback the top power play as long as Drew Doughty is available. Still, the 20-year-old should play a meaningful role at even strength and skate on PP2.

I expect Clarke to post strong on-ice metrics while chipping in with his share of points and forcing the team into giving him a larger role as the season progresses.

Although he's unlikely to produce enough points to unseat Bedard, Cooley, Fantilli, or some of the ridiculously talented forwards, I see Clarke as a very discounted Luke Hughes.

They're both high draft picks, extremely talented, playing for very good teams, and (likely) not getting top power-play time barring injury to big-ticket blue-liners (Dougie Hamilton in N.J., Doughty in L.A.).

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Winning the Norris Trophy once is extremely difficult. Winning it twice in a row in this day and age is borderline impossible.

We haven't seen a single repeat winner over the past 15 years. The last player to string together back-to-back Norris wins was Nicklas Lidstrom in 2005-08.

Where does the value lie in this year's race? Let's take a closer look.

Rasmus Dahlin (+800)

Dahlin took a massive step forward last season, setting career highs in goals (15) and points (73) while helping the Sabres to their highest win total in more than a decade.

Dahlin wasn't a power-play merchant or an empty-calorie offensive producer who gave it all back at the other end of the ice. He tied for seventh among defensemen in five-on-five points, recording more than stars like Roman Josi, Quinn Hughes, and Miro Heiskanen. Dahlin also drove play at a high level, leading the Sabres in expected goals for percentage at five-on-five.

Really, Dahlin did it all. The only thing lacking was team success to help compensate for the gap in production between him and the winner, Erik Karlsson.

Besides maybe Cale Makar, it's unlikely any blue-liner will finish an obvious tier above the rest in points. If Dahlin can put together another 70-plus-point campaign on a high-flying Sabres team that fights its way back to relevancy, he will garner a lot of attention.

Miro Heiskanen (+1200)

For years, many people - myself included - gushed about Heiskanen's game. His effortless skating, stout defense, and ability to log all the ice time he was given without seeming to tire always stood out. What was missing was the offense. Everyone thought he had the tools to be a prolific point producer, but he had to go out and do it.

Heiskanen finally made that leap last year, piling up 73 points in 79 games for a very strong Stars team. That wasn't enough to make him a Norris finalist, but he was on the radar, finishing one voting point outside of the top six.

Heiskanen is one of the best defenders in the sport. If he can replicate that sort of production, he'll get a lot of votes as a dominant two-way force.

Evan Bouchard (+3500)

My true wild card is Bouchard. He put up 40 points last season while playing second fiddle to Tyson Barrie on the Oilers' power play for much of the year.

With Barrie out of the picture and Darnell Nurse somewhat limited in his playmaking abilities, Bouchard should be Edmonton's full-time power play quarterback in 2023-24. That carries a ton of weight.

It's no exaggeration to say the Oilers are one of the best power-play teams I've ever seen. They are historically dominant and will remain so as long as they have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at the peak of their powers.

Simply sharing the ice with those two means Bouchard will be out there for a ton of goals and will enjoy an abundance of opportunities to collect points.

Bouchard isn't a matchup defenseman like Heiskanen, so he needs outrageous offensive outputs to give him a fighting chance. Given his situation, I think it's possible, even if it may not be likely. At +3500, Bouchard is a worthwhile flier.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Given the high-variance nature of the goaltending position, it's not necessarily surprising that nobody has won the Vezina Trophy in back-to-back years since Martin Brodeur in the late 2000s.

Let's see the top of the oddsboard and then take a closer look at three goaltenders I see value in backing to unseat last season's winner, Linus Ullmark.

Ilya Sorokin (+400)

Sorokin checks all the boxes for a potential award-winning goaltender. He consistently posts elite save percentages, he wins a lot more than he loses - despite limited offensive support, he is 17 games above NHL .500 (which excludes overtime losses) the past two years - and he carries an insane workload.

Sorokin played in 62 games a season ago, which was more than all but Connor Hellebuyck and Juuse Saros. And there is every reason to expect another monster workload this year.

With the Islanders opting to bring back almost the exact same roster, their margin for error in terms of trying to make the playoffs is slim. They simply don't have enough talent to breeze through the regular season. That means they'll need Sorokin in the net as often as possible in order to seriously contend for a playoff spot.

Although many goaltenders see rather extreme variance in their numbers on a year-to-year basis, Sorokin is a rare exception. He's posted save percentages of .924 and .925 as a starter. He ranks top three in both total save percentage and high-danger save percentage in that span.

He is as reliable as they come and has been knocking on the door of a Vezina. It's only a matter of time.

Jake Oettinger (+1100)

Oettinger is one of the NHL's brightest young stars - no pun intended - at his position. He is already one of the better goaltenders in the league and he's still getting better.

