NHL Betting News This Month | Stanley Cup 2027 Best Bets, Market Watch & Betting Analysis | August 2026
The two teams that’ve combined to win the past three Stanley Cups will meet as the 2026-27 NHL regular season opens on September 29. There are already odds out on the game. It’s not the team that’s favored to win the Cup that is favored to win this game. It’s the team that just won the Cup.
The Carolina Hurricanes are -130 home favorites to beat the Florida Panthers on opening night of the season. You’ll get +110 underdog odds if you back the visiting Panthers.
Your calendar just got a whole lot busier! 👀
See more must-see showdowns ➡️ https://t.co/o03Nb6eEK8 pic.twitter.com/3ijyXzbSUW
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) July 16, 2026
Barely removed from winning the 2026 Stanley Cup, the Hurricanes were set up as the opening betting choice to repeat as the 2027 NHL champion in Stanley Cup futures for the 2026-27 season.
However, in the latest NHL betting lines, the Panthers are the +625 betting choice to win the Stanley Cup. Florida was Cup champs in 2024 and 2025.
The Hurricanes are now the +675 second favorites. It’s the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners as the NHL’s top regular season, the Colorado Avalanche, who are established as the +700 third betting choice.
The betting odds on the Avalanche have shortened. Colorado opened with a line of +750 in this betting market.
Next at +800 are the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton lost the Stanley Cup final in 2024 and 2025.
Vanquished by the Hurricanes in the 2026 Cup final, the Vegas Golden Knights are the fifth pick in this market at +850. The Golden Knights opened with a line of +900, so their odds have also shortened.
At +1300 are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 and lost the 2022 final to the Avalanche.
The Minnesota Wild (+1500), Dallas Stars (+1500) both have Stanley Cup odds shorter than +2000. Losing Eastern Conference finalists, the Montreal Canadiens are set with a betting line of +2200 to win the Cup.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Vancouver Canucks, Seattle Kraken, and Calgary Flames share the longest odds to win the Cup at +30000.
Best NHL bets for Stanley Cup final matchups
Each spring, the grueling four rounds of competition for the Stanley Cup not only make for compelling entertainment, it also offer bettors a bunch of wagering opportunities. It starts with the traditional standard fare of game betting on moneylines, puck lines, and total goals. There are also player and game prop options, as well as regular and same-game parlay plays.
Beyond that, NHL bettors can wager on the outcome for each of the eight first-round series. Longer-range wagers include future book betting on the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences, as well as the Stanley Cup. Exact final matchups and precise series outcomes are other betting choices. And there’s also the chance to bet on which player will take home the coveted Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup MVP.
Before making a deeper assessment of which way to lean in the NHL playoffs best bets, why not take a look at our handy best NHL betting sites list to make the most out of your bets, including the latest props and futures wagering. It’s never too early to get a wager down on which of these NHL teams is going to win the title. Have a look at our NHL futures page to see what other wagering options are available during the NHL regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Best Stanley Cup playoff future bets
Panthers shorten as favorites to win the Stanley Cup
Hurricanes also showing better Stanley Cup-winning odds
Avalanche the best hope in the West
Oilers making their move
Never count out the Golden Knights
Oddsmakers are putting even more faith into the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup for the third time in four seasons. Florida's Stanley Cup betting odds have shortened from +700 to +625. With captain Aleksander Barkov and gritty winger Matthew Tkachuk returning from injury, things figured to get better for the Florida Panthers. But no one imagined that it would get this good this quickly. Adding Matthew's brother, Brady, from Ottawa in a trade, and trading for rugged Garnet Hathaway and nasty defender Ratko Gudas, the Panthers are going to be the toughest team in the league to play against. That's a vital quality in surviving the grind to win the Stanley Cup. Sure, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky left for Toronto, but adding Jakob Markstrom from New Jersey gives the Panthers another world-class netminder.
The Carolina Hurricanes have also seen their odds to repeat as Stanley Cup champions shorten significantly. The Canes were at +750. They're now listed at +675. Still, retaining the Cup can prove to be a tall order. Last season's defending champion, the Florida Panthers, won for the second year in a row. They were just the fifth team to win consecutive Cups since 1990. Carolina won the Cup in 2006 and waited 20 years to win it again. Already, the challenge of winning again is proving more daunting. Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen left the team as a free agent, signing with the Edmonton Oilers.
The reigning Presidents' Trophy winners also made a bold move in Stanley Cup futures. The Colorado Avalanche were the third betting choice at +850. While remaining No. 3 in the Stanley Cup futures lines, Colorado is now listed at odds of +700. The Avalanche entered the postseason as the chalk to win the Stanley Cup, and they looked like champs as they rolled through the first two playoff rounds. However, injuries to their Hart Trophy-winning center, Nathan MacKinnon, and Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Cale Makar put Colorado on the back foot in the Western Conference final against Vegas, and the Avs never recovered. They suffered a further blow when the season ended. General manager Chris McFarland left the club to take over as GM of Colorado's Central Division rivals, the Nashville Predators.
