The NHL is comprised of 32 professional hockey teams spread across the United States and Canada. The league is divided into two conferences – the East and the West, which each have two divisions. The NHL Eastern Conference has teams in the Eastern time zone situated in the Atlantic Division and Metropolitan Division.

The Eastern Conference came to be in 1974 when the NHL realigned after two new teams joined the NHL, bringing the number of teams to 18. They have been realigned many times as the number of teams continued to grow – until the 1993 season, where Commissioner Gary Bettman made a few changes to the division names.

It’s a toss-up between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs to win the 2024 Eastern title. Both teams have the chops to win the title and move on to the Stanley Cup Finals, but the big variable to keep in mind is that teams have had extensive time off and upsets are possible with the new format for the playoffs.

nhl east

How to Bet on 2023/24 NHL Eastern Conference Odds

When betting on the odds to win the NHL Eastern Conference, you will be placing a wager called a futures bet. Futures are a popular betting option for most professional sports as you can attempt to predict the winner of a game, tournament, or league months or even a year in advance – and if you’re right, you could be looking at a great payout.

It’s common for futures to have much higher odds than a regular game sports bet due to the increased risk and difficulty to predict the winner of an event that far in advance. The good thing about futures is that you can always cash out your bet if you change your mind or feel you made a mistake, but the longer you wait to cash out, the less of your money you’ll get back. The more time between your bet and the event, the more money your bet would be worth.

If you understand NHL odds, you are already well on your way to betting on the Eastern Conference Champions.

2023/24 Eastern Conference

Check the Eastern Conference’s divisions’ odds below. The odds were last updated on January 8, 2024:

NHL – Eastern Conference 2023/2024 MyBookie
New York Rangers +475
Toronto Maple Leafs +600
Boston Bruins +500
Carolina Hurricanes +550
Florida Panthers +500
New Jersey Devils +900
Tampa Bay Lightning +1200
Pittsburgh Penguins +2000
New York Islanders +2100
Ottawa Senators +3700

NHL Eastern Conference odds

The Atlantic Division Odds

The Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference has a confusing history. The division was founded in 1993 when Gary Bettman realigned the conferences and divisions. But when this happened, the original Atlantic Division was turned into the Metropolitan Division, and a new Atlantic Division was formed.

Teams from the dissolved Southeast division were moved to the Atlantic Division, and they added the Detroit Red Wings from the Central division of the Western Conference.

2023/24 Atlantic Division Winners Odds

Event BetUS
Boston Bruins -105
Florida Panthers +185
Toronto Maple Leafs +450
Tampa Bay Lightning +4500
Detroit Red Wings +11000
Buffalo Sabres +25000
Ottawa Senators +25000
Montreal Canadiens +25000

Only four teams have made the NHL playoffs from the Atlantic Division. The two top NHL Eastern Conference contenders are in this category, so it will be a tough battle for that title – and certainly one to keep an eye on if you plan to bet on the Atlantic Division title.

Metropolitan Division Odds

The Metropolitan division was formed in 2013 after the old Atlantic Division was renamed. As the division with the most rivalries in the NHL, it is always an exciting division to bet on in the NHL.

2023/24 Metropolitan Division Winners Odds

Event BetUS
New York Rangers -210
Carolina Hurricanes +370
New Jersey Devils +1200
New York Islanders +1900
Pittsburgh Penguins +2200
Philadelphia Flyers +4100
Washington Capitals +9000
Columbus Blue Jackets +25000

The Capitals and Flyers are favored to win the Metropolitan Division and face off against the Atlantic division winner for the Eastern Conference title. The Penguins aren’t far behind at +250, meaning you could get some great value if Crosby and company show up to play in August.

NHL Eastern Conference picks

What Are The Current Eastern Conference Standings

Top Online Sportsbooks for Betting on the NHL Eastern Conference

If you’re here, you’re likely looking to bet on the NHL Eastern Conference or any of the divisional odds listed above. The first thing you’ll need to do is find an online sportsbook to place your wagers.

Some feel that online sportsbooks aren’t trustworthy, but that is far from the truth. Many of the best online sportsbooks are far superior to any other sportsbook you may find in your local casino or tavern.

When you sign up at an online sportsbook of your choosing, you want to first make sure that they offer the NHL Eastern Conference odds listed above. It is helpful to shop around at different online sportsbooks to find the one with the best NHL Eastern Conference odds. Not all sportsbooks have the same lines, so you can always find better value somewhere, meaning bigger payouts.

Your future sportsbook should offer the deposit options you want to use, and even special NHL bonuses are always an excellent added value. If you plan to bet throughout the NHL Playoffs and Finals, many bonuses have reasonable rollover requirements that you can achieve in a short amount of time.

We understand that this sounds like an aggressive amount of research, but we assure you that it doesn’t have to be. We don’t want you to have to spend hours doing research before finding a great sportsbook.

We had our sports betting experts review all of the top online sportsbooks to help you find all of this information in one place. You can find in-depth reviews and information on our sportsbook reviews page.

The most important part of betting on the NHL Eastern Conference is to have fun and don’t forget to bet responsibly.

Meet the author

Dean Etheridge

Dean Etheridge brings decades of sports knowledge and betting insights to his writing. Hailing from Coventry, England, he offers an engaging British perspective on everything from soccer to cricket. Dean has established himself as a reputable voice on English Premier L...