The Florida Panthers won the 2024 Stanley Cup and that means it’s time to look ahead to 2024-25. Florida is the betting favourite to win again next season, but the Edmonton Oilers aren’t far behind.

Let’s take a look at the top contenders to win the 2025 Stanley Cup.

2024-25 Stanley Cup odds

Florida Panthers (+900)

The newly crowned Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are the favourites to win again in 2024-25. The Panthers have played in the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons and they’ll look to become the first team to reach the fourth round in three straight years since state rival Tampa Bay.

This team is built for the playoffs and the main pieces of the roster are under contract for at least one more year. Florida is projected to have nearly $20 million in cap space, but they will still have to move off of key players. UFA’s Sam Reinhart and Brandon Montour have likely priced themselves out unless they take a major pay cut and backup goalie Anthony Stolarz should attract a lot of attention in free agency.

Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad are all entering the final year of their contracts, so they’ll be eligible for extensions this summer. And while Sergei Bobrovsky is locked up for two more years, he turns 36 before next season and he’s played a lot of hockey over the last two seasons.

Colorado Avalanche (+1000)

Colorado is only two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup and they should be one of the more interesting teams to watch this summer. There’s a lot of unknown when it comes to what the Avs can and will do. Valeri Nichushkin is suspended until at least November and Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played since Colorado won the Cup in 2022. Between those two players, that’s nearly $14 million that may or may not be on the books.

The Avalanche locked up Casey Mittelstadt, but Mikko Rantanen is eligible for an extension and Jonathan Drouin needs a new contract. While it looks like the Avs will find a way to bring Drouin back, Rantanen could play out the year without signing. His last contract negotiation was tough and he didn’t sign until just before the season started.

On defence, the top four is under contract for at least two more seasons, while Colorado will likely move on from Jack Johnson and Caleb Jones. Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev is the biggest risk, but the Avalanche can’t afford an upgrade, so he’ll remain the starter.

Dallas Stars (+1000)

Dallas gives off strong Colorado vibes from a few seasons ago when the Avalanche were Stanley Cup favourites for a couple of years before they finally won. The Stars’ core will be back, with Jason Robertson, Miro Heiskanen, Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz all leading the way.

Wyatt Johnston took a major step forward in 2023-24 and he’ll be a bargain next season on the final year of his entry level contract. Jake Oettinger is a Vezina-calibre goalie, but Dallas only has three defencemen signed for next season and only Heiskanen is signed beyond that.

With just five players signed beyond next year and a little over $16 million in cap space, the Stars seem like a team that could go all-in this summer and make some major additions in free agency.

Edmonton Oilers (+1000)

The Edmonton Oilers may not have won the Stanley Cup this season, but they still made history as just the third team ever to trail 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final and push the series to a Game 7. Next season will be pivotal for the Oilers as it will be the last year of Leon Draisaitl‘s current contract and the second-last year of Connor McDavid‘s contract.

Edmonton’s core will largely remain intact and they have roughly $10 million in cap space to re-sign players like Dylan Holloway, Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark.

The biggest decision for the Oilers concerns goaltending. Stuart Skinner was great when facing elimination during the playoffs, but there’s no question he struggled at times and cost Edmonton games. With three major goalie trades in the last week, the market is shrinking, so the Oilers need to make a decision on Skinner quickly.

Carolina Hurricanes (+1100)

The Carolina Hurricanes have been on the cusp of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for a few seasons and they have a lot of flexibility heading into the off-season. With over $20 million in cap space, Carolina has the seventh-lowest payroll in the NHL heading into free agency, but there’s always question on how much ownership is willing to spend.

The Hurricanes have money to spend, but they also have expensive players to re-sign. They’ll need to make decisions on UFAs Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Jordan Martinook, as well as RFAs Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas.

Carolina is also believed to be targeting an upgrade in net. Frederik Andersen has struggled to stay healthy and Pyotr Kochetkov has yet to establish himself as a No. 1 goaltender. Juuse Saros is likely the best option available, but the price would be significant.

Last 10 Stanley Cup champions

Stanley Cup betting trends

• No conference has dominated. In the last 10 years, the East has won the Cup six times and the West has won four times.
• Repeat winners might be more frequent than you realize. Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh have both gone back-to-back in the last decade and 16 teams have done it since 1918.
• The Presidents’ Trophy doesn’t mean much. In 35 years, only eight teams who had the best regular season record have gone on to win the Stanley Cup and two of the last six winners have lost in the first round of the playoffs.