The Golden Knights are already major early underdogs in their Stanley Cup defense

After six years as an expansion franchise, the Las Vegas Golden Knights captured their first Stanley Cup on Tuesday. The glorious on-ice moment for the NHL’s best team was undoubtedly well-earned.

And according to some early prognostications, the Golden Knights will have to wait until the summer of 2025 to enjoy this kind of joyous celebration again.

Oddsmakers with DraftKings have already put out early stakes on the next Stanley Cup champion. The Golden Knights have +1300 odds — the sixth-best among the group. The Colorado Avalanche, at +800, are favored to return to their own recent Stanley Cup-winning ways and dethrone their Western Conference rivals.

And I’m not entirely sure why.

It’s not like Las Vegas is losing any key pieces this offseason. The main core of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Jonathan Marchessault, among others, are all together and under contract for at least another season. Given the parity that the NHL has cultivated, it would stand to reason that Las Vegas is better positioned to repeat than most.

At the very least, I definitely like their Stanley Cup odds more than the  Toronto Maple Leafs, who sit at +900 to finally end a miserable hockey drought. (Almost anyone good is a safer bet.)

The Golden Knights just reached the pinnacle of hockey. You’d do well not to overlook their chances to do it again.

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