The Colorado Avalanche just went wire-to-wire as the favourite to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.

After matching the all-time NHL record with 72 wins – regular season and postseason – nobody was surprised when Colorado opened as the favourite to win it all again in 2022-23.

The Avalanche are one of only two teams with shorter than 10-to-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel.

The other hasn’t won a playoff series since 2004.

Meanwhile, there are four teams listed at +1000 or +1100 to win it all at FanDuel, including the Tampa Bay Lightning.

So which team is the best bet to win the Stanley Cup in 2023?

Colorado is the obvious top choice, but there’s another team at longer odds that I’m willing to take a chance on now anticipating that they could be a legitimate contender next season.

This is the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Monday June 28th, 2022.

A 20-1 Bet On The 2023 Stanley Cup Winner

The Avalanche are the best team in hockey.

Colorado went 16-4 in the playoffs, sweeping the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers, before dismissing the two-time defending champions in six games, including two wins at Amalie Arena.

Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky, Andrew Cogliano, Darren Helm, Josh Manson and Darcy Kuemper are all unrestricted free agents, among others.

However, the Avalanche have enough cap space to address at least some of their needs in free agency, including some potential re-signings.

Samuel Girard will return after missing most of this postseason due to injury.

Plus, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Bowen Byram will all be back.

The problem with betting on Colorado to win the Stanley Cup at this point is that they are +500 on FanDuel.

To put that number in perspective, the Avalanche were +350 to win it all at FanDuel entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the start of May.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the second choice to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel at +900.

The Lightning, Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights are +1000 to win the Stanley Cup.

The Carolina Hurricanes are +1100 to win it all.

If I had to pick a team from that second tier, there’s no doubt it would be Tampa Bay.

The Lightning just went to the Stanley Cup Final in three straight seasons.

Ondrej Palat, Jan Rutta and Nicholas Paul are pending UFA’s, but I’m not about to doubt general manager Julien BriseBois’ ability to address the team’s needs in the off-season, regardless of the team’s salary cap situation.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos will all be back, along with one of the best defence cores in the NHL led by Victor Hedman.

As far as I’m concerned, Tampa Bay is still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if +1000 was the best number that we see for the Lightning to win it all this season, and it’s a pretty good price if you think they can run it back one more time and contend for a third championship in four seasons. 

While Colorado and Tampa Bay are still 1-2 in terms of NHL power rankings, I’m willing to take a chance on another team to win it all at longer odds right now.

I bet the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup at +2000 at FanDuel. 

Fresh off a trip to the Eastern Conference Final in which they lost to the Lightning in six games, the Rangers have the potential to take another step forward next season.

Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin is 26-years-old.

Shesterkin seemed to get better as New York went deeper in the playoffs, holding opponents to two goals or fewer in 10 of his final 13 games. 

Everybody that paid attention to the Lightning during their three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final understands the importance of goaltending, and Shesterkin just led the Rangers to within two wins of the Stanley Cup Final.

At the same time, there is a lot to like about the team in front of Shesterkin.

Adam Fox is 24-years-old.

K’Andre Miller is 22-years-old.

Fox, Miller, Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren make up a solid core four on defence that general manager Chris Drury can build around this offseason.

Drury can also add to a group of forwards that already features Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.

Lafrenière and Chytil in particular took a major step forward during the postseason. 

Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider, Lafrenière and Chytil is a solid group to build around this offseason.

If Drury wants to add another key piece up front, he has plenty to offer via trade with a deep prospect core, in addition to enough cap space to get creative if he wants to go the free agency route.

The Rangers aren’t in the same class as the Avalanche or the Lightning right now.

However, in searching of a potential contender with long odds that could be closer than some people think, I like New York at +2000 to win the Stanley Cup in 2023.