David Purdumjun 17, 2025, 10:56pm
Since 2008, I have been working on Close as a 2014 journalist covering the gambling industry.
The odds to win the 2026 Stanley Cup are already in the sportsbook, and there are disagreements in the betting market as to which teams are heading into the offseason.
Depending on which sportsbook you’re looking at, two-time defending champions Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanches are favorites for the Stanley Cup next season.
The Panthers finished the Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 on Tuesday night, lifting the Cup for the second straight time. However, the odds maker is not sure Florida is a clear favorite for making it in three straight years.
At ESPN BET, the Panthers, Oilers and AVS are joint favorites, listed at +700 each as of Tuesday. Colorado was a complete favorite last week at +650, but Sportsbook tweaked the AVS odds alongside Florida and Edmonton.
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“There’s a lot of questions around the Panthers and Oilers around the Avalanches and Oilers,” said Adrian Horton, trading director at ESPN BET. “While Colorado should be healthy and fresh next season, Florida and Edmonton have accumulated wear and tears from consecutive deep playoff runs.”
Draftkings had the Oilers as their favorite for next season, but Funde Elle came ahead of Game 6 on Tuesday with the Hurricane favourite.
Horton pointed out questions about what the Panthers roster would look like after free agency, and he wondered about the tolls that would have a back-to-back Stanley Cup with the Oilers.
“AVS, meanwhile, has 19 of the 23 roster spots on the market, including Healthy Gabriel Landescog and some of the best players in the world, Kael McCal and Nathan McKinnon,” Houghton said.
Hurricane (+800) and Dallas Star (+900) will close out their team’s top tier with the odds of ESPN BET, which will win the 2026 Stanley Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks are the biggest long shots into the offseason, both listed as 500-1.