Oettinger has played three NHL seasons. Each year his save percentage has risen, as has his workload.

He is coming off a monstrous 2022-23 campaign in which he posted a 37-11-11 record and .919 save percentage. Although it wasn't enough for a Vezina nomination, there's plenty of reason to believe he'll be in the mix in 2023-24.

The Stars are clearly willing to give him all the starts he can handle. With only $1 million committed to journeyman backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood, that is surely their plan once again.

Dallas is one of the best defensive teams in the NHL - last year, it ranked sixth in expected goal suppression - so Oettinger shouldn't see many high-quality chances on any given night. That'll make it easier to post strong numbers.

The Stars can also score in bunches, so Oettinger won't leave many wins on the table due to a lack of run support.

Alexandar Georgiev (+2500)

Georgiev is a mouthwatering dark horse to bring home some hardware. His debut season with the Avalanche couldn't have gone much better, with Georgiev posting a 40-16-6 record and .919 save percentage over 62 games.

The Avalanche are fairly heavily invested in Pavel Francouz as a platoon candidate, but he has dealt with a lot of injury problems and appears to be out of the picture for a while to start this year. That means another heavy workload for Georgiev, who proved he could handle it a season ago.

Colorado is a true Stanley Cup contender that overwhelms opponents with its offense almost every night. Georgiev is going to get a ton of run support and, thus, wins.

Nobody in Georgiev's price range plays for a team that's even close to as good as the Avalanche. Considering the numbers he put up a year ago, and the fact Francouz's injury troubles have already popped up, there is a lot of value at +2500.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Connor McDavid dethroned Auston Matthews and won the award with a remarkable 64-goal campaign a season ago.

Can McDavid defend his title after the most prolific scoring season we've seen since 2007-08, or will there be a new sheriff in town? Let's take a closer look at where the value lies.

Note: listed players 60:1 or shorter. Odds via theScore Bet.

Leon Draisaitl (+750)

The market suggests there is a pretty clear gap between Draisaitl and the two front runners, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. I don't see it that way.

Draisaitl has scored 107 goals over the past two seasons. That puts him just one goal behind McDavid for the league lead in that span - and Draisaitl made a couple fewer appearances. On a per-game basis, nobody has scored more than Draisaitl over the last couple years.

Draisaitl is the go-to guy on a historically good power play - he is 21 power play goals clear of the NHL's second most prolific scorer in that time - and he is extremely durable, having missed only two games over the past three seasons.

While Draisaitl is not as dynamic as McDavid, he is more of a traditional shooter and finishes at a noticeably higher rate. I think +750 is a very generous price for arguably the sport's best sniper.

Kirill Kaprizov (+3000)

Kaprizov has quietly been one of the league's best scorers over the past couple of seasons. He scored 47 goals in his sophomore year with the Wild and followed it up with 40 in 67 games last season, a 49-goal pace.

While the winner snuck into the 60s in back-to-back years, the Rocket Richard winner needed no more than 53 goals for a decade before that. Kaprizov was sniffing around that territory last season - and there's reason to believe he could amp things up further.

Kaprizov's shot volume has increased each year in the league, and he's gotten to the point where - unlike many stars up front - he is playing more than 21 minutes per game. That's top-tier usage.

Had Kaprizov finished at, say, a 17% clip - as opposed to 15% - he'd have scored 45 goals in 67 games last year, which is a 55-goal pace.

I think Kaprizov will have the shot volume, usage, and finishing rate necessary to score more than 50 goals. If the bar is in the mid-50s, rather than the 60s (like the last two seasons), Kaprizov will have a fighting chance. At +3000, he's worth a dart throw.

Jack Hughes (+3000)

When Hughes entered the NHL, he was a very slim playmaking forward who didn't have the shot power, or release, to test goaltenders. He almost looked like a kid playing years above his age group, which, technically speaking, he was.

He has come a long way in a short period of time, having averaged 45 goals per 82 games over the last two seasons.

Hughes is a puck-dominant player who now threatens as a passer and a shooter. Last season, he finished fifth in shots on goal and scored more five-on-five goals than the likes of Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon. Yeah, he was that good - and at just 21 years of age.

The Devils improved the personnel around Hughes and are hoping new assistant coach Travis Green can help get more out of the team on the power play.

Hughes doesn't need to ramp things up a notch at five-on-five to get in contention for hardware. If he can make marginal improvements finishing - while maintaining the same kind of shot volume - and boost his power play outputs, the sky really is the limit.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL hockey is back ... kind of. A rather lengthy preseason schedule begins this weekend, with games coming in bunches from Saturday until Oct. 7.

While there's a perception that you shouldn't bet on meaningless games, per se, there's a big edge in preseason if you know what to look for.

