Toronto Maple Leafs: Best Bets for the 2022-23 Season

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be starting training camp soon, and with that in mind, I thought we could talk about some of the best bets you could make this season.

The calendar has officially rolled into September, which sadly means the end of summer is near. Kids are going back to school, weather is getting cooler, days are getting shorter, and of course copious consumption of various pumpkin spiced food and drink. It’s not all doom and gloom though. September also means that the opening of NHL training camps are just around the corner, and another promising year for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I know,  every year starts off promising, and the Leafs brilliant play throughout the regular season slowly builds up hope for a strong playoff run, only to crush its fans in the must excruciating fashion. But this is why we love sports. Another season, another shot at redemption.

There are many enticing odds this year for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their players to compete for multiple awards. Some have shorter odds that seem like a lock, and some have longer odds that would require all of the stars aligning just right to happen. In this article, I want to take a look at some of the shorter odds future bets:

 Best Toronto Maple Leafs Bets

Auston Matthews to win the Rocket Richard: +270

This one is a lock. The odds are not great but unless Matthews is out for an extended amount of time it is a guarantee he finishes well ahead of everyone else in goals.

Last year coming off of wrist surgery Matthews had a slow start only scoring seven goals in his first 17 games. Matthews then went on a torrid stretch, scoring 51 goals in his next 50 games to finish the season with 60 goals in 73 games, 5 more goals than the second place Leon Draisaitl.

It will likely be too much to ask that Matthews play a full 82 games, but he proved last year that he doesn’t need a full season to win the Rocket. Lock it in at any plus money bet, it is a long term investment that is guaranteed to pay off. (stats from nhl.com).

Toronto  Maple Leafs to win division/conference: +200/+400

The Toronto Maple Leafs might not have had any playoff success, but they clearly have a great roster and are considered near favorites  to win their division and the Cup.

The bet to make here would be for the  Leafs to win the conference for +400 as opposed to the division for only +200. It seems likely that whomever wins the Atlantic division will likely win the conference, as has been the case every year since 2017.

Auston Matthews for the Hart Trophy: +450

It is rare in the NHL for a player to win back to back league MVP awards.

The last time that happened was in 2008/2009 when Alex Ovechkin won the Hart in back to back seasons. In those two seasons, Ovechkin lead the league in goals with 65 and 56 respectively, and in the second year lead his team to a franchise record breaking 108 point season.

So while winning back to back Hart Trophy’s is rare, it is not unprecedented. In fact, the precedent seems to be laid out perfectly for Auston Matthews to repeat as the league MVP. If our first two bets pan out, Matthews pushes 60 goals and wins the Rocket, and the   Leafs win the conference, then Matthews will undoubtedly be a front runner for MVP.

This relies on some improvement from the team as a whole, but with the expectations in net being the lowest it has been in the Matthews era, the narrative could be perceived as “Matthews takes the Maple Leafs on his back and leads them to a conference title”. If that doesn’t win you a Hart Trophy, I don’t know what will.

There you have it: three good bets to kick off the season.