2027 Stanley Cup Betting Odds, Prediction: Panthers, Avalanche, Hurricanes Top NHL Futures Board
The shortened pre-season is behind us and it’s now time for the real thing.
The puck drops for regular season action in the NHL on Tuesday, with 32 teams battling to hoist Lord Stanley.
Three recent cup champions in Florida, Colorado and Carolina are the pre-season favourites to win again in 2027. Let’s dive deeper into this season’s Cup favourites and some recent betting trends.
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Stanley Cup Favourites
In an interesting twist, the three favourites to win the Stanley Cup this season took very different approaches to the off-season.
After missing out on the playoffs last year, the Panthers made some major moves with their roster, trading for Brady Tkachuk and Jacob Markstrom. They also let goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who backstopped the team to Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025, walk in free agency.
The Avalanche had a bitter end to last season following a sweep in the Western Conference Finals. Colorado’s Presidents’ Trophy roster from last year largely remains intact, with their most significant off-season business coming in the form of a massive contract extension that will make star defenceman Cale Makar the highest paid player in the NHL when it kicks in a year from now.
The defending champion Hurricanes, on the other hand, made almost no significant moves. Outside of letting oft-injured goaltender Frederik Andersen leave via free agency, Carolina is essentially icing the same roster that finished last year’s playoffs with a blistering 16-3 record.
Here’s the top-10 favourites to win the Stanley Cup ahead of Tuesday’s regular season-opener:
- Florida Panthers (+650)
- Colorado Avalanche (+700)
- Carolina Hurricanes (+750)
- Edmonton Oilers (+900)
- Vegas Golden Knights (+900)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+1300)
- Minnesota Wild (+1400)
- Washington Capitals (+1600)
- Dallas Stars (+1700)
- Montreal Canadiens (+1900)
Stanley Cup Prediction
Everything is lining up for the Avalanche this season. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Gabriel Landeskog and Devon Toews are all locked up long-term and general manager Joe Sakic has done a nice job filling out the depth with off-season additions like Jaden Schwartz.
Colorado also boasts arguably the best goaltending tandem in the league with last year’s Jennings Trophy winners Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood between the pipes.
This team absolutely dominated the NHL for most of last season and they should be just as strong in 2026-27 with a full year of Nazem Kadri, Nicolas Roy and Brett Kulak to balance out the depth.
The Avs are +700 to win their first Stanley Cup since 2022 for a reason.
Stanley Cup Betting Trends
- Repeat winners: Over the last decade, the Penguins (2016, 2017), Lightning (2020, 2021) and Panthers (2024, 2025) have each won back-to-back Stanley Cups.
- Presidents’ Trophy curse: In it’s 40-year history, only eight teams that have won the Presidents’ Trophy have gone on to win the Stanley Cup.
- East is a beast: Seven of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions have come from the Eastern Conference.
- Sorry, Vegas: The Stanley Cup runners-up have gone on to win a championship the following season just once since 1990 (2009 Pittsburgh Penguins).
Last 10 Stanley Cup Champions
| Season | Stanley Cup Champion | Odds Befoe Playoffs | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Carolina Hurricanes | +500 | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 2024-25 | Florida Panthers | +1000 | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2023-24 | Florida Panthers | +800 | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2022-23 | Vegas Golden Knights | +1200 | Florida Panthers |
| 2021-22 | Colorado Avalanche | +325 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 2020-21 | Tampa Bay Lightning | +800 | Montreal Canadiens |
| 2019-2020 | Tampa Bay Lightning | +650 | Dallas Stars |
| 2018-19 | St. Louis Blues | +1250 | Boston Bruins |
| 2017-18 | Washington Capitals | +1225 | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 2016-17 | Pittsburgh Penguins | +770 | Nashville Predators |