Let's dig into some important things to know and consider when betting on preseason action.

Lineup depth is key

When deciding which teams to back, you generally want your side to have more depth than the opponent. The greater the difference, the better served you'll be.

It's important not to see a couple of big names and race to back that team. Star players don't carry the same workload in preseason as the regular season and don't have much to gain from playing. They're not going to compensate for a very thin roster lacking NHL-caliber players.

Let's say Team X has nine forwards and four defensemen who are either established NHLers or players on professional tryouts fighting for jobs in camp. That lineup is much more preferable to Team Y dressing one very good line, one pairing, and a bunch of low-ceiling AHL fillers dressed only to gain some experience.

Brand names themselves don't matter a ton. You want to find spots where you can back a side with five, six, or seven NHL-level players more than the opponent.

Best lineups saved for home fans

Coaches tend to save their deepest lineups and best players for home crowds, which makes sense. You don't want to "reward" your fans for buying tickets and coming to games by icing a lineup full of players who will spend little to no time in the NHL throughout their careers.

It's important to remember that because there will be plenty of times when you can put two and two together and get out in front of the market.

Let me provide an example. Let's say the Ducks are playing in Arizona on Friday night and hosting the Sharks on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Sharks are hosting the Kings on Friday night before playing in Anaheim on Saturday.

You can safely assume the Ducks will send a bunch of prospects, AHLers, and PTO candidates to Arizona, while a much more NHL-heavy lineup will stay back to face the Sharks on Saturday. You can also assume the Sharks will dress a competent lineup versus the Kings, leaving less talent available for the Ducks game.

If there are odds where the Ducks may be anywhere close to a pick 'em, it'll often be best to jump on that play before even seeing an official lineup come out. Lines move extremely fast in preseason, and the swings routinely take teams from -120 on open to -250 by close. You need to act fast. Tracking what clubs are doing a day or two in advance is a good way to prepare for that.

Follow cuts

As alluded to above, one of the keys - perhaps the biggest - is getting behind lineups with noticeably more NHL-caliber players than your opponent. If you follow cuts closely, you give yourself extra opportunities to do just that.

Some teams like to trim the fat early and work only with the cream of the crop for a few games. That means their lineups will be littered with NHL players and those on the bubble.

Other teams like to rest their NHL roster as much as possible and carry 30-35-plus players until at or near the end of the preseason schedule. If you follow what teams are doing closely, there are edges to be had.

Perhaps Team Y is a big road underdog because home sides traditionally ice the better rosters. But if Team Y only has 26 players in camp (23 of which make the final team), they can't really ice a "bad" lineup.

That's a scenario where you can play the road side early. At worst, you're getting a team with a comparably strong lineup priced like the matchup is one-sided.

Late nights are your friends

There can be real value in staying up late. Be it on their main accounts or PR accounts (the latter can be extremely valuable since not as many eyes are on them), teams often tweet out a list of players who will or have already traveled for the next day's game.

That provides you valuable information to make a bet at a time when the market will move a lot slower than it usually would.

If you don't have an early morning, staying up for those 1 a.m. lineup dumps from West Coast teams can be worthwhile.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Auston Matthews put pen to paper on a monster extension with the Maple Leafs, signing a four-year deal worth a league-high $13.25 million per season.

With a contract no longer looming over Matthews' head, he'll head into the 2023-24 campaign healthy, focused, and free of distractions.

What may Matthews' season look like? Let's look at some major betting markets to get a better indication.

"Rocket" Richard

Note: listed players 20:1 or shorter.

McDavid is understandably favored for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy after a 64-goal campaign in which he took his finishing - and shot volume - to a new level. But Matthews is tucked in behind him, and the price gap is probably a little steep.

Matthews' 299 goals in 481 games since starting his career in 2016-17 is a league high. He's also by far the best chance generator, piling up 145 more than the next closest player (McDavid) over the past three seasons.

His goal outputs dried up a bit last season, but there were strong rumblings Matthews fought through an injury for the bulk of the campaign. There seemed to be something to that, as Matthews' shooting percentage was 5% lower than in 2021-22 and 6.3% lower than in 2020-21.

Getting Matthews the puck in good shooting spots is priority No. 1 at even strength and on the power play. Unlike McDavid, who has Leon Draisaitl in the mix, Matthews is the go-to scorer for his team, and there's nobody in the same realm. A fully healthy Matthews attached to a +600 price tag is appealing since he should be firmly in the mix.

Hart Trophy

Note: listed players 20:1 or shorter.

Matthews' 85-point 'down' season didn't put off the market in the slightest. He carries the fourth shortest odds to bring home the NHL's most prestigious individual award, and for good reason.

