Canadiens Trend For Favourable 2023 Draft Rank Per Latest Odds

It’s been a rough few months for the Montreal Canadiens and their fans, as injuries have just continued to pile on, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, according to the latest betting odds.

After a dreadful month of December, the Canadiens were hit hard by injuries to key players like Cole Caufield, Kaiden Guhle and even youngster Juraj Slafkovsky.

All the injuries have mounted dramatically in a way eerily similar to last season’s disastrous injury situation.

Read More: Montreal On Pace To Match Last Season’s Record

The Canadiens’ dropping in the standings has directly contributed to a shift in the latest NHL betting odds, as the Canadiens were previously projected for a bottom-10 finish, but that has now changed.

Montreal Canadiens Bottom-Five Finish

FanDuel now has the Canadiens at a +2600 to finish last in the NHL this season, giving them the 5th-best odds to slide in the standings.

The recent change has much to do with the narrowing gap between the Canadiens and the six teams behind them; coupled with the growing gap with the teams above them.

As of mid-January, the Canadiens may have been 10 points out of a playoff spot, but only a couple of points behind the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators.

Over the last three weeks, the teams vying for the NHL Playoffs have begun to create separation, meaning the Canadiens now have a five-point gap between themselves and the 25th-place St-Louis Blues.

On the flip side, the basement-dwelling teams are closing the gap that was once thought impossible to catch. The Vancouver Canucks are only a point behind the Canadiens in 27th place, with two games in hand, while the San Jose Sharks are only three points back.

Even at the very bottom, the Canadiens went from having a 15-point lead on the Chicago Blackhawks a few weeks ago, to having just 10 points; with the Blackhawks having three games in hand.

Thus, the Canadiens are expected to be surpassed by the Vancouver Canucks and possibly even the San Jose Sharks, as the Canadiens have lost some major pieces already, and could be offloading a few more at the NHL Trade Deadline.

Not Cat People

Of course, when you talk to Montreal Canadiens fans about the 2023 NHL Draft, the Habs aren’t their only priority, as the misfortunes of the Florida Panthers has brought the fan base much excitement this season.

After a surge in the month of January that saw the Florida Panthers pull themselves within a point of a playoff spot, they went on lose three of their final four games in January; one of which was against Wild Card rival Pittsburgh Penguins.

The ongoing surge up the standings from the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders’ renewed sense of urgency after the Bo Horvat trade have flipped the odds firmly against the Panthers.

As it currently stands, the Florida Panthers are expected to miss the playoffs, which would offer the Canadiens two picks in the first have of a very loaded 1st-round.

The Panthers will have an extremely important month of February, as their performance over the next three weeks will likely determine their fate for the season.

*All odds in this article were taken from FanDuel