It took 20 years to get back on top of the pile, but the Carolina Hurricanes are your 2025-26 Stanley Cup Champions! The Canes found themselves in an early-series deficit versus the Vegas Golden Knights, rattling off convincing wins in three straight before hoisting hockey’s Holy Grail.
This was a long time coming for Carolina. For years, they were priced as Stanley Cup contenders, but it wasn’t until this season that they were able to fulfill their destiny. While the outlook is promising again next season, there are plenty of teams nipping at their heels in the betting market.
We’re analyzing BetMGM’s 2026-27 Stanley Cup futures board, assessing where the early money is flowing for next year’s NHL champion.
Hurricanes Back in Front
Considering their total domination through the playoffs, it’s not surprising to see the Hurricanes back near the top of the Stanley Cup futures board. The Champs opened at +750, the second-shortest odds on the board. Bettors are keenly aware of Carolina’s chances of repeating, already staking the Hurricanes to the heftiest betting market share.
Less than a week after they claimed the Stanley Cup, the Hurricanes have already accumulated 15.6% of the tickets and 9.2% of the betting handle. With that, BetMGM could have a low threshold for moving Carolina ahead of the top-ranked Colorado Avalanche.
Avalanche Looking for Revenge
This was supposed to be the Avs’ year. A dominant regular season, the Stanley Cup favorites from start to finish, and the lion’s share of the betting market was all lost in the Western Conference Finals. Still, it’s not surprising to see Colorado priced as the odds-on favorite for next year’s title.
Predictably, the Avs’ dominance was also reflected in their analytics profile. They ended the regular season with the best expected goals-for rating in the league, finishing with a 56.4% mark. They created more scoring chances than any other team while allowing the fourth-fewest, contributing to an assertive 62.8% actual goals-for rating. While they didn’t mimic that success in the postseason, we predict a deeper run in next year’s postseason is an expected outcome.
That’s a sentiment that’s shared across the betting market. The Avalanche have accounted for the second-highest ticket count (14.3%) and third-highest handle (9.1%). Colorado is built to win now, and it carries an avalanche of momentum into next season.
Pacific Division Contenders
Pacific Division teams have represented the Western Conference in four straight Stanley Cup Finals and nine of the past 16 championship series. With that, it’s not surprising to see several teams priced as premier contenders in 2026-27.
The Vegas Golden Knights stand tallest in the division. Already with three trips to the finals under their collective belts, the Knights are priced as +1000 frontrunners next season. Likewise, the Edmonton Oilers are expected to bounce-back after a dismal 2025-26 campaign, listed just behind Vegas at +1100.
The Anaheim Ducks (+2200), Utah Mammoth (+3000), and Los Angeles Kings (+3500) round out the top end of the Pacific Division, albeit with slightly more tantalizing odds. As we saw this year, anything could happen in the playoffs and any of those teams are capable of making a deep run.
Canadiens Are the Cream of the Crop
The Montreal Canadiens shocked the hockey world, making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2019-20. Their success was mostly unexpected, with the Habs opening as +8000 longshots at the start of last season. Wary of potential exposure in 2026-27, BetMGM has Montreal listed at +2200 on its current futures board, but everyone is already piling onto the Canadiens’ bandwagon.
No team has collected more handle than Montreal. The Atlantic Division contenders have earned a staggering 56.6% of the betting handle, despite being written on just 4.2% of the tickets. As inferred, that represents some big money wagers from sharp bettors, but it also signals a wider belief in the Habs’ long-term outlook.
Head coach Martin St. Louis extracted maximum value from all of his forwards, and Jakub Dobes has emerged as a game-changing stalwart in the blue paint. Their roster composition points toward sustained success, and bettors have already taken notice.
Final Thoughts
The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports. An 82-game regular season is concluded with a gruelling four-round playoff run, necessitating 16 wins to be crowned as champions. It took the Hurricanes 20 years to reclaim their mantle, looking like top contenders in each of the past six seasons. It will take a magical run for any team to dethrone the Canes. As we’re seeing in the betting market, bettors are already claiming their early stake in a number of teams ahead of next season.
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