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David Purdum
Odds to win the 2026 Stanley Cup are already up at sportsbooks, and there is disagreement in the betting market regarding which team should be the favorite heading into the offseason.
Depending on what sportsbook you look at, the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes or Colorado Avalanche are next season’s Stanley Cup favorites.
The Panthers finished off the Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 Tuesday night to lift the Cup for a second straight season. But oddsmakers aren’t convinced Florida is the clear-cut favorite to make it three in a row.
At ESPN BET, the Panthers, Oilers and Avs were co-favorites, each listed at +700 as of Tuesday. Colorado had been the outright favorite last week at +650, before the sportsbook tweaked the Avs’ odds to bring them in line with Florida and Edmonton.
“There’s a lot more questions around the Panthers and Oilers than the Avalanche, who are set to return a majority of their roster and have the benefit of a longer offseason,” Adrian Horton, trading director for ESPN BET, said. “Colorado should also enter next season healthy and fresh, while Florida and Edmonton have accumulated wear and tear from consecutive deep playoff runs.”
DraftKings had the Oilers as next season’s favorites, while FanDuel had the Hurricanes as the favorites Tuesday, ahead of Game 6.
Horton pointed to question marks about what the Panthers’ roster will look like after free agency, and he wondered about the toll losing back-to-back Stanley Cup finals would have on the Oilers.
“The Avs, on the other hand, have 19 out of 23 roster spots under contract, including a healthy Gabriel Landeskog and two of the best players in the world in Cale makar and Nathan MacKinnon,” Horton said.
The Hurricanes (+800) and Dallas Stars (+900) round out the top tier of teams in ESPN BET’s odds to win the 2026 Stanely Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks are the biggest long shots entering the offseason, both listed at 500-1.
