The majority of NHL teams have played their 41st game to mark the crossing of the season's halfway point.

As the All-Star break quickly approaches, let's take a look at who the betting market views as Stanley Cup contenders and pretenders.

Stanley Cup odds

Odds via theScore Bet and ESPN Bet. Teams above +10000 are not listed.

Three teams have odds shorter than +1000 - the Avalanche, Bruins, and Rangers - meaning they have an implied winning probability of over 10%.

Of the three, only the Avs, who were +900 at the beginning of the season, opened the year in this range. The Rangers were +1400 and the Bruins were +1600 before the season started, which were eight and nine on the oddsboard, respectively. But with the two teams holding the top two spots in the Eastern Conference standings, the betting market has reacted accordingly.

The Hurricanes opened the year as slight Stanley Cup favorites at +800 but have drifted to +1200 as they sit fifth in the Eastern Conference at 24-14-5. The Maple Leafs, who were +900 to start the season, have also drifted to +1200. However, not one of the preseason favorites has fallen down the oddsboard more than than Devils.

New Jersey has battled injuries all season long and, after beginning the year at +900, is now +2000 with a 22-16-3 record, which puts them in 12th in the Eastern Conference and two points out of the second wild-card spot.

As for teams in the West other than Colorado, the Oilers began the year at +900 and fell all the way down to +2000 when they sat at 5-12-1 near the end of November. But thanks to their current 11-game winning streak, they are back among the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup.

The biggest movers in the West are by far the Canucks and Jets. They both opened the year at +6000 and have shortened drastically to +1600. They sit first and second in the league with 62 points each, but the Jets' game in hand currently gives them a slight edge in the standings.

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Auston Matthews is the clear-cut favorite to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy after the Maple Leafs sniper became the first to reach 25 goals this season on Tuesday night.

Matthews is even money to lead the NHL in goals based on betting odds at theScore Bet, which equates to an implied probability of 50%.

"Rocket" Richard Trophy odds

Matthews' outing against the Rangers was his third straight two-goal contest, extending his scoring streak to five games. He has 11 goals in his last seven contests and is on pace to reach 60 goals for the second time in his career.

Brock Boeser is only two goals behind Matthews but is much further down the bettingboard. At +1200, Boeser is only given a 7.7% implied probability of catching Matthews.

David Pastrnak is Matthews' stiffest competition, according to the odds. Pastrnak potted a career-high 61 goals last season, but he'll have to find another gear if he's going to match that total. He's on pace to score 51.

Despite only having 11 goals in 27 games, oddsmakers are giving Connor McDavid plenty of respect at +900. McDavid won the "Rocket" last season with 64 tallies.

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With the NHL's holiday break approaching, it feels like a natural time to look at how three awards markets - the Hart, Norris, and Calder - stand as we head into the new year.

The markets we'll focus on all feature a common name: Hughes.

The trio of brothers - Jack, Quinn, and Luke - are all in the running to claim hardware at the end of the season. The odds are heavily stacked against them, but could the Hughes brothers pull off an unprecedented sweep?

Let's dive in.

Hart Trophy odds

Odds via theScore Bet

Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid are co-favorites in the Hart Trophy market, with David Pastrnak and Jack Hughes hot on their tails.

Kucherov tops the NHL in points and is three short of the league lead in goals. He carried a Lightning team that struggled - relative to expectations - early in the season as it awaited Andrei Vasilevskiy's return. Kucherov's a deserving candidate but far from a sure thing at this point in the season.

As long as McDavid is healthy and the Oilers are winning games, the league's best player will always be in the Hart conversation.

As for Jack Hughes, he led the NHL in points before an upper-body injury caused him to miss multiple games. While his 37 points don't place him in the top 10 overall, he sits third in points per game behind Kucherov and McDavid.

For Jack to have any shot at winning this award, he needs to stay healthy for the rest of the season and the Devils, currently sitting outside a wild-card spot, have to make the playoffs. Jack's +600 odds suggest he has roughly a 14% chance of being honored as the league's MVP.

