2025/26 NHL Stanley Cup Odds: Hurricanes, Oilers early favorites entering free agency period
The Florida Panthers were just crowned back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, but it’s already time to start looking forward to the 2025-26 NHL season from a betting perspective.
Teams have been busy formulating their plans ahead of next season, and the first step towards the march to next year’s Stanley Cup will be the NHL Draft, which will take place Friday in Los Angeles. Soon after that, on July 1, free agency officially begins, and then we’ll have a clearer picture of how each roster will be shaping up ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
It should be a very busy offseason with plenty of marquee signings and trades due to the salary cap increasing to $95.5 million this season from $88 million.
Most online sportsbooks have the Carolina Hurricanes (around +700) listed as the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2025/26, followed closely by the Edmonton Oilers (+750) and Panthers (+750).
Top tier Stanley Cup outright odds
| Team | bet365 | Sports Interaction | BetVictor |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +700 | +900 | +700 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +700 | +650 | +750 |
| Florida Panthers | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +900 | +800 | +850 |
| Dallas Stars | +900 | +850 | +850 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1600 | +1500 | +1600 |
| New Jersey Devils | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Los Angeles Kings | +2000 | +2000 | +1800 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +2000 | +2000 | +2500 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +2200 | +2200 | +2000 |
| Washington Capitals | +2500 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Ottawa Senators | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| New York Rangers | +3300 | +3000 | +3300 |
| Utah Mammoth | +3500 | +4000 | +3500 |
| Minnesota Wild | +3500 | +3500 | +3300 |
Bettors might be wondering why Carolina has the shortest odds at some online sportsbooks after it came up short in the playoffs again in 2025? Well, the Hurricanes have a projected $26.7 million in cap space heading into next season, according to PuckPedia, leaving them with plenty of buying power to add to their already solid roster.
The Oilers will also have some wiggle room to improve their roster, with a projected $11.96 million in cap space to work with. Edmonton only spent roughly $3.6 million on its goaltenders last season, and it’s an area that definitely needs to be addressed ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Lower tier Stanley Cup outright odds
| Team | bet365 | Sports Interaction | BetVictor |
| St. Louis Blues | +5000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Vancouver Canucks | +5500 | +5000 | +5000 |
| New York Islanders | +6000 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +8000 | +10000 | +8000 |
| Calgary Flames | +8000 | +9000 | +8000 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +8000 | +8000 | +10000 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +10000 | +10000 | +10000 |
| Nashville Predators | +10000 | +9000 | +8000 |
| Anaheim Ducks | +10000 | +15000 | +40000 |
| Boston Bruins | +12500 | +10000 | +11000 |
| Buffalo Sabres | +15000 | +15000 | +12500 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +20000 | +20000 | +25000 |
| Seattle Kraken | +30000 | +30000 | +30000 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| San Jose Sharks | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
There are two teams in this tier that have value as Stanley Cup longshots.
Firstly, the Montreal Canadiens exceeded all of their betting expectations last year by putting up 91 points to claim a playoff spot. They’ll largely be bringing back the vast majority of their young, developing squad in 2025/26 and appear poised to take another step forward into legit mid-range Stanley Cup contenders. They’ll only take roughly $6 million in cap space into the offseason, though, so there won’t be much room to improve the club externally. At long +10000 odds (BetVictor), it’s definitely worth taking a flier on the Habs.
The second team that is worth a look as an extreme longshot in this tier is the Anaheim Ducks, who can be found with insanely long +40000 odds to win the Cup at BetVictor. They have an interesting mix of young talent and veterans, but more importantly, they have a whopping $32 million in cap space to work with this summer. If they can land one or two of the marquee free agents on the board, like Mitch Marner or Sam Bennett, this team could be instantly transformed into a playoff contender. Anaheim is an attractive destination for free agents for a number of reasons, so it’s worth it to buy-in now before July 1, when its odds will surely get much shorter after making a few signings.