2026 Stanley Cup Odds and Predictions

The NHL has crashed into the boards of 2026, and is poised for an explosive second-half of their season. Yet, the league will pause for the Winter Olympics as players head to Italy to play for their native countries.

This gives us a time to look at the first-half of the year and reevaluate our NHL betting strategies to see where we went right and wrong so far. Additionally, it’s the perfect opportunity to size up the Stanley Cup scene to see where we should approach this NHL futures bet.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest Stanley Cup odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites, and make our NHL picks for the 2026 Stanley Cup championship.

NHL Stanley Cup Odds

Check out the latest Stanley Cup odds courtesy of ScoresandStats:

At the start of the season, Carolina was the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. However, since then, the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning have surpassed the Panthers with the sportsbooks to become the betting favorites.

The Los Angeles Kings have seen the biggest drop in odds as they’ve struggled heading into the break, along with playing well below their preseason expectations. The biggest mover is the Minnesota Wild who are fighting with Dallas to land the no.2 spot in the Western Conference as of this writing.

Keep reading our Stanley Cup predictions below to see which way we lean for this NHL futures bet. Additionally, take a look at what the best handicappers are saying and maximize the value from their season-long NHL picks.

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Stanley Cup Favorites

The following NHL teams are considered the odds-on favorites to win the 2025-26 NHL Stanley Cup:

Colorado Avalanche (+220)

The Colorado Avalanche have been the dominant team of the 2025-26 NHL season as they boast of a 35-7-9 record at the time of this writing. The Avalanche lead the league by a sizable margin in points and are the top team in the Western Conference.

Colorado has put up impressive numbers this season allowing just 127 goals but scoring 200 goals, which is the best margin in the league by far.

This team is balanced on both sides of the ice, but they’re led by one of the best players in the league – Nathan MacKinnon who leads the Avalanche in goals (38), assists (50), and points (88).

If Colorado continues this trend after the break, then they could be hoisting the Cup once again.

Tampa Bay Lightning (+550)

The Tampa Bay Lightning continues to excel as a top-tier contender. They currently possess a 33-14-4 record that leads the Eastern Conference and they also have the second-best scoring margin at +49.

The Lightning have a fantastic blend of veteran leadership and rising prospects that produce a high-octane offense with 179 goals on the season.  scoring 162 goals while allowing 119.

Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 26 goals and 54 assists (80 points). But Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a stalwart between the pipes with a sub-2.10 GAA. Tampa’s balanced play will keep them in the mix for the Conference Championship and possibly a Stanley Cup.

Carolina Hurricanes (+750)

The Carolina Panthers started off the year as the Stanley Cup favorites. While a 32-15-5 record has them second in the Eastern Conference, they’re going to be neck-and-neck with Lightning for the top seed in the East.

They Panthers have scored 180 goals and allowed 150, which shows that Carolina can score with the best teams and defend at a high level.

The Hurricanes’ offense is powered by Sebastian Aho who has 52 points on 17 goals and 35 assists. Seth Jarvis leads Carolina with 23 goals, while Svechnikov and Ehlers also provide scoring balance and depth.

Goalie Brandon Bussi has been playing at a high level with a 19-3 record and a 2.15 GAA. The defense is solid, but Bussi’s play also reminds us that any lapses on this side of the ice will be cleaned up by his incredible goal tending.

There’s plenty of appeal with the Panthers’ odds right now as they’re more than capable of outlasting Tampa Bay in the East and challenging the Avalanche or Oilers for a third straight Stanley Cup.

Edmonton Oilers (+1000)

The Edmonton Oilers have been runner up two years in a row. So, you would’ve thought that this team would come out and play with more aggression this year. Instead, it appears that they’ve coasted through the first half with a lackluster 27-19-8 record.

With that said, I do believe that this team will turn it up a notch as the regular season winds down. Connor McDavid is arguably the best player in the league and he will be a major catalyst for this team’s run at another Western Conference title.

McDavid leads the team with 33 goals, 59 assists and 92 points as of this writing. But he’s been getting plenty of assistance from Leon Draisaitl who has 74 points (25 goals, 49 assists).

With that said, this team has struggled at times to produce points outside of their top two scorers. That will need to change by the Playoffs. Additionally, they’ve been playing at a substandard level defensively with just a +11 scoring margin.

The Oilers have given up 175 goals and their top goalie (Stuart Skinner) has a 2.83 GAA on an 11-8-4 record. This will not cut it in the Playoffs.

Best Stanley Cup Betting Value

The following NHL teams offer solid betting value for their Stanley Cup odds:

Dallas Stars (+1900)

The Dallas Stars were a preseason Western Conference favorite. While they remain in the thick of things in the West, a 29-14-9 record has them battling teams like the Wild and Vegas for the no.2 team behind Colorado.

