Free Agents Can Affect NHL Sportsbook Odds. When you get ready to bet NHL odds next season at the sportsbook you may want to take a glance at the rosters of each team because they could look different. The Chicago Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup champions and they may have a similar roster but other teams who will be in the mix on the NHL odds board at the Internet sportsbook could look different.
Sportsbook odds will likely be impacted the most by the changes in goal for many teams. There are a number of big names in goal that will be free agents. Dallas goalie Marty Turco will be looking for a new job. Other big name goalies looking for work could be Evgeni Nabokov, Philadelphia goalie Michael Leighton who starred during the playoffs, Martin Biron, Dan Ellis, Jose Theodore, Antero Nittymaki, Johan Hedberg, Vesa Toskala, Patrick Lalime and Manny Legace. The Montreal Canadians could move one of their two goalies as both Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price are restricted free agents. Boston goalie Tim Thomas could be on the move since Tuukka Rask is now the number one goalie in Boston.
Goalies will be moving around the league with many teams trying to find some help in goal. A team like San Jose could be looking for someone to take over as they may not want Nabokov to return. The Sharks also have to decide what to do with Patrick Marleau who will be an unrestricted free agent. They may also want to give more money to Devin Setoguchi and Joe Pavelski. It seems unlikely they will want to bring back Nabokov especially with his lack of success in the playoffs.
Turco led the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999 but he will not be back in Dallas. He could be going to a team like Philadelphia who could be looking for a goalie, especially if they don’t bring back Leighton. There are so many goalies on the market that big names like Turco and Nabokov might have to wait for a call. Niittymaki is getting a lot of interest around the league because of the job he did with a poor Tampa Bay team. The Lightning would like to keep him but they may not be able to afford him.