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Sportsbooks rate the Flyers’ Stanley Cup chances as historically bad

Wynn had the Flyers at 50-1; Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel were at 60-1; PointsBet had 75-1. SuperBook has them at 100-1.

Brent Flahr, Flyers Vice President, left, and Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher. They've got their work cut out for them.
Brent Flahr, Flyers Vice President, left, and Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher. They've got their work cut out for them.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
    by Ed Barkowitz, For The Inquirer
    Published 

This isn’t breaking news, but the Flyers probably won’t win the Stanley Cup next season.

And Vegas’s odds on them aren’t just overwhelming, they’re historic. Even the pre-Lindros clubs, which started an unprecedented team skid of five consecutive losing seasons, was better regarded by the bookies than what they and their customers think is in store for the 2022-23 Flyers.

This isn’t about them winning. It’s how remote those chances are.

A check of various sportsbooks recently found that Wynn had the Flyers at 50-1; Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel were at 60-1; PointsBet had 75-1.

» READ MORE: Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher backs up his words with actions at the NHL draft

SuperBook, which has an impressive brick-and-mortar shop in Vegas, has an online license in New Jersey. They had the Flyers at 100-1.

What in the name of Dominic Roussel is going on here?

“The Flyers are a team that refuses to accept a rebuild and have been trying to put a Band-Aid on things for 20+ years,” said Ed Salmons, Superbook’s vice president of risk management.

According to SportsOddsHistory, which has odds from various sources dating back to 1984, this is the longest shot the Flyers ever have been in the preseason. More recently, they track MGM’s odds, which have the Flyers at 66-1.

Last season, the Flyers were 30-1 and posted the second-worst season in franchise history, according to their .372 points percentage. They fired a coach and traded the longest-serving captain in team history. It must kill Salmons, a 1980 graduate of West Deptford High, to make the Flyers 100-1.

» READ MORE: Wrong guy. Wrong time. Wrong reasons. Flyers’ trade for Tony DeAngelo is a mistake in every way | Mike Sielski

“Not really,” the bookie shrugged. “They [haven’t been contenders] for a long time.”

Flyers’ longest preseason odds ever

  1. 2015-16: Were 60-1 before the season and going with a coach right out of college. They were as high as 100-1 on March 1, but closed on a 15-5-3 burst to make the playoffs. The Flyers were eliminated by Washington in the first round.

  2. 1991-92: Were 50-1 preseason when there were just 22 teams in the league. Finished last in the Patrick Division. Lindros arrived the following season.

  3. 2017-18: Were 40-1 preseason, and overcame a 10-game midseason losing streak to make the playoffs. Pittsburgh eliminated them in the first round.

  4. 2007-08: Were 40-1 before the season, but made it to the conference finals with stirring series wins over Washington and Montreal. Eventually lost to Pittsburgh when defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn were injured.

  5. 1994-95: Were 35-1 preseason, but the “Legion of Doom” formed when John LeClair arrived in a trade and the Flyers made it to the conference finals. So maybe there’s hope for 2022-23 after all.

» READ MORE: Drafting Cutter Gauthier adds action behind the Flyers’ ‘hard to play against’ refrain

Superbook’s odds for the 2023 Stanley Cup

  1. 7-2: Colorado

  2. 8-1: Toronto

  3. 10-1: Florida, Tampa Bay

  4. 12-1: Vegas

  5. 16-1: Carolina, Edmonton, N.Y. Rangers

  6. 18-1: Minnesota, St. Louis

  7. 20-1: Calgary

  8. 25-1: Boston, Pittsburgh

  9. 30-1: Los Angeles, Washington

  10. 40-1: Dallas, N.Y. Islanders

  11. 50-1: Vancouver

  12. 60-1: Buffalo, Detroit

  13. 80-1: New Jersey

  14. 100-1: Flyers, Anaheim, Columbus, Montreal, Nashville, Ottawa, Winnipeg

  15. 200-1: Chicago, San Jose, Seattle

  16. 500-1: Arizona

This & That

  1. The annual SBC Summit North America takes place Wednesday and Thursday at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J. The event brings together leaders and industry insiders to discuss all things sports betting. It’s about a 90-minute train ride from Center City. Tickets in advance are $595 for a single-day pass, $795 for both days. Add an extra $100 for purchases at the door. Visit SBCEvents.com for more information.

  2. The Orioles have won eight in a row, including five in which they were basically a pick ‘em. The schedule gets tougher. After a quick two-game set in Chicago against the sagging Cubs, their next three series are against the Rays and Yankees. They entered Monday two games back of the final wild-card spot. Caesars’ Sunday night line on them to make the playoffs was 25-1.

  3. DraftKings has Tiger Woods at 40-1 to win this week’s British Open. FanDuel and BetMGM are at 50-1. Circa, which is licensed only in Nevada, Colorado and Iowa, has him at 140-1 and are allowing bets up to $1,000. You’re better off putting it on the Flyers. “You’d be hard pressed to find longer odds anywhere else in the world,” sportsbook operations manager Jeffrey Benson said.