First and foremost, apologies for the lack of a top-10 entry last week, we slid into a little Canada Day hiatus but fear not, fantasy fanatics, we're here all summer long to make sure GMs of all skill and experience levels have the tools needed to assemble a winning squad come the fall. With that said, perusing the following 10 NHL teams is likely a good place to start in terms of mining the right clubs for fantasy gold, so let's take a look at the top-10 teams in the league today solely based on the latest Vegas odds.

10. Vegas Golden Knights (+1700)

When a team boasts a beastmode blue-line core like the one the Vegas Golden Knights run out on a nightly basis, that franchise will automatically be in the conversation as a group with Cup aspirations. Noah Hanifin, Alex Pietrangelo, and Shea Theodore form a rock-solid top-three who all bring excellent categorical coverage in banger fantasy leagues. However, the losses of solid security-blanket netminder Logan Thompson, former Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault, and key bottom-six forwards in Michael Amadio, William Carrier, and Anthony Mantha, leaves this team's overall depth in question heading into the upcoming season. The Knights dragged a very good Dallas Stars team through a first-round battle only two months ago, so don't be surprised when they are in the postseason mix once again.

9. Nashville Predators (+1600)

Deemed the big winners of this summer's free agency sweepstakes, the Nashville Predators clearly landed the most premier combination of names once the July first window opened in Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, and the aforementioned Marchessault. Sprinkle in a locked-down number one fantasy goaltending option in Juuse Saros (35-24-5 record, 2.86 goals-against average, .906 save percentage last year) and a perennial Norris Trophy threat on the backend in Roman Josi and the Preds have transformed from bubble playoff team to the club with the ninth-shortest odds on Vegas betting boards to take home Lord Stanley next season. Can all these big-names and new faces gel in short order and turn Nashville into a Western Conference juggernaut in a matter of months? Surely this is going to be one of the NHL's biggest storylines to monitor throughout the upcoming 2024-23 campaign. 

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (+1500)

Considering the longer odds for seemingly better teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, and even Boston Bruins that don't make the top 10, Vegas having the Maple Leafs at eighth-shortest odds almost feels like clickbait. Sure, Toronto touts the best goal scorer in the NHL today in Auston Matthews and there is a lot to like about the offensive fantasy value of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, and others, but the Buds goaltending duo of Joseph Woll and newly-added Anthony Stolarz is a powder-keg-like situation that will undoubtedly be at the crux of the success, or lack thereof, for the Leafs.


7. New York Rangers (+1400)

The Rangers mostly held pat over the past week and things in New York are quiet for a reason: they're set to run back a seriously good team with basically the same lineup that propelled them to the top spot in the NHL last season as Presidents' Trophy winners with one of the best goaltenders in the league in Igor Shesterkin. Straight up, in our opinion, the Blue Shirts should be higher on this list and will most definitely be a team that is heard from coming out of the Eastern Conference next spring.


6. Carolina Hurricanes (+1400)

Safe to say this offseason has been a rough one for the front office in Raleigh. Don Waddell bolted for a brighter future in Columbus and left new GM Eric Tulsky to pick up the pieces, resulting in Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, and Brett Pesce to all find new homes. Tulsky and the Canes still have a bullet in the chamber with restricted free-agent forward Martin Necas and the additions of defensemen Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere offer some fantasy intrigue and value, but the fact remains the Canes are a worse team now than they were two weeks ago, one that could be left on the cutting room floor come April in a much-improved Eastern Conference.

5. Colorado Avalanche (+1100)

We're keeping this one short and sweet: is Alexandar Georgiev the guy to carry a team to the Stanley Cup? Even with first-round-level fantasy stars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen, the answer is still no. However, those three are good enough to get them close and for that they fall into the deserving five slot. Keep all eyes peeled on newly-extended pivot Casey Mittelstadt who definitely fits the bill as an under-the-radar breakout candidate that is likely to get some serious special teams time with one of the most-lethal power-play units in the game today.

4. New Jersey Devils (+1100)

The Devils were already big winners of the offseason even before the NHL's free agency window opened when they landed the best goaltender on the market in Jacob Markstrom, and then front-office savant Tom Fitzgerald added size and toughness to an already stacked blue line with Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon. In addition to his extremely balanced and talented rearguard unit, Markstrom now anchors a team loaded with young offensive firepower in the likes of hot fantasy commodities Dawson Mercer, Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and others. If new Devils bench boss Sheldon Keefe can push all the buttons, New Jersey has everything it needs to go on a very deep run – at least on paper.

3. Dallas Stars (+1000), 2. Florida Panthers (+950), 1. Edmonton Oilers (+850)

We're grouping this explanation into one short and sweet section for obvious reasons. Any one of the Stars, Panthers, or Oilers would have been deserving 2024 Stanley Cup Champions. However, all the credit in the world is due to Paul Maurice and his team for not only being one of the hardest groups to play against each night, but for also running out one of the more balanced lineups we've seen lift a Cup for the last handful of seasons. As for next year, all three of these clubs will be in the mix once again but with the additions of Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to the deadliest offensive lineups in the league in Edmonton, the Oilers have earned the right to be called favourites heading into the upcoming season.