In a province where the Toronto Maple Leafs and players like Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner top the list in terms of fan popularity, bettors apparently see things a little differently.
According to DraftKings Ontario Sportsbook, which conducted a study of hockey-based sports betting trends in 2022 in the province, the NHL’s most bet player by handle and by number of bets was Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Matthews was the top Leaf, at No. 9 in handle and No. 4 in number of bet. The Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid was No. 2 behind Ovechkin on both of those lists.
That’s not a surprise, considering Ovechkin’s ongoing chase for the all-time NHL scoring title, plus the fact he’s arguably the league’s most charismatic player.
Ontario Sports Betting Action on Stanley Cup
The Tampa Bay Lightning was the most bet team to win the Stanley Cup at Ontario sportsbooks, followed by the Colorado Avalanche, Leafs, Oilers and New York Rangers.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Leafs didn’t make the Top 10 of NHL most bet teams by handle — that was led by the Avalanche. The Oilers were the top Canadian team, at No. 4. Bets? The Avalanche were No. 1 again, and the Leafs came in at No. 9 (the Calgary Flames were the top Canadian here at No. 6).
The biggest moneyline upset in 2022 for Ontario NHL betting was on Feb. 1 — the Arizona Coyotes going into Colorado and beating the Avalanche, with odds at +450. The NHL longest odds winning prop of 2022 was Jan Rutta, first to score, in a game between the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 20, with odds at +9000.
Biggest Hockey Betting Payout of 2022
The NHL largest payout of 2022 was $1.75 million on a $700,000 wager when Darryl Sutter won the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year at the NHL 2021/22 Awards.
While Ovechkin generated the most action for sports wagering at Ontario online casinos, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon made the bettors the most money in 2022 — and lost bettors the most money. Matthews was No. 5 and No. 2 there, respectively.
The Avalanche was the NHL team that made bettors the most money overall in 2022 followed by the Coyotes and St. Louis Blues.
NHL teams that lost bettors the most money overall in 2022, according to DraftKings’ numbers? Now this is something Leafs fans can relate to. Their team was No. 3, right after the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks. Betting on the “over” lost players the most money there.
Maybe things will change for the better in 2023. And if hockey is letting you down, there are always Ontario slot sites for a different wagering experience.
