Pittsburgh Penguins favored to win 2017 Stanley Cup

Can the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups?

Gambling odds-maker Bovada believes the Penguins are the favorite to win it all next year, one day after Pittsburgh captured their fourth Cup in franchise history.

It lists the Penguins as 8/1 to win next year’s Cup, with the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals tied at 10/1 right behind Pittsburgh. The next team is the St. Louis Blues at 12/1.

The San Jose Sharks, who lost in six games in the Cup Final, are listed at 14/1 along with the Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning.

This is interesting, considering the fact the Sharks bounced the Blues in six games in the Western Conference Final.

San Jose has all their core players under contract while the Blues may lose key veterans David Backes and Troy Brouwer to free agency. Also the Blackhawks are favored over the Blues, even though the Blues beat Chicago in the first-round. But odds-makers generally have reasons behind these.

Odds to win the 2017 Stanley Cup

Pittsburgh Penguins 8/1

Chicago Blackhawks 10/1

Washington Capitals 10/1

St. Louis Blues 12/1

Los Angeles Kings 14/1

San Jose Sharks 14/1

Tampa Bay Lightning 14/1

Anaheim Ducks 16/1

Dallas Stars16/1

Detroit Red Wings 18/1

Minnesota Wild 18/1

Nashville Predators 18/1

New York Rangers 18/1

Montreal Canadiens 20/1

New York Islanders 20/1

Boston Bruins 25/1

Florida Panthers 25/1

Philadelphia Flyers 25/1

Colorado Avalanche 33/1

Calgary Flames 40/1

Edmonton Oilers 40/1

Ottawa Senators 40/1

Arizona Coyotes 50/1

Carolina Hurricanes 50/1

Columbus Blue Jackets 50/1

New Jersey Devils 50/1

Vancouver Canucks 50/1

Winnipeg Jets 50/1

Buffalo Sabres 66/1

Toronto Maple Leafs 66/1

Last season when odds came out after the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, the Penguins were listed at 14/1 to win this season. The Sharks were at 40/1. Pittsburgh had just lost in the first-round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers and the Sharks didn’t make the postseason.

Which team with lower odds will jump up and surprise the hockey world next season?

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper