2025 Stanley Cup Odds: Cats Claw Way To Top

Previous Stanley Cup betting action

3/7/2025: Mikko Rantanen was supposed to be the missing piece to the Carolina Hurricanes' puzzle, but things were not working out there for the former Colorado Avalanche standout. With contract negotiations at an impasse, the Canes pulled a 180 and flipped Rantanen to the Dallas Stars, who went from +900 on March 1 to as low as +550 after the trade. The Panthers (+550) also made a last-minute splash during Friday's trade deadline, with the defending Stanley Cup champs acquiring Bruins captain Brad Marchand. Canadian contenders like the Oilers (+700) and Maple Leafs (+1,100) bolstered their lineups as well, with Edmonton acquiring defenseman Jake Walman and Toronto adding center Scott Laughton and D-man Brandon Carlo.
3/4/2025: Are you not entertained? Madness in March is normally kept on the court, but over half a dozen teams in the NHL are jockeying for the top spot on the NHL board, with last year's finalists holding down the Top 2 spots at most books. Depending on how the deadline goes, we may see that number grow. 2/25/2025: The Washington Capitals have had a meteoric rise up the Stanley Cup odds board, opening as long as +10000 at some books. The boys in red now sit at +900, with the Oilers, Canes, and Jets slightly ahead of them. Washington is one of six teams at bet365 with odds shorter than +1000 (Dallas and Toronto, the other two not yet mentioned).
2/17/2025: With the 4 Nations still underway, odds for the Stanley Cup have stayed put. One story to monitor is the health of Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, who suffered an upper-body injury in the tournament, but he's only considered week-to-week, and he should be back as Vegas pushes for a second cup in three years.
1/30/2025: The Hurricanes weren't waiting until the trade deadline to make an earth-shattering trade. Martin Necas was in the midst of a career year with Carolina, but he was shipped out in a trade that landed the Canes Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall, immediately bolstering their Top 6. Carolina's Cup odds immediately shortened from +1100 to +600, and the only team with better odds is Edmonton.
1/21/2025: Another week passes with the Edmonton Oilers on top of the odds board. Outside of them, the Maple Leafs have looked great since Matthews returned to the lineup, but the Carolina Hurricanes are right behind them. The East is shaping out to be a blood bath, with the Canes, Panthers, Leafs, and Devils all sitting with odds of +1000 or shorter. Edmonton's biggest competition as of now is Dallas at +900.
1/9/2024: Will this finally be the year the Canadian Cup drought ends? Oddsmakers certainly think so, with the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs sitting at the top. Edmonton was one win away from doing so last year and looks primed for another Cup run, but they'll have to go through the Vegas Golden Knights (+900), who also sit in the Top 3.
12/31/2024: The NHL is loaded with talented teams, but the Edmonton Oilers are still the top dogs, according to sportsbooks. The defending champs are also in the Top 5 but sit a ways away from the team they beat last year to get it. Outside of the Top 5, the Metro-leading Washington Capitals sit at +1600 after opening the season as high as +6600.
12/13/2024: The Edmonton Oilers are still holding strong as we quickly approach the Christmas break. The Hurricanes remain close behind, while the Stanley Cup champions are +1000 to repeat.
12/3/2024: Books refuse to budge from the Edmonton Oilers atop the odds board, and with good reason. The team has looked rejuvenated since the return of Connor McDavid. Speaking of returns, the Maple Leafs also got a boost following Auston Matthews coming back from injury. Rounding out the Top 3 are the Dallas Stars.
11/20/2024: Although Edmonton is still at the top, books such as DraftKings have a three-way tie at +800 for the "favorite" status. The Winnipeg Jets have come back down to earth a bit, and books have responded accordingly, with the Carolina Hurricanes sitting in the Top 3 next to last year's Cup finalists. Another team to watch is Toronto, who is shortening fast as it pieces the offense together without Auston Matthews. His return should only help the Maple Leafs' case.
