The Battle of Alberta is back on.
After losing Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk this summer, the Calgary Flames are no longer favourites to finish first in the Pacific Division again. That honour, according to covers.com, now belongs to the Edmonton Oilers, who are +200 favourites.
Calgary, which replaced Gaudreau and Tkachuk with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, are tied for second with Vegas at +300. That might sound surprising, considering that the Golden Knights missed the playoffs last season and will start this year without starting goalie Robin Lehner. But with a star-studded roster that includes Mark Stone, Jack Eichel and defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, the Golden Knights are betting that it was a one-time thing.
Los Angeles is ranked fourth (+500), with Vancouver (+1,000) considered more of a long shot after Brock Boeser underwent hand surgery.
After that, it’s a battle between Seattle (+6,500), Anaheim (+10,000) and San Jose (+15,000) for what is likely going to be a lottery pick.
— Michael Traikos, Postmedia
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