Photo Credit: AP Photo/Nick Wass
Edmonton Oilers Lead Pacific Division Winner Odds Ahead of Golden Knights
NHL Pacific Division Winner Odds
The Edmonton Oilers enter the season as the favourites to win the Pacific Division, with current odds priced at +150 putting them slightly ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights at +210.
Edmonton remains one of the best teams in the NHL with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at the head of the offense, but the division looks more competitive than it did last season.
The San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks are tied as the third favourites at +650, following a strong performance in last year's season. The Los Angeles Kings are also not far behind at +700.
However, from there, the market expects a significant gap for the remaining three teams in the division. The Seattle Kraken sit at +5000, the Vancouver Canucksat +15000, and the Calgary Flames are the biggest outsiders at +20000.
Last Season's Pacific Division Outcome
Despite Edmonton entering as the current favourites, the Golden Knights were the team that won the Pacific Division last season.
Vegas finished 39-26-17, managing to narrowly win the division ahead of the Oilers before going on to reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Edmonton finished second at 41-30-11. Although the Oilers earned two more wins, the Golden Knights gained more points in the end thanks to their 17 overtime losses. Edmonton did manage to show up in the playoffs, but were one of the early teams to be eliminated, losing to Anaheim in the opening round.
The Ducks were arguably the biggest surprise. Anaheim's regular season standing ended at 43-33-6, finishing third in the division and reaching the second round of the playoffs. A big jump up after failing to qualify in the previous seven seasons.
Los Angeles finished fourth at 35-27-20, setting the NHL record for most losses in overtime. Although they made history in the wrong way, the Kings did once again reach the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round.
San Jose also showed some improvements last season. The Sharks finished 39-35-8, just barely missing the playoffs despite the best efforts of Macklin Celebrini.
However, the bottom three teams really struggled last season and were nowhere near being in contention for a playoff seat. Seattle went 34-37-11, Calgary finished 34-39-9, and Vancouver fell all the way to last place with 25-49-8.
Edmonton Oilers Lead Pacific Division Odds
Edmonton's position at the top of the market is likely largely due to it's elite offense.
McDavid and Draisaitl give the Oilers one of the NHL's most effective offense, with the team leading the league with a 30.6% power play last season.
However, there are still concerns for the rest of the roster. The team allowed 3.23 goals per game last season, ranking 25th in the NHL, and goaltending continues to be one of the team's biggest issues.
The offseason saw new additions to the team as well. Frederik Andersen was brought in after winning the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes last year, but he is currently dealing with an injury, leading to Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi handling his position to start to season.
The Oilers also made a coaching change, bringing in Mike Babcock after letting go of Kris Knoblauch. The team expressed frustration after their early playoff exit, stating that their performance stagnated around the middle of the season and was never really able to get going. The coaching adjustment was therefor a means of hopefully fixing any possibility of this recurring this year.
Golden Knights Remain Oiler's Biggest Threat
Vegas at +210 is the only other team with close odds to win the Pacific division. Likely due to the Golden Knights winning the Pacific division last season and managing a deep playoff run, leading the team to the Stanley Cup Final.
The biggest concern for the team will be replacing Pavel Dorofeyev, who led Vegas with 72 goals over the previous two seasons, who was traded to the New York Rangers this offseason.
However, Vegas still has plenty of talented players. Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner will remain at the center of the offense, in addition to Mark Stone and William Karlsson who enter the season in good health after missing significant time due to injuries last season.
Barring any injuries, there's not much separating Vegas from the Oilers. It likely will be another competitive season as both teams seek to win their division, with the Knights coming back from a promising postseason run.
Benjamin has written about sports, betting odds and Canada’s iGaming industry since 2020. He closely follows major leagues and competitions, examining how player news, team performance and public expectations shape betting markets. His work also involves monitoring provincial regulations and sportsbook launches, while assessing betting sites based on their licensing, reliability and overall user experience.
