How many games must a team win before they earn the Stanley Cup?

It takes 16 wins for the NHL championship team to earn the Stanley Cup title. To go all the way requires winning four rounds of a best-of-seven series.

When was the first Stanley Cup final played?

The first Stanley Cup championship series was played in 1894. The first team to win the Cup was the Montreal AAA in 1893. In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans were the first American-based Stanley Cup championship squad. Eight years later, in 1925, the Victoria Cougars were the final team from outside the NHL to be Stanley Cup champions.

Which team was the most recent to win back-to-back Stanley Cup finals?

The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup Final series. They were the first club to win successive Stanley Cups since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. The Pittsburgh Penguins won two in a row in 2016 and 2017. The Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998) and the Penguins (1991, 1992) are the only other NHL teams to win back-to-back titles since 1990.

Which NHL team was in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2026 for the first time in 15 years?

The Buffalo Sabres were back in the NHL postseason this spring for the first time in 15 years. Buffalo’s 14-year playoff absence is an NHL futility record. Now that the Sabres have ended their drought, it’s the Detroit Red Wings (10 seasons) who hold the longest active absence from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Which player receives the Conn Smythe Trophy?

Since 1965, the Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded to the player determined to be the most valuable performer in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Carolina captain Jordan Staal, who scored six goals in the final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, was the 2026 winner. Captain Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens was the first winner of this trophy in 1965.

NHL Betting News This Month | Stanley Cup 2027 Best Bets, Market Watch & Betting Analysis | Early November 2026

By Bob Duff, Updated on: Nov 2, 2026

Table of Contents›

Latest NHL betting news you need to know
Ovechkin chasing Gretzky again
Dylan Larkin next team odds
Previous NHL betting news you might've missed

As the first month of the NHL season was wrapping up, the Stanley Cup futures were again taking another new turn. Arguably, the two best teams from last season are now the co-favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season.

The defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Colorado Avalanche, last season’s top team over the regular season, are set as +750 co-favorites to be the team lifting Lord Stanley’s mug aloft at the end of the 2026-27 NHL season. The Avalanche were the 2022 Stanley Cup champions.

Off to an impressive start under new coach Mike Babcock, the Edmonton Oilers are leading the Pacific Division. They are also the third betting choice to win the Stanley Cup. However, Edmonton’s betting line has lengthened from +800 to +850. The Oilers were losers to Florida in the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cup finals.

Early-season injuries to captain Aleksander Barkov and veteran forward Brad Marchand have impacted the Stanley Cup odds on the Florida Panthers. The Panthers were +650 co-favorites with the Hurricanes when the NHL season began. They jumped to +750 in this betting market following the injuries, and are now at +900. Florida is the only other NHL team showing a Stanley Cup betting line shorter than +1000.

Always a contender, last spring’s losing finalists, the Vegas Golden Knights, are sitting at +1000. The Golden Knights were atop the NHL standings with 14 points through games of October 15. The Tampa Bay Lightning lengthened slightly from +1100 to +1200.

Making a quantum leap in the Stanley Cup odds following their acquisition of Hart and Vezina Trophy-winning goalie Connor Hellebuyck were the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey is at +1400. Also at +1400 are the Minnesota Wild. Both at +1600, the Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals are the only other teams given Stanley Cup odds shorter than +2000.

At the other end of the scale, you can get +100000 odds on the Calgary Flames or Vancouver Canucks winning the Stanley Cup.

Before making a deeper assessment of which way to lean in the NHL best bets, why not take a look at our handy best NHL betting sites list to make the most 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.

Latest NHL betting news you need to know

Hurricanes off to a fast start

Avalanche are stumbling

Panthers are starting to growl

McDavid on fire

Devils getting their due

Going 11-2-2 in October, the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes are leading the NHL's Eastern Conference. They ended the month on a three-game win streak. Carolina is an impressive 7-1-1 on the road. Captain Jordan Staal is out for 1-2 months with a calf muscle tear. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin signed a new contract with the team after originally seeking a trade. The total points for Carolina this season are set at 113.5. The odds on this prop are -115 whether you play the over or the under.

The co-favorites to win the Stanley Cup weren't playing like contenders in October. Colorado finished the month a middling 7-5-2, good for the first Wild Card in the Western Conference. Oddly, Colorado's +12 goal differential is tied for second in the West. The Avs are a disappointing 2-4 on the road. Captain Nathan MacKinnon is sixth in NHL scoring. However, perennial Norris Trophy contender Cale Makar wasn't among the NHL's top-10 scoring defensemen. Colorado was the betting choice of the oddsmakers to win the Stanley Cup last season. However, the Avalanche were upset in the playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Florida Panthers lost the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. Then they won back-to-back championships in 2024 and 2025. And then, suffering through an injury-plagued campaign, they missed the playoffs last season. Less than a month into the season, history is repeating itself in Florida. Captain Aleksander Barkov, out all season last year with a knee injury, is on the shelf again with another leg injury. He recently resumed skating, but is still a month away from being good to go. Pesky forward Brad Marchand will also miss another four weeks with a leg injury. As October turned to November, Florida was clinging to the second Wild Card in the Eastern Conference by percentage points over the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, a positive note was that Florida closed out October on a three-game winning streak.

