Way-too-early NHL 2021 odds released

The NHL concluded its two-day draft event on Wednesday night, and plenty of fans are looking toward the future of their teams. Some are looking years down the road with several seasons of rebuilding, while some are ready for their teams to win now.

Shortly after the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in a 4-2 series victory in the Stanley Cup Final on Sept. 28, a popular United States sportsbook has been updating its odds on the 2021 season, which obviously need to be modified as well since the NHL season typically would have started by now.

What’s happening next season?

While opening up the first round of the NHL Draft on Tuesday night, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the league and the NHL Players’ Association are looking to get the season started on Jan. 1. He previously stated the target date was to be Dec. 1, but it appears Jan. 1 is the most likely day for the NHL to begin its season. Bettman also announced the league hopes to play a full regular season with fans in attendance at its games.

The league will announce when training camp starts at a later date.

The @NHL and @NHLPA announce target date for 2020-21 season. https://t.co/5gDvmWkiAT pic.twitter.com/vWZJdbrU8v

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 6, 2020

The NHL suspended its season temporarily on March 12 because of concerns on the coronavirus. The leagued returned on Aug. 1 with Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which included 12 teams from the Eastern Conference going to Toronto and 12 Western Conference teams playing in Edmonton. Fans were never allowed to attend games throughout the playoffs.

Despite thousands of tests taken while teams were in their respective bubbles, zero positive tests were reported for the coronavirus.

2021 Futures Odds

The NHL Draft is complete, but free agency started on Friday, Oct. 9 at noon ET, and plenty of transactions are happening throughout the league. With constant movement with trades and free agency, NHL futures odds will continue to adjust to the news and on the money coming in, so these odds may look a lot different now than they will as we get closer and closer to the first game of the next season.

Just like in just about any sport, the offseason is filled with hope in the NHL. Who knows who the next breakout team is going to be? Nobody knows, which is a fun part about sports.

The oddsmakers were spot on by putting the Lightning at the top spot prior to the 2019-20 season. Before the season started, Tampa Bay was listed with +700 odds. Bettors who put $100 on the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup won a $700 profit. Dallas finished runner up in the Stanley Cup, but the Stars weren’t projected to be there prior to the season. The Stars were tied for the seventh best odds to win it all at +1800.

All odds are via a popular United States sportsbook.

Eastern Conference Winner