The 2024 Stanley Cup Final is setting up to be box office.
Not only does it feature two of the best teams in the NHL this season, but the storylines are rich with drama.
On one side of the matchup you have Connor McDavid looking to win his first Stanley Cup and cement his legacy, while on the other side of the coin stand the Florida Panthers, who will try to win the first championship in franchise history after falling short in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights last spring.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the betting market is having a tough time separating these two clubs.
The Panthers currently sit as -128 favorites to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel, while the Oilers are currently priced at +106. It rarely gets any tighter than that for a Stanley Cup Final.
There’s plenty of time left to size up the matchup, but for now we’ll focus on a handful of props that are worth circling ahead of Game 1 on Saturday night.
Connor McDavid to win Conn Smythe Trophy (+250, FanDuel)
This one is pretty simple: If the Oilers lift the Stanley Cup, Connor McDavid is almost certainly going to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
McDavid, who leads the playoffs with 31 points, would be a worthy winner based on his performance, but this is an award voted on by the media and it is nearly impossible to envision them passing up the opportunity to give McDavid a crowning moment considering his career path.
So if you’re interested in backing the Oilers at +106, I would strongly advise you to forego that number and go straight for McDavid to win the Conn Smythe.
Most goals in series: Anton Lundell (55/1, DraftKings)
There were plenty of huge moments in Florida’s win over the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final, but perhaps the most overlooked was when Paul Maurice took Vladimir Tarasenko off the first line and put him with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen on the third unit.
That trio would go on to have a massive series, with Lundell scoring the go-ahead goal in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden and Tarasenko potting the series-winning goal in Game 6.
And while Lundell is already known for being a two-way monster at just 22 years of age, I would imagine that Maurice will match up Aleksander Barkov against McDavid’s line and Matthew Tkachuk against Leon Draisaitl as much as he can in this series.
Betting on the NHL?
That would leave Lundell to go up against the Oilers’ bottom-six, which should be a huge advantage for the Panthers.
There are so many elite scorers in this series (Zach Hyman, Draisaitl, McDavid, Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, etc.) that it’s hard to see a long shot come through, but the counterpoint is that the scoring will get spread out among those stars and keep the required number of goals needed to cash this ticket relatively low.
If that is the case, I’ll be happy to have a ticket on a player with Lundell’s upside and usage at this price.
