NHL predictions, odds: Three long shot picks for Presidents’ Trophy

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For the first time in a couple of seasons the race for the Presidents Trophy given to the team with the best regular-season record in the NHL is wide open.

By this point last season, the Boston Bruins had basically locked up the honor with their historically good start and it wasnt much deeper into the 2021-22 campaign that the Florida Panthers (the eventual winners) and Colorado Avalanche turned it into a two-team race.

And in 2018-19 (well skip the two COVID-shortened seasons for purposes of this exercise), it was the Tampa Bay Lightning that racked up 128 points and had a spot reserved for the Presidents Trophy in their mantle by New Years Day.

But the 2023-24 regular season has followed a very different script.

There are certainly some teams that have established themselves as the class of the league through the first half of the campaign, but nobody has separated themselves from the pack just yet.

At the time of writing the Boston Bruins lead the circuit with 52 points from 36 games, but the Bs have no margin for error in this race as there are four teams with at least 50 points (New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets) and five more within six points of Boston.

With so many teams still in the race and plenty of runway left in this season, you could make a compelling case for a long-shot bet to win the Presidents Trophy.

Lets take a look at three teams that could be worth a punt for those who like to have a flutter:

NHL_predictions_odds_Three_long_shot_picks_for_Presidents_Trophy Matthew Tkachuk Getty Images## Panthers (20/1)

In my opinion, the Cats are the class of the Eastern Conference.

Theyre deep up front, stable on the blue line and have a reliable goaltending tandem.

Whats more is the Panthers look like a team that can get white-hot during the second half.

Florida ranks fifth in the NHL in expected goals percentage and third in high-danger scoring rate, but its actual results lag behind.

The Cats have been unlucky in front of goal and their best player, Matthew Tkachuk, has yet to hit his stride this season.

When those two things turn around, this team should surge up the table.

Hurricanes (25/1)

It was a sluggish start to the season for the Hurricanes but theyve come alive of late with a 7-1-3 run in their last 10 games.

Its no coincidence that Carolinas recent surge was timed perfectly with goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov finding his game and stabilizing the situation in goal for the Canes, who desperately needed to get some saves.

If Kochetkov can hold the fort long enough for Frederik Andersen to get healthy, theres every reason to believe Carolina can get hot enough to put together a sparkling second half.

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Edmonton Oilers (66/1)

Lets get crazy.

The Oilers were 3-9-1 out of the gates and fired head coach Jay Woodcroft to light a spark under a team that was one of the favorites to win this award on opening night.

Theyve got a ton of work to do theyre 12 points and 19 teams behind the league-leaders but theyre already on a roll with six wins on the spin and a 17-6-0 record under former Rangers minor-league coach Kris Knoblauch.

Edmontons statistical profile was always elite, it was just a matter of Connor McDavid getting healthy and the goaltending finding some form.

Both of those things have happened and it wouldnt be a gigantic shock if this team kept up this pace.

Its a long shot for a reason, but its quite a tempting play at this number especially since we just saw this team go 30-7-7 after New Years Day in 2022-23.

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