As the NHL’s regular season winds down, it’s time to start looking at what teams are legit Stanley Cup Contenders to make out NHL Future Bets. Sixteen NHL teams will make the Stanley Cup playoffs, but only a few have what it takes to win it all.

Let’s look at three NHL teams that I believe are in true contention to take home the Stanley Cup.

NHL Future Bets

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are the best team in the NHL this season. This is reflected in the betting market as they have the best odds to win the 2022 Stanley Cup. They have a total of 14 regulation losses in 72 games. Also, the avalanche will most likely have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Darcy Kuemper is leading the way in the net with his 34 wins, 2.37 GAA, and .926 SV%. These stats rank in the top six among all goaltenders in the NHL.

Colorado is also getting plenty of scoring headlined by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Maker. They have the 5th best Power Play unit and rank 3rd in the NHL with 271 goals during the regular season. This team is as complete of a team as you can want in making a future bet.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers came into this season ready to take the next step toward contending for the Stanley Cup. As of this point in the regular season, they sit at the top of the Atlantic division with 52 wins and only 15 regulation losses. The cats got even stronger at the trade deadline adding long-time Flyers captain Claude Giroux.

Florida is the highest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging 4.14 GF per game. Their offense is led by Center Aleksander Barkov and Winger Jonathan Huberdeau, who are averaging more than a point per game.

Sergei Bobrovsky is 2nd in the league in wins for qualifying goaltenders. The Panthers arguably have the best goalie tandem in the NHL with Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight. Knight, a 20-year-old first-round draft pick, is rounding into his own during his first real season at the NHL level.

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames have the perfect mix of skill and grit to make a deep playoff run. Playoff hockey is much more physical and intense than the regular season. I believe the Flames are capable of playing the style of hockey needed.

Jacob Markstrom is having a terrific year in net for the flames. He is 3rd in the league in GAA at 2.24 and 6th in Save Percentage among qualified goalies. The team ranks 3rd in the NHL at only 2.51 GA/GP.

Johnny Gaudreau is leading the way for the Flames offensively. He has 34 goals and 67 assists in 74 games this season. Winger Matthew Tkachuk is also quietly producing 1.24 PPG, which adds an explosive 1-2 punch between him and Gaudreau.

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