Can the Hart Trophy be clinched in October? Well, that may be the case this season. Off to a torrid start, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid leads the NHL scoring race by 11 points over teammate Leon Draisaitl. McDavid has points in every game so far this season. That includes 10 multi-point games. In three of those games, he's recorded at least five points. Rearguard Evan Bouchard leads all NHL defensemen in scoring. Under controversial new coach Mike Babcock, it's been clear sailing for the Oilers. Edmonton finished October atop the Western Conference with just two regulation losses in their first 14 games and a perfect 6-0-0 road record.

Last season, the New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs. A month into this season, New Jersey sits second in the Metro, and the Devils are also sitting pretty. The acquisition of elite netminder Connor Hellebuyck, who backstopped the USA to the Olympic gold medal earlier this year, fills a void in the New Jersey lineup. And Hellebuyck was acquired without putting much of a dent in New Jersey's NHL roster. Only promising prospect Dawson Mercer and backup goalie Nico Daws went to Winnipeg in the deal. In Stanley Cup futures, the Devils have shortened from +3000 on opening night to +1400 since the addition of Hellebuyck.

Ovechkin chasing Gretzky again

Already having surpassed Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time regular-season goal-scoring champion, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is on a different Gretzky watch. The Great Eight is pursuing The Great One’s overall NHL goal mark. This takes into account regular-season and playoff goals.

Between regular-season and Stanley Cup games, Gretzky scored 1,016 goals (894 in the regular season and 122 in the playoffs). Adding up all of Ovechkin’s goals, he sits with 1,008 tallies. Nine more goals and Ovechkin is the unabated NHL goal-scoring king.

BetUS is offering a series of NHL special bets relating to his latest pursuit of Gretzky. It’s +400 that he’ll score career goals 1,016 and 1,017 in the same game. You’ll get a betting line of -250 that he scores his 1,017th goal at even strength.

It’s -175 that he scores the record-breaking goal in a Capitals victory. There’s a betting line of +200 that he scores the goal while the Capitals are trailing and even money that he nets it when Washington is ahead on the scoreboard. It’s also even money that he registers the goal on home ice.

Ovechkin to break the record with a power-play goal is set at a betting line of +175. It’s +2200 that he scores it while Washington is shorthanded. That the record is broken with an overtime goal offers betting odds of +1000. And it’s +350 that Ovechkin nets an empty-net goal to shatter Gretzky’s record.

Dylan Larkin next team odds

In the summer months, Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin requested a trade. Armed with a no-movement clause in his contract, Larkin initially presented a short list of three teams to which he'd approve a move.

By the start of training camp, no deal had emerged. Larkin remained on Detroit's roster as the regular season began. In late October, reports of a dispute with the organization intensified speculation about his future with the Red Wings.

"I think over the next 24-48 hours it's possible we see that trade list altered."

On Saturday Headlines, @FriedgeHNIC reports that Dylan Larkin's current list of teams he would approve a trade with could change. https://t.co/NmQZw6g9xi

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 1, 2026

A 30-goal scorer in each of the past five seasons, the veteran center has increased his approved trade list to eight and now 10 teams. BetOnline is offering a next team prop wager on Larkin.

It's the Carolina Hurricanes who are the +300 chalk to acquire Larkin. The Minnesota Wild, the team most frequently mentioned in Larkin trade rumors, are next in this betting market at +500.

The Florida Panthers (+600), Dallas Stars (+700), Vegas Golden Knights (+800), and Tampa Bay Lightning (+900) are all assigned odds shorter than +1000 in Larkin next team betting lines.

Previous NHL betting news you might've missed

[October 2026]: Early into the NHL regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes are favored to repeat as champions in Stanley Cup futures.
[October 2026]: At the outset of the NHL regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers were co-favorites in Stanley Cup futures.
[September 2026]: As training camps open, the last two teams to win the Stanley Cup, the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, top the Stanley Cup futures book.
[August 2026]: Now that the roster shuffling caused by NHL free agency has settled down, the early 2026-27 Stanley Cup futures market was showing the last two teams to win the Stanley Cup - the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes - as the top betting choices to win in 2026-27.
[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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Meet the author

Bob Duff

Sports betting journalist covering NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, NHL, and major global events since 2016. Former columnist for MSNBC.com, The Windsor Star, and Postmedia. Covered the Super Bowl, World Series, Olympic Games, and FIFA World Cup. Author of 25+ books and contribut...