As we approach the trade deadline, we look at bets we can take for the last quarter of the season that are at a great value as of today. Whether it's a team to win Lord Stanley or someone to bring home a trophy, there is a ton of value out on the sportsbooks that people should be taking advantage of before the odds change. Here are our current best value picks that you should take before time runs out. We will look at futures to invest in, monitor and avoid at all costs.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly.
Invest: Los Angeles Kings over 99.5 regular season points (+110)
The Kings are finally starting to piece things together again with a 9-4-1 record over their last 14 games and have seen massive improvements in their defensive game with the fifth-fewest goals allowed (32) since the start of February. They may be a team people will want to get in on as they will be chasing down a playoff spot and have a very favourable schedule for the rest of the season to secure that spot.
When it comes to remaining strength of schedule, we can look to Tankathon, which analyzes each team’s remaining schedules and creates a ranking based on the combined points percentage for each team’s upcoming opponents. The Kings rank second in weakest schedule as they see seven games they should certainly win with three games versus the Blackhawks, two versus the Ducks and one against the Sharks and the Senators, who they play against tonight and beat in their most previous matchup.
For 100 points this season, they will roughly need 14 more wins as they are already at 31 this season and have an additional 11 points thanks to their overtime losses. Their easy matchups have them at exactly halfway there with one or two games maybe not going their way but could be picked up in another matchup.
Besides their softer matchups, they will also get against the Islanders, Blues, Kraken and Wild twice, who they have favourable histories against as of late. They should find a handful of wins in this back quarter of the season thanks to their favourable matchups and hit 100 points as they secure a spot in the playoffs.
Invest: Pacific Division team to win Stanley Cup (+275)
You can also throw a subtle investment on the Kings by going with a team from the Pacific Division winning the Stanley Cup. In just one bet, you able to secure a future bet on the Kings as well as the Golden Knights, the current-cup favourites in the red hot Oilers and the Division-leading Canucks, who also look very formidable and could work out as a great long-term investment even if the Kings have their playoff run snuffed out.