Dallas does have the second-best scoring margin in the West (+29) as they’ve scored 176 goals and allowed 147. This represents balanced play that many Western Conference teams are failing at. So, the Stars do have a real shot at a deep run in the Playoffs.

For Dallas to be a real contender, they will need to get their GAA down with no.1 goalie Jake Oettinger who is 20-10-4 on the season. He’s allowing 2.66 GAA and a .902 save percentage. For Dallas to upset Colorado, these numbers need to improve.

While Jason Robertson (30 goals) and Mikko Rantanen (64 points) lead the offensive charge, this team won’t be able to outscore elite opponents like Colorado.

Minnesota Wild (+2000)

The Minnesota Wild have been a pleasant surprise this year. They currently have the second-best record in the West at 30-14-10 and 70 points. They’ve been strong on the road (15-8-3), which will help them come Playoff time.

The Wild are led by Kirill Kaprizov’s 64 points (28 goals, 36 assists) and Matt Boldy’s 54 points (28 goals, 26 assists). They are the top scorers on this team and have helped propel Minnesota to the top of the West.

Filip Gustavsson has been reliable in the net at 17-9-6. Additionally, Jesper Wallstedt has been solid, as well. He’s posted a 13-5-4 record. If they can trim their 2.62 and 2.71 GAA down by Playoff time, this team could be a real threat in the West.

Top Stanley Cup Longshot

The Detroit Red Wings were our initial longshot of choice at +9000 odds to start the season. They made us look smart as of this writing. The Red Wings currently sit 3^rd in the Eastern Conference and are just one point behind the Lightning for the Atlantic lead.

They sit with +4000 odds as of this writing. So, you can definitely roll with them if you want, and we will keep that longshot flier on our radars as the season concludes. However, the Utah Mammoth provide us with slightly better value at +4500 odds and are flirting with a Top 5 spot in the Western Conference as of this writing.

At 28-21-4, the Mammoth are heating up as we approach the break. They’ve gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and feature Karel Vejmelka in the net. He’s been playing like a reliable goalie with a 25-12-2 record. More importantly, he posts a 2.56 GAA and .902 save percentage. These numbers should keep Utah in the hunt for Playoff success.

Additionally, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Dylan Guenther provide balanced scoring for the Minnesota offense as they all have 45 to 50 points as of this writing. Guenther leads the team with 24 goals.

Utah’s offensive prowess and solid goaltending will propel this team for the rest of the year. Watch out for them in the Playoffs.

NHL Stanley Cup Predictions

At the start of the season, we were riding the Carolina Panthers to three-peat. Now, it’s really hard to ignore what the Avalanche are doing.

They have the best record in the NHL, have scored the most points, have the best scoring margin and have one of the best goalies in Scott Wedgewood. The netminder is 20-3-5 on the year with a 2.14 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

This team has all of the ingredients to win the Stanley Cup in 2026.

Bet: Colorado Avalanche (+220)

Stanley Cup Prop Bets

Let’s take a look at some of the popular Stanley Cup prop bets available as of this writing:

Winning Conference

• Eastern Conference (+110)
• Western Conference (-140)

These odds have shifted since the start of the year. The West went from -115 to -140, while the East went from -105 to +110. While I like the Colorado Avalanche to win, I can’t ignore the value with the Eastern Conference. They still have the two-time champ Panthers and Tampa Bay.

Let’s go with the Western Conference for now, but if these odds increase significantly, then we can always go with a flier on the East.

Bet: Western Conference (-140)

Stanley Cup Division winner

• Central (+165)
• Atlantic (+230)
• Pacific (+360)
• Metropolitan (+425)

The odds have shifted for this prop bet, as well. At the start of the year, the Central was +260 and the Atlantic was +280.

At this point, it’s smart to ride the Central Division as they have the odds-on favorite in Colorado. Plus, they also have Dallas, Minnesota and Utah. All four teams will be Playoff contenders and have shown a strong balance this season.

Additionally, I see these Central odds shrinking as the season goes on. So, get the value while you can.

Bet: Central (+165)

First Time Winner

• Yes (+800)
• No (-1600)

The odds for the No option have almost doubled since the start of the year as it’s gone from -1000 to -1600. There’s little value with this prop bet, but the No option is the clear-cut winner.

We’re not going to see a first-time winner this year, especially due to the talented teams that are evolving into the odds-on favorites like Carolina and Colorado.

Bet: No (-1600)

Winning Nation

• USA (-1200)
• Canada (+650)

The USA opened as a -400 favorite and have tripled in odds to come in at -1200 odds. Canada went from +275 to +650. The reality is that Edmonton is the only true Canadian contender for the Stanley Cup. They will most likely win gold at the Winter OIympics, so it’s not all bad news for Canada.

Bet: USA (-1200)

Stanley Cup Winner List

The following is a list of the most recent NHL teams to win the Stanley Cup: