The Olympic men's hockey tournament is just a week away, it's time to get excited. The NHL's best (and more) will wear their nation's flags and compete in arguably the most entertaining hockey tournament you'll see.
That brings us to the final odds from Bovada headed into the Games surrounding the Olympics. Let's just get right into it.
| Men's hockey gold medal odds | ||
| Team | Current odds | Previous odds |
| Canada | 2-1 | 2-1 |
| Russia | 9-4 | 9-4 |
| Sweden | 4-1 | 9-2 |
| USA | 6-1 | 6-1 |
| Finland | 11-1 | 10-1 |
| Czech Republic | 12-1 | 10-1 |
| Switzerland | 33-1 | 25-1 |
| Slovakia | 40-1 | 33-1 |
| Norway | 200-1 | 200-1 |
| Latvia | 400-1 | 400-1 |
| Austria | 1000-1 | 1000-1 |
| Slovenia | 1000-1 | 1000-1 |
As you can see, those odds haven't changed much from the last time we saw them, though Sweden taking a slight dip makes them that much more intriguing of an option at 9-2. That dip is probably because of Johan Franzen's removal from the team because of a concussion and Henrik Sedin's evident issues at the moment.
But there's a lot more to look at than just the team odds. There's also the tournament MVP and surprise, surprise; the top two players there are a pair of familiar names.
Alexander Ovechkin (RUS) -- 7-1
Sidney Crosby (CAN) -- 7-1
Patrick Kane (USA) -- 10-1
Evgeni Malkin (RUS) -- 12-1
Henrik Lundqvist (SWE) -- 15-1
Henrik Zetterberg (SWE) -- 15-1
Zach Parise (USA) -- 18-1
Tuukka Rask (FIN) -- 18-1
Ryan Miller (USA) -- 18-1
Ilya Kovalchuk (RUS) -- 20-1
Roberto Luongo (CAN) -- 20-1
Jonathan Quick (USA) -- 25-1
Jonathan Toews (CAN) -- 25-1
Steven Stamkos (CAN) -- 25-1
Semyon Varlamov (RUS) -- 25-1
The odds go on but that's the top list of the names. One of the things that immediately jumps out is seeing Ryan Miller -- the winner of the award in 2010 -- above Jonathan Quick. The USA hasn't named a starter but the expectation from many is that Quick will be the guy this year. Interesting decision.
Of course the other thing that should jump out right away is that Crosby at 7-1 looks awfully good if you're inclined to play. He has a loaded roster around him but he is the best player in the world. If Canada has the team success that's expected, Crosby will very likely be a big reason why.
As far as the groups, Russia is a 1-2 favorite to win Group A over the USA at 7-4. Canada is a strong 1-7 favorite in group B, Finland next at 7-2. Finally, Sweden is the favorite in Group 3 with 1-2 odds while the Czechs are at 2-1.
On the women's side, Canada is a 5-6 favorite while the Americans aren't far behind at 10-11. They are both well above the rest of the field though; Finland has the third-best odds at 18-1.
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