Who Will Be The Worst Team In The NHL In 2023-24?

The NHL season has progressed into 2024, and teams are putting the finishing touches on preparations for what they hope is a successful run at Lord Stanley’s Cup. There are also clubs that are preparing for a race to the bottom to enhance their NHL Draft Lottery odds.

NHL betting sites have a hockey futures bet on which team will finish with the worst record for the 2023-24 NHL season. Rather than betting on which team you think will win the Stanley Cup, you can wager on the squad that you believe will be the worst team this year.

There are a few viable candidates to finish with the worst record this season. Let’s dissect the latest NHL odds for these candidates and make our prediction on which team finishes dead last in the standings.

2023-24 Worst NHL Team Odds

The following worst NHL team in 2023-24 odds are courtesy of Bovada:

The San Jose Sharks were favored to be the worst team in the NHL in 2023-24 back in October. At +225 odds, the Sharks had an implied chance of 30.8 percent to finish with the worst record. Now at the mid-way point of the season, their -165 odds indicate a 62.3% chance to finish with the league’s worst record.

Also of note are the Ottawa Senators, a team that has entered this discussion with poor play through the first half of the season. They have since fired their former head coach, DJ Smith, but it has yet to lead to any increased results. Though they are longshots at +15000 (0.66% implied probability), the Sens are a team to keep your eye on down the stretch.

Where To Bet On The Worst NHL Team in 2024?

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2023-24 Worst NHL Team Favorites

According to the current NHL odds, both the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks remain in a battle for the dubious honor of last place and the NHL’s worst record for the 2023-24 season. This isn’t all that surprising given where they were projected when the season started in October 2023.

San Jose Sharks (-165)

The Sharks continue to be a disaster, and it isn’t all that surprising given what experts thought of this squad just prior to puck drop in October.

Recent losers of ten consecutive games, this Sharks’ roster is depleted and anxiously awaiting the NHL’s trading deadline.

On March 8th, expect this floundering team to become even worse in the standings, as GM Mike Grier is likely to sell off valued pieces for future prospects. While finishing with the worst record in the NHL does not guarantee you the first overall pick at the draft in June, the Sharks will do everything they can to put themselves in that position.

Don’t be surprised to see this group look drastically different down the stretch. Players like Mikael Granlund, Kevin Labanc, and Mario Ferraro would all have value to contending teams, and should expect to be moved as the deadline approaches.

In goal, the tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen remains one of the league’s worst between the pipes. They rank near the bottom in goals saved above expected, and do not expect this duo to steal any points for the lowly Sharks down the stretch.

Chicago Blackhawks (+120)

As bad as the Sharks seem, the current version of the Blackhawks certainly doesn’t trail them by much. They are also viable contenders to slip further down the standings, especially after the loss of their top player and point producer in Connor Bedard, the first pick of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Bedard was injured in a recent game vs. the New Jersey Devils where the young phenom broke his jaw on a tough hit from defenseman Brendan Smith. As a result, it’s expected that Bedard will be out of the Chicago lineup for another six weeks, leaving a massive scoring void for this already-weak Hawks’ roster.

Similar to the Sharks, expect GM Kyle Davidson to empty the cupboards as the deadline approaches. All of Jason Dickinson, Colin Blackwell, Nikita Zaitsev, and Jarred Tinordi would be of use and value to contending teams, which would further weaken this lineup’s skill and veteran presence.

The Hawks are also badly banged up at the moment. In addition to Bedard, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, Anthony Beauvillier, Tyler Johnson, and Andreas Athanasiou are all sidelined for the foreseeable future with various injuries. This is essentially an AHL team for the remaining months of the NHL season, and Chicago is firmly in the hunt to finish with the league’s worst record in 2024.

Best Worst NHL Team Value Bet: Anaheim Ducks (+950)

A rough start to the NHL campaign has been improved upon over the last few weeks for a young Anaheim Ducks’ roster. While this team is loaded with impressive amounts of skill, it has not translated to on-ice success just yet.

The Ducks can score, but cannot defend or keep pucks out of their net. As games become more crucial to contending teams down the stretch, that is going to be an issue. Like all cellar dwellers towards the end of the NHL’s season, the Ducks should also hold an impressive fire sale as the NHL’s March 8th trade deadline approaches.

Anaheim has already weakened their NHL roster in recent days with the surprising trade of defenseman Jamie Drysdale, and more will follow. Steady veteran Adam Henrique is almost certainly gone, as are Jakob Silfverberg and hot shooter Frank Vatrano.

On the back end, expect Anaheim to move away hard-nosed defender Ilya Lyubushkin to a contending team as well. There have even been rumors about the Ducks looking to move on from highly-skilled youngster Trevor Zegras.

It is certainly a period of transition in Anaheim right now, and this team won’t be showing much growth or hope down the stretch. The Ducks do boast a solid tandem in goal however, and with John Gibson and Lukas Dostal manning the nets, that talented duo could secure Anaheim with some unexpected points in the second-half.

Best Worst NHL Team Longshot Bet: Columbus Blue Jackets (+2800)

From the outset of the season, the Blue Jackets have seemed in disarray. The firing of former head coach Mike Babcock on the eve of the NHL season raised eyebrows, and the disorganization has carried onto the ice this season.

Columbus has some key injuries at the moment, and it has really eaten into their depth. And while they still have more talent than many of the other worst record contenders, the Jackets are the only team who plays in the Eastern Conference – where there are many more contending teams.

The Jackets have a tough remaining schedule, and for the balance of their campaign, will virtually only see high-calibre playoff teams fighting for seeding. That is a tall task for an inexperienced roster like the Jackets.

Like other squads in similar positions, the Jackets have been plagued by injuries, and they just have not had the depth to overcome them. They are currently without their top defender in Zach Werenski, their top shooter in Patrik Laine, as well as their team captain in Boone Jenner.

As the trading deadline approaches, look for this team to sell off some intriguing assets. Jenner is likely to be moved, as are other reliable veterans. While the Jackets will rely on youth down the stretch, that does not bode well with a tough strength of schedule remaining.

Columbus still has the 9^th-toughest schedule for the remainder of the season, and this is a team that could slip further into ‘worst NHL team’ territory.

2023-24 Worst NHL Team Prediction

Though the San Jose Sharks have been the favorites to ‘win’ the NHL’s worst team market for some time now, there is still some intriguing plus-money value on Chicago to earn this distinction for the second season in a row.

They currently have a three-point advantage on the last-place Sharks, and their lineup is far more depleted. Losing Bedard has been crushing for them, both in terms of on-ice ability and enthusiasm.

They struggle to generate offense, their power play has been anaemic in recent games, and the NHL’s Central division is seemingly playing out as tougher than the Pacific. Combine that with the fact that the Blackhawks sit last in expected goals for and allowed over their past ten outings – and this is clearly a group trending in the wrong direction.

Chicago will also not be getting any sort of reprieve from the injury ward, and their assortment of AHL-level talent is highly inexperienced. It could be a tough finish to the 2023-2024 NHL season in the Windy City! Take the plus-money at sports betting sites.