Once the 2023-24 season came to an official close with the Florida Panthers hoisting the Stanley Cup, Vegas oddsmakers quickly turned their focus to the teams they believed would be fighting for Lord Stanley in 2024-25.
The New York Islanders opened up with underdog odds to make the dance at +110, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
But things have changed.
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As of July 24, the Islanders are now favorites to qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at -105. We don’t know the exact reason for DraftKings’ odd flip, but it’s clear that the Islanders went from not being respected by the books to earning respect.
The Islanders have made the playoffs in five of the last six seasons, and with a roster that hasn’t subtracted any pieces—adding two forwards in Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov, along with retaining defenseman Mike Reilly–this team should qualify for one of the eight postseason spots.
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Just looking at last season alone, many quickly forget the Islanders were comfortably in a playoff spot until the holiday break which is where all seemed to go downhill after. Not to mention, the team had an extraordinary number of blown leads which single-handedly forced them to have to play catch up for the last two months of the season just to even get into the playoffs.
On top of that, the team went through a head coaching change along with watching their star goaltender, Ilya Sorokin, have an extremely underwhelming season, an outlier season if you will. Despite the nightmarish portions of a roller-coasting regular season, the team still found themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division, clinching another playoff appearance.
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Looking at the upcoming season, the division-rival New Jersey Devils took strides this offseason and should be much improved after missing the postseason by 10 points. The Carolina Hurricanes, who ended the season as the second seed in the Metro before defeating the Islanders in five games in the First Round, lost many key players, and it’s likely they won’t be as dominant.
The cross-town rival New York Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy before losing to the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final after five games, didn’t have the necessary cap space to add much, and it will be tough to be as dominant again.
Looking at the Atlantic Division, it is safe to say Florida, the Boston Bruins, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are, on paper, the three best teams in the division.
A possible wild-card race could include the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Detroit Red Wings, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Ottawa Ottawa, along with a few teams like the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, the latter two from the Metro.
The Islanders beat out every one of these teams last season, even with all the major obstacles this team faced. With none of these teams adding major upgrades aside from Washington, it is difficult not to slot the Islanders into at least a wild card spot.
If you grabbed the Islanders at +110, you may have come up with a steal.
As of now, you can still get them at +110 on FanDuel, but likely not for long.
Getting them now at -105 is still a very generous line, as it wouldn’t be a shock to see them enter opening night (Oct. 10 vs. Utah Hockey Club) at -120.
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