Toronto Maple Leafs: Best Futures Bets for 2021-22
NHL training camps are officially opened and the Toronto Maple Leafs preseason is under way.
I think Leafs Nation are familiar enough with the recent history the Toronto Maple Leafs and Canadiens have so I won’t be rehashing that disappointing story. (*Breath in…breath out*).
Instead, I want to look forward to the Futures! The betting futures, specifically, with odds courtesy WynnBET.com.
I think a case could be made for every award to possibly be won by a member of the Toronto Maple Leaf this season, but I am only going to look at the main awards, starting with the scoring titles.
Rocket Richard Trophy
The clear favorite to win the Rocket Richard this year, on the Maple Leafs and in the entire league, is Auston Matthews at +150.
Not exactly blazing odds, and with the unpredictability of Matthews’ wrist injury I would not take this risk. If Matthews misses any time, or his wrist injury lingers into the season, John Tavares may have to step up.
Tavares may become a focal point in the slot or in front of the net on the Toronto Maple Leafs Powerplay, and this could lead to some easy goals. Also, with the maturity of William Nylander creating opportunities for Tavares and a consistent left winger established before the beginning of the season Tavares may have another career year in him and make his +4000 odds seems absurd. Tavares could score 50+ goals this season, and that has typically been good enough to win the Rocket Richard.
Art Ross Trophy
Much like the Rocket Trophy, the lesser odds on the Toronto Maple Leafs are with Auston Matthews at +500.
This one is odd to me though, as Matthews has consistently outscored Mitch Marner in goals but not in total points. Of course, he will get his goals, but every goal Matthews scores Marner is getting a point.
Marner comes in at +2000 to win the Art Ross, so too me, this is the bet to make. Marner has consistently shown up on the score sheet game after game and I don’t see that changing this season.
People can comment about last season being an easy season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, “feasting on a weak division,” but in my opinion, they will be playing even worse teams this season.
The Ottawa Senators were the worst team in the Canadian Division last year and I think we can all agree that there are at least five other teams in the league that will be worse than the Senators this year.
Two of them are in the Atlantic division alone. It is conceivable that Marner finishes the year in the 110-120 points range and that could be enough to finish at the top of the league if McDavid misses any time. John Tavares gets an honorable mention here at a very appealing +10000 odds.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 16: The Hart Memorial Trophy is displayed at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino . (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Hart Trophy
At the beginning of last season, I loved the odds for Auston Matthews to win the Hart Trophy. I thought at around +1800 he had the best chances for the longest odds.
This year is a bit different as his odds have been as low as +600 and as high as +650 on WynnBET.com. While these are decent odds, Connor McDavid is only a little less at +240, and if he stays healthy all season he could easily reach 150 points and run away with the Hart.
This article is not about who the favorites are though, it’s about looking at the odds, and right now the best odds I see for a player on the Toronto Maple Leafs that could realistically win is Mitch Marner at +2200.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans may not want to hear that, with many fans spewing a lot of hatred towards Marner after another first round exit. No one can deny, though, that Marner had a near perfect regular season, and the Hart Trophy is a regular season award.
At odds like +2200, it does not seem that far fetched that Marner could take this trophy home this season. Especially if Matthews misses a bit of time with his wrist issues and Marner steps up in a big way, finishes at the top or even in the top 3 in scoring and the Toronto Maple Leafs finish at the top of their division, Marner could easily become a top target for Hart votes.
If we wanted to explore a little deeper, John Tavares as the captain of the Leafs and a proven leader and goal scorer could come into the conversation. If Matthews and Marner take a step back for any reason and Tavares steps up and leads the Toronto Maple Leafs in scoring, at +4000 odds, it could be a decent long shot.
However, if I were going long shot chances, I would rather take a flyer on one of the goaltenders running away with the starting job and leading this team to a highly prolific regular season. New addition Petr Mrazek comes in at +5000 on the odds board, which is enticing. I am looking at Jack Campbell, though, at a massively large +10000 odds to capture the Hart. It is highly unlikely, but if I am going to bet on a goalie walking away with the Hart Trophy, those are my favourite odds in the entire league.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 16: The James Norris Memorial Trophy . (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Norris Trophy
Last year the Norris Trophy went to Adam Fox, who certainly was not on anyone’s radar at the beginning of the season to come away with the award for the NHL’s best defenseman.
So it is not out of the realm of possibility that the favorite, Victor Hedman +650, may not be the favorite in April. On the Toronto Maple Leafs, it seems possible for only one player to have a legitimate shot at raising the Norris Trophy and that is Morgan Rielly.
Jake Muzzin and TJ Brodie are enticing at astronomical odds, but they are not flashy enough and do not possess enough offensive upside to be considered. Rielly sits at a reasonable +2200, just above Aaron Ekblad (+2000) and Shea Theodore (+2000), as three solid options as realistic Norris candidates.
Calder Trophy
The rookie class in the NHL this year is loaded with talent, and the Toronto Maple Leafs may give their rookie the best path to success. Nick Robertson at +1600 to win the Calder Trophy this season is an absolute steal.
The line may be this high because there is no real certainty that Robertson will play, since there is so much competition on the team at LW. If Robertson does play though, he will most likely be inserted into the top 6, and have an incredible opportunity to play with two extremely talented forwards, either Tavares/Nylander or Matthews/Marner. ]
Rookie forward such as Cole Caufield and Trevor Zegras are essentially at even money to win, which has no value at all. If Robertson does not end up playing this season, I would look a little further down the board at Quinton Byfield. Byfield’s odds are at +1200, and in my opinion he has as good an opportunity as Caufield or Zegras to be a Calder Trophy finalist.
Vezina Trophy
Finally, the individual award I am most intrigued by when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs, is the Vezina Trophy.
The award given to the best goalie in the league going to a goaltender from Toronto this year would be an incredible story. For this to happen one of Petr Mrazek (+1700) or Jack Campbell (+2500) would have to separate themselves as the number one man in Toronto.
The odds seem to predict that Mrazek has the better chance at breaking away and becoming the number one netminder, but that is not how I see it.
Campbell is already established on the Toronto Maple Leafs, after an incredible run last season and if he can carry that success into this season I see no reason why he would not be in the Vezina conversation at the end of the year.
With Mrazek pushing Campbell internally to be his absolute best every night, and Sheldon Keefe getting a legitimate full training camp to establish his system, we could see a stingy Maple Leafs team in front of a solid goaltending duo.
Next. 5 Best Case Scenarios for the Leafs This Season. dark
If either Mrazek or Campbell plays over 50 games this season, and I assume one of them will, that will be enough to propel them into Vezina candidacy.