Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

PHT Oddsmaker: Let’s gamble on the NHL

Bruce Boudreau

Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau talks during a news conference at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va., Thursday, May 5, 2011. The Capitals we swept out of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning, losing Game 4 at Tampa on Wednesday night.(AP Photo/Luis M.

AP

PHT Oddsmaker will be a regular feature where we set pretend odds and pretend to gamble on them. If you’d like to bet real money, meet us in the alley and we’ll talk.

Odds Bruce Boudreau will be fired before the playoffs (+300)

You wouldn’t normally speculate about a coach getting fired when his team is 8-2-0. But here’s something else that normally doesn’t happen: a superstar getting caught on TV calling his coach a...well, you know what he called him. Add to the equation Boudreau’s inability to get the Caps past the second round despite three straight spectacular regular seasons, and the potential for a mid-season change is definitely there. Ovechkin will be the key to Boudreau’s future. Clearly coach and captain aren’t on the same page right now. The question is, does Ovechkin still respect his coach? I’ll pass on this one, because winning is the only thing that really matters. That said, we saw the Caps go into a funk last season. If that happens again, I’ll regret not jumping all over this.

Odds the Bruins miss the playoffs (+400)

Don’t automatically dismiss the possibility. Chicago barely made it last year. The Bruins (4-7-0) currently sit tied for last in the Eastern Conference, four points back of eighth-place Buffalo, which has a game in hand on the defending champs. Now consider a few of the other teams currently on the outside looking in: the Lightning, Rangers, Canadiens and Devils. All half-decent sides. Granted, the Leafs, Sens, Panthers and/or Hurricanes could easily fall out of the top eight, but I’ll still put a few bucks on this. The east is a tougher conference than it was last season and the B’s have already dug themselves a decent-sized hole.

Odds Jarome Iginla is traded by the deadline (+200)

Common sense tells me Iginla should want out. He’s never won a Stanley Cup and the Flames are a long way from winning one. He’s also 34 years old, so his chances are running out, as are the Flames’ chances of trading him for something worthwhile in return. Iginla has two years left, including this one, on a contract with a $7 million annual cap hit. There are teams out there that would be interested, whether they’ve got the cap space now or not. Of course, there are other factors at play. Iginla clearly likes playing in Calgary and the Flames clearly like him in their organization. Winning a Stanley Cup isn’t everything for some players. Sometimes franchise loyalty and staying in a city that’s become home is more important. I think I’ll pass on this one. It’s too hard to picture him in a different uniform.