Norris Trophy odds

Quinn Hughes is the favorite to win top-defenseman honors. He leads all blueliners in goals (nine) and assists (30) while captaining the Canucks' hot start. Vancouver is battling with the Golden Knights for the Pacific Division lead.

Cale Makar entered the season as the +200 betting favorite to win his second Norris Trophy and is neck and neck with Hughes. Makar trails the Canucks defenseman by two points for the league lead.

The Norris appears to be a two-man race between Western Conference foes. However, Evan Bouchard has an outside chance to throw his name into the hat if he can continue to rack up points alongside McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers' power play.

Either way, the battle for the Norris between two of the league's best young stars will be one to watch for the remainder of the season.

Calder Trophy odds

The Calder will be the toughest for a Hughes family member to claim as Connor Bedard is a -350 favorite - a 77.8% implied probability - to win the NHL's top rookie award.

Bedard has 26 points in 30 games for the Blackhawks, who sit last in the NHL with 19 points. The 2023 first overall pick is doing all he can to carry Chicago, but the team lacks talent in all areas. Bedard simply cannot do it on his own.

Luke Hughes is Bedard's closest competitor on the oddsboard at +1100. The Devils defenseman has 16 points in 29 games while playing alongside his brother Jack. Luke was +700 to win the Calder before the season, but Bedard's sensational play caused his odds to lengthen.

If you were to parlay each Hughes brother to win the Hart, Norris, and Calder, the odds would be roughly +17000, or an implied probability of under 1%. Sweeping these three awards is very unlikely for the Hughes family, but the odds are still greater than zero!

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Auston Matthews overtook Connor McDavid as the favorite to lead the NHL in goals after his hat trick performance against the Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Matthews is now +250 to McDavid's +260 to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy at theScore Bet with 81 games remaining on the schedule. Prior to Wednesday's slate of games, McDavid was +200, and Matthews was +350.

Odds via theScore Bet

McDavid and his Oilers were also in action on Wednesday but were blown out 8-1 by the Canucks. McDavid assisted on Leon Draisaitl's lone goal for the Oilers.

Now, is one game enough to warrant this type of reaction? Probably not. But Matthews is essentially getting a three-goal head start on McDavid for the remainder of the season.

If McDavid doesn't replicate his 64-goal season from last year, Matthews' three goals from Wednesday could prove to be the difference.

For the first five seasons of Matthews' career, 13 goals was the most the two were separated by. Either Matthews or McDavid has led the league in goals each of the past three seasons.

Meanwhile, the Canucks' Brock Boeser, who potted four goals on McDavid's Oilers Wednesday, wasn't even listed as a betting option to win the "Rocket" Richard Trophy prior to the season. He's now +2500 as the 10th favorite on the oddsboard.

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We've covered the Atlantic, Metropolitan, and Central Divisions, which leaves us with the Pacific as the last one to cover before regular-season games start on Oct. 10.

The group out west is headlined by the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights and one of this year's top favorites, the Oilers.

The betting market suggests these two powerhouses should be fighting for the division crown all season.

Futures

The Oilers head into another campaign with Stanley Cup aspirations. Connor McDavid is coming off the best season of his career, tallying 153 points and winning his third MVP award. Alongside Leon Draisaitl, this duo is by far the best one-two punch in the league.

However, Edmonton's core lacks playoff success. The team's reached the conference finals only once in McDavid's eight-year career, getting swept by the Avalanche in 2022.

Oddsmakers are giving the Oilers a 10% chance of winning their first Cup since 1990.

The Golden Knights hoisted their first Stanley Cup last season in the franchise's sixth campaign. A large portion of the roster is returning, and the betting market believes Vegas has a 7.7% chance of repeating.

Defending isn't all that uncommon. Two teams - Lightning and Penguins - have won back-to-back Cups in the past eight years.