11/13/2024: The Edmonton Oilers have quickly strung together back-to-back wins following the return of Connor McDavid, and they remain at the top. However, some books like DraftKings have the Florida Panthers tied with them for the lead, while others have Edmonton in the solo spot. Winnipeg is also all over the place, with the 365 pricing them at +800, while DraftKings is as long as +1,600. Like most seasons, the parity in this market is quite high.
11/6/2024: The Edmonton Oilers are keeping their head above water without McDavid, but teams like the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Winnipeg Jets are off to hot starts. Like most years, the top of the Stanley Cup odds board has six teams all within 200 points of each other, but Edmonton is still holding on to the favorite status.
10/30/2024: Last year's 2-9-1 start makes the Edmonton Oilers' start this season look like nothing, and the books agree. Connor McDavid's injury doesn't appear to be too serious, with the sports No. 1 player set to only miss a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers continue to loom in the Top 3.
10/22/2024: Two wins in their first six games isn't the start the Oilers were hoping for, but we've read this story before. Edmonton started terribly last season, and we all know how that ended. Books also know that, which is why they haven't budged from the Oil just yet. At some point, teams like the Dallas Stars will surpass McDavid & Co. if they can't get it together.
10/8/2024: Regular season action kicked off in Europe earlier this week, with the New Jersey Devils starting their campaign 2-0.  North America gets a taste of regular-season hockey tonight, and we'll finally get a look at how summer moves have teams up for success. Keep an eye on how the Florida Panthers handle their Stanley Cup hangover.
9/23/2024: Preseason hockey is here, meaning we get to see teams in action for the first time since June — and for most franchises, since April. Edmonton is poised to start the regular season favored, with the New Jersey Devils lurking behind. 
9/12/2024: August is typically a quiet month for NHL teams regarding moves, and that remained true in 2024. Odds at the top of the board have hardly shifted — if it all — with fans now just waiting for preseason hockey to start. Edmonton remains No. 1 on the odds board, with New Jersey, Dallas, and the Florida Panthers within striking distance.
8/14/2024: Regular-season hockey is still almost two months away, but the preseason will be here quicker than you think. Florida did open as the favorite to repeat, but the Edmonton Oilers have since overtaken them with retooled offseason acquisitions to remain elite. With big free agency moves in the rear-view mirror, it's unlikely the odds will move much between now and October, barring any major splashes.
7/1/2024: The Florida Panthers kicked off their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions by inking Sam Reinhart to an eight-year, $69 million deal. Reinhart scored 10 times in the playoffs — including the game-winning goal in Game 7 — and 57 times in the regular season. The Panthers were not the only team in Florida making moves prior to the start of free agency, as the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired the rights to Jake Guentzel from the Carolina Hurricanes and promptly signed him to a seven-year, $63 million contract. The move could usher in the end of the Steven Stamkos era in Tampa. Yet, those signings hardly moved the needle in the Stanley Cup odds. The biggest movers by far since the end of the Stanley Cup Final were the Utah Hockey Club (née Arizona Coyotes), who dropped anywhere from 20 to 40 points. The volume of the "for laughs" and "souvenir" tickets must have been fairly significant.
6/25/2024: The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions. After coming up short vs. the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, the Panthers nearly coughed up a 3-0 series lead as the Edmonton Oilers stormed back to force a Game 7. Florida held firm as netminder Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 24 shots in the 2-1 win. Books are bullish on the Cats' chances next year, too, listing them around +900 to go back-to-back. At DraftKings, they share favorite status with the Dallas Stars but are alone in the top spot at FanDuel, with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes next in line. While it's a disappointing end for the Oilers, they're not expected to recede into the background as books have them between +950 and +1,000 to become the first Canadian team since 1993 to win the Cup. These lines are virtually identical to where they were entering Game 7, though some slight movement has occurred below the top teams. The Ottawa Senators were listed at 40/1 before they acquired goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins. Now, they're trading between 32/1 and 35/1. Ullmark gives the Sens a legitimate No. 1 netminder ahead of a do-or-die season for the current core. The NHL Entry Draft will kick off on Friday, June 28, with free agency following on July 1.