Teams to Watch in the 2021 NHL Season

The puck has dropped on the 2021 NHL season, and many sports bettors are turning their attention to the stick and puck. The migration comes at an exciting time.

You see, hockey is typically starting during prime NFL/college football season, and the bettors stay put. However, with the NHL catching a late start this year, NHL will be mostly void of football competition. Below are the seven teams to watch in the NHL season; one of these teams can make you a mint.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues had a fantastic 2020. Well, all things considered, they had a good year.

They won their division easily and made the playoffs, all without their leading scorer. Now, Vladimir Tarasenko is back on the ice, and the Blues are in a new division. The move from the Central Division to the Western Division is a significant move. For starters, it’s a much stronger division.

The Blues join the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche in the west and make it one of the most talented professional hockey divisions. In fact, all three teams had outstanding 2020 seasons.

The team lost captain and offensive threat Alex Pietrangelo. However, the offseason addition of Mike Hoffman should add a fair amount of offensive production.

The Blues are a reliable team that will be beating better opponents on a regular schedule. They’re also deep enough to keep up night after night.

If they remain healthy throughout the season, they can easily slide into the playoffs. The biggest draw will be their ability to cover against the best teams in the league and win against the spread to lesser opponents.

Keep an eye out for the St. Louis Blues. If they hit the Stanley Cup Playoffs in top form, they may make it to the promised land.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are in the midst of a grueling process of rebuilding. However, if there’s anything that the 2020 Dallas Stars showed us, it’s how quickly one piece can change the entire puzzle.

Many had Dallas missing the playoffs amid reinventing themselves and even fired the head coach during the season, albeit for off the ice conduct, and reached the Stanley Cup Finals.

Still, Red Wings don’t have the depth or the key components that Dallas had in place last year. That doesn’t make them the laughing stock of the NHL, necessarily.

This young team has a ton of potential, and while 2021 doesn’t look like their year to win it all, they won’t be the whipping post for the rest of the league either.

Offensive production will be a key for this young team. And if the right players get hot and can finally sync up, the Red Wings will win a lot of games where the line makes them a tremendous value.

Keep an eye on Detroit, and it may just save your season and your bankroll.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers were one of the teams that caught fire in the back half of the 2020 season. They appear to be stronger and healthier as the 2021 campaign gets kicked off.

Nolan Patrick missed all of the 2020 season, and his presence was missed sorely. However, the offensive juggernaut is back and better than ever. To say that Philadelphia will be looking to make strides forward in 2021 would be an understatement. This team is hungry and stacked with enough talent to put any team in the league on ice.

The East Division is loaded with talent. The Bruins and Capitals both share the division and are two of the dominant teams in the NHL.

For me, this only makes the Flyers more attractive. As with any wager in sports, your appeal comes from the value.

Everyone knows how reliable the Flyers are; it’s a matter of picking the games where the lines are favorable and pouncing. Some NHL bettors are turning to futures bets at NHL betting sites where Philadelphia is currently 14/1 to win the Stanley Cup Finals.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs are reeling after a disappointing 2020 bid. They were swiftly dispatched in the first round of the playoffs, and the entire franchise is on the verge of panic.

Still, they are easily the best team in their division and have most of their core crew back this season. Toronto is currently 11/1 to win the Stanley Cup, showing how much respect goes into a franchise’s legacy. Toronto has long been a top-tier NHL team and this year looks to continue that tradition.

However, one can’t help but wonder how the early exit in 2020 will affect the squad in 2021. There seems to be one of two common scenarios that play out when a great team doesn’t live up to its potential.

Either they will overcome the obstacle, using the loss like a fire to stay motivated. Or they become so snake-bitten by the defeat that they are forced to reinvent what got them there in the first place ultimately.

Toronto is likely to be the latter. I would hate for my team to be going up against the Maple Leafs in the first round o the playoffs—playoffs that Toronto will quickly skate into this season.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers haven’t made it past the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in over five years. This puts a ton of strain on players and coaches as they struggle to put the puzzle’s final piece in their spots.

The Oilers have one of the best squads on both sides of the centerline. They have a wealth of goal-scoring ability that is rivaled by the stellar defensive and goaltending play.

Unfortunately, the penalty kill and power play lines made tremendous regression in the offseason. Still, Edmonton will win a lot of games, and they have the weapons to keep games close against the elite teams in the league.

Edmonton is 28/1 to win the Stanley Cup Finals, and I don’t see any value there. However, you can get 12/1 on them missing the playoffs entirely. If other teams in their division play to their full potential, that may be a winner.

Regardless, Edmonton is a fun team to watch—win, lose, or draw. There should be plenty of thrilling action in the zone.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver will have a season-long battle in the North if they want to see the postseason. The Canucks are 40/1 longshots to bring the cup to Vancouver and possibly the toughest division in hockey.

Elias Petterssen is one of the most entertaining young players in the game. His fellow youngsters are on the verge of doing massive things in the North. Unfortunately, there’s no indication that 2021 will be their year.

So, look at key matchups throughout the season where early lines have them as a slight underdog. These bets can be extremely lucrative as this team is almost a lock to win some of their games against the more experienced teams.

This is especially true within their division where they’ll be facing Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg. This team will not sit idly by while they allow older units to bully them around the ice.

If you’re not having any luck finding the value in Vancouver, make an effort to learn their tendencies. This effort may pay substantial dividends in the coming years when Vancouver begins making serious contender runs into the playoffs.

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars cannot get any respect. The team that fell just short after making it to the Stanley Cup Finals is a pathetic 28/1 to win the cup in 2021.

Of course, none of the pundits expected the team to make the playoffs at all in 2020. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that the same experts are now predicting a first-round exit.

The biggest problem facing Dallas is offense or lack thereof. The team struggled to put the puck in the net throughout the 2020 season, and despite the beautiful goalie play, it cost them against the fast-paced offense of Tampa Bay.

The Stars’ offensive leader is on the mend until April, and Dallas hopes to stay in the game long enough to return their star player. If the Stars can create chemistry that fills Seguin’s void, they will be a hot commodity come the middle of the season.

I see the 28/1 as a bit of a longshot, but it’s also a significant value. The Stars faced many obstacles in 2020. And assuming the key pieces stay healthy, they should make another run in 2021.

Conclusion

The seven teams to watch in the 2021 NHL season come from all levels of the NHL. You could watch a young team trying to claw their way out of the bottom of the barrel or follow the team that came within a couple of wins from hockey immortality; the choice is yours.

I know that 2021 will be electric, and the only way to miss out is by ignoring the action altogether.