Will the Maple Leafs make the playoffs?

Will the Maple Leafs make the playoffs?

Todd’s odds brought to you by FanDuel with Todd Ferman, our sports betting analyst from Las Vegas, Nevada. Todd, how will you be spending your Thanksgiving? Let me guess. Uh, a slot machine handle in one hand and a cold my tie in the other. You know what, Jay? That actually sounds like the perfect way to spend one of the best holidays on the calendar down here in the States. Unfortunately, that will not be the case for me. One of my primary responsibilities trying to make sure my niece and nephew don’t kill each other while everybody else tries to prepare a phenomenal Thanksgiving feast. And Jay, I’m embarrassed to admit this, but we are one of those families with my wife, my sister, and my brother-in-law that we will take place in a Thanksgiving themed workout class at 6:05 in the morning. Oh my. I don’t even know you anymore, Todd. This is very disturbing information. But I digress. Let’s start talking about the NHL. Historically, Todd, as you know, if an NHL team is in a playoff position at US Thanksgiving, there’s an excellent chance they are going to make the playoffs when the season is over. However, things are very tight right now in the Eastern Conference. The sky is falling for the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to their fans. But in reality, they’re just five points back of the Bruins for that final wild card spot. Would you bet on the Leafs at this point, Todd, to actually make the postseason? I mean, right now, Jay, it feels like everybody in the Eastern Conference is actually in the playoff mix other than the Buffalo Sabres, who I believe have been mathematically eliminated for the 37th straight season in a row before we get to New Year’s. But I digress. In terms of the Leafs outlook, I don’t think Leafs fans are going to be thrilled with what I have to say here. But there’s a reason that they are right now a minus $1.70 favorite to miss the postseason with our friends at FanDuel. And I actually think those numbers are a little bit short. I had major reservations about where they were going to go this season to replace the kind of offense that they lost in Mitchell Marner. The blue line has dealt with a rash of injuries. The goalending hasn’t been nearly performed at the same level as what we saw a season ago. And when you look at the pecking order in that Atlantic division, you mentioned the Bruins, but for me, it’s a clear delineation with the top three with the Lightning, the Panthers, the Ottawa Senators. I think Toronto will be fighting for a wildcard spot and most likely finds themselves on the outside looking in. You mentioned the Senators, you mentioned the Lightning, the S points back, the Lightning on Wednesday in the Atlantic. The Habs three points back. Would you be able or would you be willing rather to bet on either of those Canadian teams to make the postseason or even forget about make a season Todd? Would you be able would you be willing to bet on them to win the Atlantic? Well, I think the Sen worth a little bit of a dart throw. I have a clear differentiation though between them and the Tampa Bay Lightning right now in terms of my overall power profile. But credit to the Sense. They’ve developed a defensive identity that I think can really pay off if they get to game 83 and beyond this season. and they’ve been able to keep their heads above water without their captain and Brady Kachchuck who should return to action later this week. If you get Lena to play at the level that we saw when he won the VZNA trophy as a member of the Boston Bruins, they definitely have the chops to stay in this Atlantic race and I think you could do a lot worse than taking a shot there with them. However, on Montreal side, I have some major concerns about what I’m seeing on a night in nightight out basis from this team. I mentioned goalending being a problem for the Maple Leafs. It has been a major concern for what Martan St. Louis has been dealing with. Yes, Jacob Dobash has been good, but Samuel Montal really needs to regain some of his form uh that we’ve seen flashes of in the past. And then there’s the Western Conference. As of Tuesday, none of the four Canadian Western Conference teams were in a postseason position. Who would you bet to be in and who would you bet to be out? The Oilers are a massive favorite to make the playoffs and I actually think that number is a touch inflated, but I’m not ready to run to the window and bet against them figuring it out like we’ve seen over the last couple of seasons. Although I will say this roster construction leaves me a little bit more paranoid about what their true playoff prospects look like. The Winnipeg Jets, they’re the interesting team favored to make the playoffs, but I have some concerns about them as well. I mean, no, Connor Hellabuk probably for four to six weeks as he underwent that arthroscopic procedure for his lower body and we’ve seen some of those injuries potentially linger. If Hlebuk doesn’t return at full speed right around New Year’s, this is a team that I think struggles to keep pucks out of their net. And given how competitive the Central has been, wouldn’t shock me at all if the Winnipeg Jets missed. The Conucks pretty much came out and said, “You know what? We’re throwing in the towel by American Thanksgiving. We’re willing to deal every single asset on our roster, not named Quinn use, so I’m not going to back them. But I think Jay, the most interesting team, if you’re looking for a little bit of a long shot, would be the Calgary Flames, right around 10 to one to make the playoffs. I know they’re sitting at the bottom of the Pacific Division right now, but they’re underlying metrics suggest that a regression could be right around the corner. And while they may not have that same high-end top level talent in their top six, I actually like the goalending tanm what we’ve seen from Dustin Wolf and Devin Kulie thus far. And look, there’s a reason they’re a long shot to get into the playoffs. But that would be the team that I would take a little bit of a nibble on as I think they could find a way to get back into that Pacific mix, which seems to be the definition of a muddled mess right now. And finally, Todd, we’re at about the quarter mark of the season. Uh, do you want to add anyone to your Stanley Cup portfolio? Well, I think at last checkin, we don’t have anybody in that Stanley Cup portfolio right now. Uh, and when you look at the odds currently at FanDuel, Colorado is a worthy favorite. I mean, I have them the class of the National Hockey League right now. Not exactly going out on a limb given their current form. But if you look to try and tier some of the teams, I’ll put the Vegas Golden Knights up there. I’ll put the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers when they get Matthew Kachchuck back will be just fine. Although I do worry about the Sasha Barov injury of course and Carolina can’t count them out, but I’ll go much further down the list and we talked about this team already. I think Ottawa at 33 to1 is an intriguing long shot to try and build your portfolio around now. Like I said, I love the low event hockey that we’re seeing from this group. They’ve dealt with injuries. They’ve been able to play somewhat well uh to this point of the season. And what would be better, Jay, if we were looking at the Atlantic division in that opening round of the postseason? We didn’t have a battle of Ontario in front of us this year, but we had Brady Kachchuck on one side, Matthew Kachchuck on the other. The storylines, my friend, would write themselves. Boy, I wonder if they’d keep their new podcast going if they were playing against each other in a playoff series. Todd, uh, look, Jay, we could look, we could bring Walt in. We could do an episode with Walt and Matthew one night. We can do an episode with Walt and Brady the next. We have to think outside the box. Look, if Donna Kelsey can be a superstar on the New Heights podcast, there’s no reason we can’t get regular cameos from Walt Kachchuck as well. Yeah, I think that’s an excellent idea. So, uh Keith, if you’re watching, just keep that in mind. Clear your schedule. I’m not sure what you’re up to right now. And Todd, thanks for this. Happy Thanksgiving and good luck in that workout class. Uh it’s just ludicrous behavior by you. Hey, look. We all make poor choices in life most of the time. Jay, it’s me joining you once a week for this segment. I appreciate that. We’ll be back right after this.

Todd Fuhrman joins SC with Jay Onrait for another edition of Todd’s Odds, where they discuss the Maple Leafs odds to make the playoffs, the Senators and Canadiens odds to win the Atlantic Division, whether the Oilers, Jets, Canucks or Flames will make the postseason, and who he wants to add to his Stanley Cup portfolio.