League-leading Winnipeg Jets shrug off lukewarm reception from Stanley Cup bettors
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Mark Scheifele is known as a "hockey nerd," whose understanding of the game has turned him into an elite NHL player.
But the Winnipeg Jets star centre isn't losing sleep trying to figure out why his league-leading team is being snubbed by betting sites as Stanley Cup favourites. Many popular outlets don't even have the Jets (53-21-4) in the top four.
"I don't really think about it at all," Scheifele told The Canadian Press before Monday's game against the red-hot St. Louis Blues. "Honestly, it's not in our brains at all.
"We're just going to go out there and play no matter what and it doesn't matter what all that says."
Winnipeg defeated St. Louis 3-1 to not only notch its club-record 53rd victory of the season but snap the Blues' 12-game win streak. However, that didn't appear to move the needle on the DraftKings betting site.
On Tuesday, it had Winnipeg tied for fifth with Toronto at +1200 (12/1 odds). Dallas was favoured to hoist the Cup at +600, followed by defending-champion Florida and Colorado (both at +800). Tampa Bay and Edmonton were both at +900, while Washington (second overall in the league), Vegas and Carolina each came in at +1100.
BetMGM's latest odds last week are similar.
The Jets, Capitals and Lightning are tied for sixth at +1100 while the Maple Leafs were seventh at +1200. Dallas topped the odds at +600 and the Panthers were next at +650.
The Avalanche sat at +750 while the Oilers were at +850. The Hurricanes and Golden Knights were both at +1000.
"I don't know how they do it," veteran Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo said when asked if he could explain the odds. But he shrugged off any lack of respect for what the Jets have accomplished so far this season.
"No matter what the betting odds are, we just want to win," DeMelo said. "We just want to put ourselves in the position where we're in the playoffs and give ourselves a good chance to hopefully make a long run.
"We're not too worried about everybody else's perception of us."
Maybe it has something to do with being a Canadian team playing in the league's smallest market?
"It may," DeMelo said. "I don't know.
"I like our chances."
'I don't know a thing about betting': Jets GM
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was asked during Monday's game on Prime TV about a lack of respect.
"If I knew what betting was all about, maybe I'd be upset, but I don't know a thing about betting," he said. "That's fine.
"You know, we're Winnipeg, we have to punch above our weight and we're looking forward to keep on playing the way we're playing."
Heading into their final four regular-season games — including a showdown in Dallas Thursday that could swing the odds in Winnipeg's favour — the Jets are poised to set more franchise records.
Winnipeg has never won the Presidents' Trophy for finishing atop the league standings. They're currently three points ahead of Washington.
Winnipeg has topped the Western Conference standings since Jan. 14 and has never achieved that milestone, either. Same with winning the Central Division, which the Jets led by five points over Dallas, who hosted the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
Even if the oddsmakers aren't respecting the Jets, the same can't be said for their league counterparts.
Vancouver defenceman Tyler Myers, who played for Winnipeg from February 2015 through the 2018-19 season, dismissed betting odds.
"I don't know who makes those odds, but it's usually people who don't know much about hockey," Myers said following Vancouver's 3-1 loss to Winnipeg on March 30. "I wouldn't put too much stock in any team's odds at any time of the year."
Winnipeg is in a good spot heading into the playoffs and could make some noise, he added.
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet agreed.
"That's a good hockey team that has a chance to win a Cup and I thought we went head-to-head on them really well," Tocchet said.
'They're a hard team to play'
Robert Thomas, St. Louis's leading scorer, weighed in on the Jets before Monday's loss.
"I don't really follow too much on the betting sites and all that crap, but they're a hard team to play," he said.
Thomas, of Aurora, Ont., didn't correlate Winnipeg's playoff odds with competing in Canada and the smallest market.
"I think a lot of people know how dangerous this team is," Thomas said. "They've got the offence, they've got the defence, they've got the goalie."
Winnipeg netminder Connor Hellebuyck is on his way to capturing his second consecutive Vezina Trophy and third of his career. He tied his franchise record for wins (44-12-3) against the Blues and leads the league in save percentage (.924) and goals-against average (2.02)
Winnipeg was tied with Colorado for third-most goals in the league with 265, behind Washington (277) and Tampa Bay (276) before Tuesday's league action. The Jets also have the lowest goals-against average (2.32).
"They're very committed defensively, one of the best teams," St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. "And then … [Hellebuyck is] going to win the Vezina this year.
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