To Make The Playoffs

The betting market indicates that three teams from the Pacific should make the playoffs. The Kings have an implied probability of 80% before a steep drop off to the remainder of the clubs.

The Flames, Kraken, and Canucks appear to have a decent chance of reaching the postseason. Only Seattle made the playoffs of this group last season.

What could work in this trio's favor is that two of the worst teams in the NHL are also in the Pacific. Playing additional games against the Ducks and Sharks is a luxury that clubs on the bubble in the Central Division don't have. Those extra contests could prove extremely important when the wild-card spots are up for grabs late in the campaign.

The Sharks (+275) and Ducks (+350) are the favorites to have the worst regular-season record.

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We've already previewed the Atlantic Division, so let's look at the other teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Metropolitan Division boasts two of the top four Stanley Cup favorites and four clubs priced under +2000 to win it all, making it - in oddsmakers' eyes - the best division in hockey.

The Hurricanes are the favorites to hoist the Cup, and the Devils share the second shortest odds with three other teams.

Futures odds

All odds via theScore Bet.

The Canes narrowly edged the Devils for the division crown last season and made it to the Eastern Conference Final before getting swept by the Panthers. They didn't lose anyone notable in the offseason but managed to bolster their blueline by signing Dmitry Orlov.

The Devils have one of the youngest rosters in the league and added two top-line forwards to their opening-day roster from last year. They re-signed Timo Meier, who they acquired at the previous trade deadline, and traded for Tyler Toffoli in the offseason after his 73-point 2022-23 campaign with the Flames.

The Rangers and Penguins are expected to be the next two best teams in the Metropolitan.

New York went for it all last season by acquiring Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko before the deadline. However, it was ousted in the first round of the playoffs, and neither of those names are on the roster heading into this campaign. Blake Wheeler and Nick Bonino are the team's two biggest offseason additions, meaning the Rangers will likely need Vezina Trophy candidate Igor Shesterkin to be the league's best goalie for a second time to make some noise.

The Penguins made a splash by landing Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in what could be the last best chance Pittsburgh has of winning another Cup with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin up the middle.

To Make The Playoffs

The betting market believes the top four teams in the Metropolitan have a great chance of making the playoffs. The Penguins -200 odds (66.7% implied probability) are the longest of the group.

The Islanders, who have made the postseason in four of the past five seasons, are sitting at even money to clinch a playoff spot. Their +2500 odds of winning the Eastern Conference puts them in the same neighborhood as the Senators and Red Wings, according to the betting market.

The aging Capitals, who missed the playoffs for the first time last campaign since the 2013-14 season, aren't expected to contend with the Hurricanes or Devils but are given a 30.8% chance of making the playoffs.

As for the Blue Jackets and Flyers, they're expected to be two of the worst teams in the league.

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The start of the new NHL season is a week away, with regular-season action beginning Oct. 10.

We'll prep you for the lengthy 82-game campaign by previewing each of the four divisions from a betting perspective and evaluating what the odds say about each team's outlook.

Let's start with the Atlantic Division.

Futures odds

The betting market believes the Maple Leafs are the best team in the Atlantic, making them favorites to win the division at +175 (36.5% implied probability).

Toronto changed its general manager but didn't make any other drastic overhauls to a roster that was bounced in disappointing fashion to the Panthers in the second round of last year's postseason. However, they did add some "snot" - as new GM Brad Treliving likes to call it - with the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Ryan Reaves.

Oddsmakers believe those changes are enough for the team to dethrone the reigning Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins. Boston has some question marks this year after losing captain Patrice Bergeron and longtime centerman David Krejci to retirement. The Bruins were also upset by the 8-seed Panthers in the playoffs last year after setting an NHL record for most regular-season points.

The Panthers appear to be the third-best team in this division based on the odds. They marched to the Stanley Cup Final last season before losing to the Golden Knights.