The Edmonton Oilers jumped back up among the top Stanley Cup contenders since the last Cup futures book was opened. Edmonton is now sitting with a betting line of +800. That's moved Edmonton into the fourth betting choice to win the 2026-27 Stanley Cup. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as a 1-2 punch down the middle, and the hopeful return to health of Zach Hyman, there's cause for optimism. And with the addition of Cup-winning goalie Frederik Andersen from the Hurricanes, could the Oilers finally solve their longstanding issue between the pipes? Edmonton lost the 2024 and 2025 Cup final series to the Panthers.
Since entering the NHL as an expansion franchise in 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights have contended for the Stanley Cup. That inaugural season, they finished first in the Pacific Division and reached the Cup final series before falling to the Washington Capitals in five games. Vegas beat Florida in the 2023 Stanley Cup final. The loss to Carolina was the club's third Stanley Cup final appearance. Vegas has also reached the conference finals in two other seasons. At a betting line of +850, the Golden Knights have shortened from +1100 in the Stanley Cup futures.
Avs, Canes co-favorites to be NHL's best regular season team
The Avalanche are given +550 odds to repeat as Presidents' Trophy champions. They are only co-favorites to be the NHL's best regular season team, though. The Hurricanes are also set at a betting line of +550.
The Panthers (+600) and Edmonton Oilers (+850) are also assigned betting lines shorter than +1000 to win the Presidents' Trophy.
Bet these Stanley Cup specials
There are several Stanley Cup special markets that you can bet beyond selecting the team that will be the outright winner. One prop asks whether the 2027 champion will be a first-time Stanley Cup winner. No is the -700 chalk in this play. Bet yes and get odds of +400.
Could one of the so-called Original Six NHL franchises be Cup champs this season? That group includes Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
It's +700 that one of those six teams will win the Cup. Bet the field at odds of -1800.
Canadian clubs enduring dry spell
After the Oilers, the Montreal Canadiens at +2200 are the second betting choice to win the Cup among the NHL's Canadian-based teams. Then it jumps to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators at +3300. No Canadian team has lifted Lord Stanley's mug since the Canadiens in 1993.
There are some significant Stanley Cup droughts among Canada's major hockey cities.. The Maple Leafs haven't won since 1967. Ottawa has been waiting since 1927. You have to go back to 1915 to see Vancouver winning the Cup. And Winnipeg's most recent Cup victory was in 1902. By comparison, the 1989 victory by the Calgary Flames seems like recent history.
An NHL Stanley Cup prop bet asks whether an American or Canadian NHL franchise will win the Cup in 2026-27. American teams are the -700 chalk in this wager. It's +400 that a Canadian club will end that country's Stanley Cup drought.
Next team odds for Hellebuyck, Rielly
Speaking of Canada, two prominent players with Canadian NHL teams are rumored to be on the move. And that speculation has created next team odds markets for both Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly.
If he does leave Winnipeg, the Buffalo Sabres are the +225 chalk to land the services of two-time Vezina Trophy winner Hellebuyck. The Hurricanes (+300) and Panthers (+450) are also given short odds to acquire the 2026 Olympic gold medal winner.
As for Rielly, if he is to leave Toronto, oddsmakers see the rearguard heading West. Of eight markets in this prop, all are Western Conference teams. The San Jose Sharks (+225) are favored, followed by the Anaheim Ducks (+300) and Seattle Kraken (+500).
Stanley Cup keeps going Southeast
Here's a curious Stanley Cup betting trend. It involves the old Southeast Division. Before the NHL realigned to its current four-division format in 2013, the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals combined to form the league's Southeast Division in 1998.
The 2026-27 season will kick off on September 29th when the defending #StanleyCup champion @Canes host the @FlaPanthers! 🗓️ #NHLFaceOff
Read more on the opening night schedule ⤵️ https://t.co/SkYnut0Zyx
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) July 15, 2026
Those four teams have combined to win six of the past nine Stanley Cup titles. Washington won in 2018, followed by Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021. Florida was the Stanley Cup champion in 2024 and 2025, and Carolina is the reigning Cup holder. At least one of those four teams has played in eight of the past nine Stanley Cup final series.
Previous NHL betting news you might've missed
- [July 2026]: NHL free agency reshaped the early 2026-27 Stanley Cup futures market, with Sergei Bobrovsky joining the Toronto Maple Leafs and John Carlson signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- [July 2026]: The Toronto Maple Leafs added No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna and veteran goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, strengthening their roster and shortening their Stanley Cup price at some sportsbooks.
- [July 2026]: The Washington Capitals emerged as one of the NHL offseason’s biggest movers after adding several established players, forcing bettors to reassess their Metropolitan Division and Stanley Cup odds.
- [June 2026]: The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights and entering the offseason among the early favorites to repeat in 2026-27.
- [June 2026]: The 2026 NHL Draft introduced a new group of prospects into the futures market, with Gavin McKenna selected first overall by Toronto.
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