Hockey fans rejoice, the lockout is over! The lockout was a long one but our handicappers have not taken their eyes off the proverbial puck. We are geared up and ready to have a profitable accelerated NHL season. Hockey is one of the least bet on sports along with baseball. This means that bookies spend less time setting the lines and our systems penetrate the holes. Last season, our NHL winning percentage was an outstanding 76.5%. This is an unheard of winning percentage for handicapping any sport. Our expert handicappers are back with their lethal systems to lock in another winning season. StumptheSpread.com dominated the playoffs last year as well with a killer 84% winning percentage. While these numbers are going to be tough to obtain again, we will be working hard to secure solid numbers and keep you in the green.
The NHL season is slated to start on January 19th, 2013. Be on the cutting edge of our NHL systems by purchasing the Full Post-Lockout Special NHL Season including the playoffs for just $219.99. Or receive these hockey picks by purchasing a One Month All Sports Package or a One Month NHL Premium Package.
Handicapping potential champions is always challenging but there are certainly valuable spots when it comes to these long term projections. We'll offer two potential Stanley Cup values.
The St. Louis Blues were massively impacted by the first lockout of the last two decades. After making the playoffs for 20 straight seasons they were an abysmal team and failed to come close to a playoff appearance. The management of the St. Louis Blues and Doug Armstrong have made some incredible moves over the past years and have quietly positioned the Blues as a top tier NHL team again. The Blues are practically bringing back the entire squad from the successful campaign of last season while cutting the fat and adding some great talent. St. Louis made a significant playoff run last year and while there did not appear to be a hotter team going into the playoffs, star goalie Jaroslav Halak became injured and the Blues ran into the brick wall that was the Los Angeles Kings. St. Louis sported a two goalie system last season and while I was shocked initially when I heard they picked up Brian Elliot, he made a complete turn around and was an all-star goalie however I do think Halak's injury in the playoffs is what ultimately resulted in the Kings sweeping them. Both goalies will return with the Blues this season and there is not a better 1-2 punch in the league right now. Moving forward to the defense, Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk (possibly the two best young defensemen in the league) will be returning although there contracts are a bit of a mess right now, they will be signed. Another solid move the Blues made was getting rid of former 1st round draft pick of the Maple Leafs, Carlo Colaiacovo and moving up Ian Cole from the minors. Cole is the real deal and I am glad to see him take Carlo's spot. Carlo was a solid defensivemen but he had a knack for making terrible decisions in key spots in the game whether that be taking a dumb penalty or an errand pass. The Blues will benefit from his absence. St. Louis didn't make any big moves in free agency to pick up defensive talent because they have a solid group and know Petriangelo and Shattenkirk will deserve top dollar contracts. St. Louis was able to retain their core young offensive players including Tj Oshie, David Perron, Patrick Berglund, Ryan Reaves, and Chris Stewart. The Blues locked up young stars Oshie and Perron for 5 and 4 years respectively. This is a great group of guys with solid chemistry and minor league all star Jaden Swartz will be moved up to play with the big boys. The time he has spend in the minors should show that he is ready for the NHL and we look forward to seeing his contributions. Captain David Backes is also one of the most overlooked players in the NHL, his leadership is unmatched. The biggest offensive news the Blues have this offseason is bringing over 21 year old KHL all star Vladimir Tarasenko. Whether he will play this year or not is unseen but this is the missing piece for St. Louis. Tarasenko is a lethal scorer, putting up 99 points in the KHL over 175 games. Tarasenko is a top end weapon and is poised to be a superstar in the NHL. Coach Ken Hitchock will be coming back for two more years and that is huge news. He went 43-15-11 after taking over the Blues and completely changed the atmosphere and culture of the St. Louis franchise in a short amount of time. The Blues have a great foundation set and have built upon it tremendously. St. Louis has top end goalies, top end defense, and an explosive offense. They will be a force to be reckoned with in this short season and our systems predict them at 9/1 to win the Cup. Give them a shot at their current price of 16/1.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have had one of the busiest off seasons in the NHL with GM Steve Yzerman at the helm. He's added some key players including stiffening up the blue line with huge additions of Matt Carle and Sami Salo. Anders Lindback was selected in the first round and he has some great potential to be a starting goalie in the NHL. Yzerman also added some grit with forwards BJ Crombeen and Benoit Pouliot. The biggest question is how all these pieces will mesh with the accelerated schedule and much less practice time. For that question, I have Lightning coach Guy Boucher as an answer who is possibly one of the most cerebral and underrated coaches in the league. We all remember that hideous Philadelphia vs. Tampa Bay last year. Boucher will have this team ready to go and with a core of veterans like the Lightning have, they'll get their act together and put together a playoff run. Our systems have the Lightning projected at 15/1 which makes the current price of 28/1 a serious bargain.
Be on the look out for the rise of the Blues and Lightning this season. StumptheSpread is 24-10 +63 units in the L8 days and looking forward to dominating the ice.
No comments:
Post a Comment