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The Carolina Hurricanes begin the NHL season as the consensus betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup at sportsbooks.

The Hurricanes are the Cup favorites at 15-2 at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by the Colorado Avalanche (8-1), Edmonton Oilers (8-1) and Toronto Maple Leafs (9-1). The New Jersey Devils are 10-1, and the defending-champion Vegas Golden Knights are 12-1.

The Hurricanes have been contenders under coach Rod Brind’Amour, boasting the NHL’s fourth-best record over the past five seasons, but have not been able to get past the conference finals in that span. Carolina hasn’t reached the Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

The Avalanche have attracted more bets to win the Stanley Cup than any other team at DraftKings, including a $2,300 wager at 10-1, the largest reported by the sportsbook. The Oilers, Devils and Boston Bruins also have been popular bets at DraftKings.

The Bruins, who are 18-1 to win the Stanley Cup, are coming off the most successful regular season in NHL history. They set the record for wins (65) and points (135) last season but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Florida Panthers. Caesars has the Bruins’ over/under on season points set at 101.5.

The New York Rangers and Dallas Stars are each 13-1 to win the Stanley Cup, followed by the Los Angeles Kings and Panthers, who are each 22-1.

The San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers have the longest Stanley Cup odds at Caesars at 200-1.

Edmonton’s Connor McDavid is the odds-on favorite to win the Hart Trophy, listed at -125 at Caesars Sportsbook.

Chicago Blackhawks’ rookie Connor Bedard, the first overall pick, is the odds-on favorite to win the Calder Trophy at -145. Bedard has garnered 42% of the money wagered on DraftKings’ odds to win the Calder Trophy, double the amount of any other player.

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Brewers sign veteran Canha to minor league deal

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Brewers sign veteran Canha to minor league deal

PHOENIX — Veteran outfielder Mark Canha signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that includes an invitation to major league camp.

The move announced Monday continues attempts by the two-time defending NL Central champions to boost their depth after outfielder Blake Perkins fractured his right shin during batting practice, an injury that probably will sideline him for the first month of the season. Milwaukee already had signed Manuel Margot to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp.

Canha, 36, previously joined the Brewers at the 2023 trade deadline. He batted .287 with a .373 on-base percentage, five homers, 33 RBIs and four steals in 50 games with Milwaukee that season.

He spent 2024 with the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants. Canha batted .242 with a .344 on-base percentage, seven homers, 42 RBIs and seven steals in 125 games.

Canha is a career .249 batter with a .349 on-base percentage, 120 homers and 459 RBIs in 1,049 games with Oakland (2015-21), the New York Mets (2022-23), Milwaukee, Detroit and San Francisco.

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Giants’ Verlander pitches 2 innings in spring debut

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Giants' Verlander pitches 2 innings in spring debut

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Justin Verlander struck out one and allowed a solo home run while pitching two innings in his spring training debut for the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

Verlander’s first start of the spring came four days after the three-time Cy Young Award winner’s 42nd birthday.

After allowing the two-out homer to Colorado’s Michael Toglia in the first inning, Verlander walked the next batter before retiring the last four he faced. All three Rockies hitters in the second were retired on fly balls.

Verlander’s 262 career wins are the most among active pitchers. The right-hander is preparing for his 20th big league season and his first with San Francisco after an injury-plagued 2024 in Houston. He signed a $15 million, one-year contract with the Giants.

Shoulder inflammation and neck discomfort limited Verlander to 17 starts last season, when he went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA — a single-season worst that was more than two runs higher than his 3.30 career ERA.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Chafin gets minor league deal, returns to Tigers

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Chafin gets minor league deal, returns to Tigers

LAKELAND, Fla. — Free agent reliever Andrew Chafin signed a minor league deal Monday to go to spring training with the Detroit Tigers, the team that traded the left-hander to Texas last summer.

Chafin has pitched in 105 games for the Tigers over two stints — 64 games in 2022 and 41 last year before being dealt to Texas for two minor leaguers in July. It was the fourth time in five seasons he was part of a deadline trade.

Texas in November declined a $6.5 million team option for Chafin, who instead got a $500,000 buyout. He had a 4.19 ERA while pitching 19⅓ innings in 21 appearances for the Rangers, after a 3.16 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 37 innings for the Tigers.

The 34-year-old Chafin has a 3.75 ERA in 601 big league appearances over 11 seasons for six teams. The only team he has pitched more for than Detroit is Arizona, the club that picked him 43rd overall in the 2011 amateur draft. He made 377 relief appearances and started three games for the Diamondbacks over parts of eight seasons.

Chafin made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2014, and they traded him to the Chicago Cubs in 2020. He returned to Arizona as a free agent in 2023 and was traded that summer to Milwaukee. He also pitched for Oakland during part of the 2021 season.

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