Columbus Blue Jackets Playoff Odds

Based out of Columbus, Ohio, the Columbus Blue Jackets are not regular in the NHL playoffs. This article looks at their successes and failures and current futures betting for the season ahead.

The Columbus Blue Jackets Playoff Odds: History

Founded in 1997, the Columbus Blue Jackets succeeded the Cleveland Barons as Ohio’s premier National Hockey League team. 

The Jackets, under several coaches, have since seen rebuild after rebuild but to little avail. The team has only made the playoffs six times in their 21 seasons, having won only two of those games. So, keep that in mind when you’re looking for Columbus Blue Jackets playoff odds

The start of the season has historically been a particularly dicey subject with the Jackets. Their worst starts to a season were in 2016 and 2012 when they began 0-8. This is rivaled by the 2021, 2020, 2017, 2006, and 2001 Jackets seasons, where they went 0-2 in the season’s first two games. 

The Jackets aren’t favorites to make the playoffs in the upcoming NHL season, with their last qualification being in 2020, where they crashed out of the first round to Tampa Bay Lightning.

However, it’s still worth considering the Columbus Blue Jackets playoff odds for the season simply because the odds make even a small investment highly lucrative if the team pulls a rabbit out of the hat.

The prospects of this happening in the upcoming season have been greatly improved by the team’s signing of superstar Johnny Gaudreau in NHL Free Agency - a statement signing if there ever was one.

Futures & Outright Betting in the NHL

There are two types of long-term bets one can place on NHL teams, and both markets open up in the NHL pre-season. The first is called an outright bet, where one places a wager on which team will finally lift the Stanley Cup. 

The second is called a futures bet, a broad category that includes betting on individual awards, statistics, teams making the playoffs, and more such events.

If you’re looking to bet on whether the Columbus Blue Jackets will reach the NHL playoffs, the futures market is where you need to go, and understanding NHL odds and how they work is where you need to start.

Sportsbooks typically present odds in the form of American odds - whole numbers prefixed with a plus or minus sign to denote favorites and underdogs. The odds for a team reaching the playoffs typically look something like this. 

Team

Odds

Ottawa Senators 

+5000

Philadelphia Flyers

+5500

New Jersey Devils

+6000

Buffalo Sabers

+6500

Columbus Blue Jackets 

+7000

Anaheim Ducks

+7500

The table above includes Columbus Blue Jackets playoff odds. As you can probably tell, none of the teams are rated anywhere close to being favorites - the favorites typically have odds in negative numbers or in the early hundreds. But a small bet on these teams could be incredibly rewarding. 

A $100 bet on the Columbus Blue Jackets playoff odds at the beginning of the season would win you $7,000 at the end of the season if they were to make the playoffs. Similarly, betting $100 on the Senators in this instance would yield $5,000 in winnings, a $100 bet on the Flyers would win you $5500 if they made the playoffs, and so on.

Columbus Blue Jackets Playoff Odds - How Futures Betting Odds Change

A key thing to remember is that outright and futures betting markets change over the course of the season, allowing you to strategize and hedge your bets as the season progresses. 

However, the fundamental basis of any betting strategy is always rooted in understanding how futures odds work and how they can be affected by various factors.

The futures betting market for the next season opens soon after the Stanley Cup finals - sometimes even hours after. This allows you to invest in teams while the odds are at their most polarized since they’re purely based on the previous season’s performances.

Injuries, new signings, slumps in form, and the rigors of a league like the NHL will almost certainly affect odds throughout the season. Betting in the futures market requires you to be agile and adapt your approach in a way that hedges any previous bets that may go awry. 

Columbus Blue Jackets Playoff Odds Strategy

Keeping these fundamentals in mind when betting on the NHL futures market will help you plan your approach like a pro.

Chase value

The key principle when it comes to betting is to identify odds that you think have value - which is when the odds seem to be much greater than the actual value of the outcome. 

When betting on futures markets, it’s harder to do this than with moneyline or over/under bets. This is especially the case the further away you are from the final. Since futures odds evolve over the season, one must consider whether they want to take a punt on the pre-season odds or extract value over time with smaller wagers as the season progresses.

Embrace volatility

The NHL season is full of plot twists, which also have a seismic effect on futures markets. Watching games, analyzing teams, and predicting volatile moments in the league can help you preempt opportunities to extract value from the betting markets. 

Understand precedent

If betting on sports was as easy as basing it on a team’s history, we’d all be winners. While it isn’t as simple as that, there’s no doubt that understanding precedent helps you make informed choices about the likelihood of teams and individual players performing the way you’d like them to. 

This especially applies when betting on teams that are known for consistency since that makes it easier to identify and exploit familiar patterns that the numbers reveal.

Are you ready to test your knowledge and accept the Columbus Blue Jackets playoff odds?