To make the playoffs

The top three teams in the division are heavy favorites to make the playoffs. The Panthers at -220 (68.8% implied probability) have the worst chance of the trio, according to the betting market.

Oddsmakers seem to believe the Lightning will take a step back in 2023-24. A 59.2% implied probability of making the playoffs is very low for a team that won two of the last four Stanley Cups. The loss of Andrei Vasilevskiy for two months due to back surgery may be a large reason why. However, given the experience of the Lightning's core, they have to be included as favorites to win the division.

There's a gap in the odds of winning the division after the Lightning. The Sabres, Senators, and Red Wings are all trending in the right direction but may be a year or two away from contending with the Atlantic's top teams.

It's worth noting the Senators have better odds of making the playoffs than the Sabres but worse odds of winning the Eastern Conference and Stanley Cup.

After recording only 68 points last year and receiving the fifth pick in the 2023 draft, the betting market is expecting the Canadiens to struggle once again. Their +20000 odds of winning the Stanley Cup are ahead of only the Ducks, Coyotes, and Sharks.

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The New Jersey Devils traded forward Wayne Simmonds to the Buffalo Sabres, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

In return, the Devils receive a conditional 2021 fifth-round pick that could become a fourth if the Sabres make the playoffs and Simmonds plays 10 games, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. The Devils will also retain 50% of Simmonds' $5-million cap hit, TSN's Pierre LeBrun adds.

The 31-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Devils in the offseason. He recorded eight goals and 16 assists in 61 games for New Jersey.

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Despite an unknown future with the New York Rangers, winger Chris Kreider - who has one year left on his contract - is expected to remain with the team through at least training camp.

"I totally expect him to be in camp," Rangers president John Davidson said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "He's got one year left, and that should be a whole lot of importance to him to come in and have a great camp and a great year, and we'll just see where it all goes."

The 28-year-old Kreider is set to be paid $4.625 million for the 2019-20 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. It was reported in late July that no discussions about a contract extension have taken place.

Kreider became expendable once the Rangers signed forward Artemi Panarin to a seven-year deal. New York now has slightly over $1 million in cap space available, according to CapFriendly.com.

In their ongoing attempt to create salary-cap relief, the Rangers cleared almost $5.2 million by buying out the final two years of Kevin Shattenkirk's contract.

Neither Davidson nor general manager Jeff Gorton ruled out the possibility of trading Kreider during the season, according to Rosen.

Kreider has spent his entire eight-year career with the Rangers, collecting 271 points in 460 games. He tallied 28 goals last year to set a career high.

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Although then-Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said Sidney Crosby told him his breath smelled bad during the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, it was Crosby who was left with a bad taste in his mouth.

The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar recently admitted to being bothered by Subban's accusation following the Predators' Game 3 win of that series.

"Yeah, I was a little irritated by it," Crosby said on Barstool Sports' Spittin' Chiclets podcast. "I mean, I think you could tell at the time when I was doing the interviews. It was just the last thing I wanted to be talking about. But I mean, maybe that was part of it.

"(Subban) had said something to (Jake Guentzel while) leaving the ice, and I just went to kind of get in the middle and try to break them up. He kind of kept saying stuff, and him and I went at it. Nothing was said even remotely close to that, but then to read that after, it was like, 'Oh okay, I'm going to have to answer (questions) about this.'"

Crosby, at the time, denied making fun of Subban's breath. In February 2018 of the following season, the blue-liner admitted to making the whole thing up.

The Penguins defeated the Predators in six games in 2017 to give Crosby his third-career Stanley Cup victory. The win likely helped the recently-turned 32-year-old to look back and laugh about the incident.

"He still jokes about it - we were just at the awards and he was still joking around about it. I mean, it is what it is. … That's just mind games, it's nothing. Me and him had some good run-ins throughout the whole series, I was playing a lot against him. I don't have anything against him for that. I just was kind of annoyed that I had to answer about it."

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