Despite dealing with an injury and shooting significantly below expectation, Matthews paced last season at a 97-point clip over a full 82 games. Had he matched his 2021-22 finishing rate, we'd be talking about someone with 56 goals in 74 contests rather than 40 in 74. That's a 62-goal pace.

The Maple Leafs made plenty of changes around their core, but they should remain one of the better teams during the regular season. Adding Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg - and the playmaking/passing ability those three bring - can't hurt a sniper like Matthews.

He should be in the hunt for the Hart if he can get back in the 55-plus goal range and produce a boatload of points on a very strong team.

Season totals

Matthews sits at -140 to score 50 goals, and I see value in backing him. Despite last season's shooting dip, the superstar center has averaged 57 goals per 82 games played over the past four seasons. That's a long track record of top-tier production.

He's 25 years old, so Matthews theoretically finds himself in the prime of his career. There's no reason to expect last season's shooting struggles to be the start of a decline.

It all comes down to health with Matthews. If we exclude his rookie campaign, last year's 74 contests played are the most we've seen from him in a season. With a handful of games being trimmed off his total each year, it makes it that much more imperative Matthews carries extreme efficiency.

I believe anything over 70 games will make 50 goals a very reasonable proposition, but 60-plus is difficult without playing a full schedule.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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With the NHL draft behind us and free agency well underway, we've passed the eye of the offseason storm.

Although there are still some familiar names on the market - Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews come to mind - most of the notable free agents have found new homes.

Now that a ton of roster shaping has taken place, it's time to start looking ahead to the 2023-24 campaign.

Which teams are getting the most respect in the market? Which teams are heading for a year of pain? Let's take a closer look.

The Avalanche once again find themselves favored to win the Stanley Cup, although the odds are longer than they were at open last year (+425). They've enjoyed a strong offseason to date, replacing J.T. Compher with a cheaper alternative in Ryan Johansen. Colorado pulled off a pair of savvy trades, essentially swapping Alex Newhook for Ross Colton and a first-round pick. The Avs made some noise in free agency as well, adding speed and depth scoring in Miles Wood while also rolling the dice on Jonathan Drouin - Nathan MacKinnon's junior hockey linemate - in hopes of adding cheap production. They look very dangerous once again.

A revamped Maple Leafs squad finds itself on level pegging with the shortest odds. While the Maple Leafs seem set on keeping the Core Four together - at least if they can find a way to re-sign William Nylander - new general manager Brad Treliving sure changed the surrounding mix.

He walked away from Ryan O'Reilly, Michael Bunting, and Alex Kerfoot, replacing them with gritty alternatives in Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Ryan Reaves. He also let Justin Holl leave in free agency and signed puck-moving defenseman John Klingberg. Are the Maple Leafs better than a year ago? Worse? It's hard to tell - but they sure are different.

The Edmonton Oilers find themselves third in the pecking order. They moved on from inconsistent depth forwards Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin, intelligently reallocating the resources to snag Connor Brown. He missed most of last season due to injury but averaged 50 points per 82 games in the previous two seasons. Brown adds speed, scoring, and versatility to the Oilers' already strong forward core.

Next up are a pair of Metropolitan Division teams: the Devils and Hurricanes. The former, in particular, are universally loved right now - and rightfully so. The Devils finished third in the league this past season and have retained all of their best young players. A full year with Timo Meier, newcomer Tyler Toffoli, and the promotion of top prospects Luke Hughes and (eventually) Simon Nemec can only benefit the club. The only question mark lies in goal.

The Bruins and Golden Knights find themselves in the next price tier, just outside the top five.

The Bruins will look a lot different in October. They let go of Bertuzzi, Taylor Hall, and Dmitry Orlov due to cap constraints. They're also still awaiting retirement decisions from Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. The Bruins made some affordable depth adds - most notably James van Riemsdyk and Morgan Geekie - but they look worse on paper.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights seem poised for a strong defense of the Stanley Cup. They had to deal Reilly Smith to re-sign Ivan Barbashev, but the majority of the team remains intact.

Moving further down the list, the Flames and Senators are Canada's next-best - albeit distant - hopes for the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, neither team finds itself in a great spot.

The Flames already moved on from Toffoli, and there are rumors Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, and Noah Hanifin are unlikely to stay and perhaps looking to depart sooner rather than later. How new GM Craig Conroy navigates that largely determines how competitive the Flames will be next season.

Meanwhile, the future of Alex DeBrincat looms large over the Senators. Will he have a change of heart and re-sign with Ottawa? What kind of return could he garner? How will trading DeBrincat help in the here and now? Suffice it to say, Pierre Dorion has his hands full.

It'll be interesting to see how the next wave of activity impacts the market. We'll take a closer look before the puck drops in October.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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