Flyers Tops Stanley Cup List

After a busy off-season, Sportsbook.com has updated the odds on the Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup aspirations, bumping them to the top of the list at 5-1 from an opening line of 10-1. The additions of former league MVP Peter Forsberg, Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje and the resigning of goaltender Robert Esche are the major factors in Philadelphia's bright outlook.

"Philadelphia fans are excited about the moves made by Bob Clarke,", says Peter Childs, Odds Maker, Sportsbook.com. "This All Star cast is the best looking line-up Philadelphia has had in years, and one of the best in the league. The betting public is backing the Flyers pretty heavily."

The original odds were posted once the League and the union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement earlier this summer. Since then, the Flyers have been one of several teams to make a big splash in the free agent market. Others include the Chicago Blackhawks who added Stanley Cup winning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, Pittsburgh who drafted highly touted rookie Sidney Crosby and added Sergei Gonchar and Ziggy Palffy to an exciting, offensive line-up, and the Calgary Flames, who resigned Jarome Iginla and added veterans Tony Amonte and Roman Hamrlik.