Betting Analysis: Who are the Favorites for the Stanley Cup?
The sports betting market presents an uncertain outlook for the upcoming NHL season, with no clear favorite to win the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers, seeking a historic three-peat, face fierce competition. The Carolina Hurricanes, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Edmonton Oilers share the title of co-favorites (+800) on ESPN BET. They are closely followed by the Dallas Stars, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Panthers (+900), with the Tampa Bay Lightning (+1000) a bit further behind. However, the absence of a clear consensus among the main American bookmakers adds excitement to the contest. Some houses see Florida and Vegas as the main contenders.The Panthers began the season as one of the favorites after their second consecutive championship. Following contract extensions for Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett, and despite Matthew Tkachuk’s surgery, the team remained strong. The Panthers’ situation in the betting market was affected by Aleksander Barkov’s knee injury, which led to a change in the Stanley Cup odds at most sportsbooks. ESPN BET, for example, went as high as +1000. Despite this, bets in favor of the Panthers have remained solid, with ESPN BET reporting the most bets (17.1%) and betting volume (21.4%) backing their attempt at a three-peat. Some sportsbooks, like Caesars Sportsbook, refuse to rule out the Panthers as favorites, arguing that the injuries of Barkov and Tkachuk affect the regular season odds more.This year, the competition is more open at the top, and then there’s a second tier of teams that are in the 20 to 40 range. Could the Stanley Cup winner come from there? Absolutely. But the first tier has eight teams that we believe will compete for the title.
Johnny Avello, director of DraftKings Sportsbook
DraftKings and ESPN BET show preference for the Hurricanes, even though bettors don’t massively back them.We are not ready to lower their price significantly, at least for the Stanley Cup, simply because I’m not convinced who’s going to take their place [in the playoffs]. As long as Florida makes the playoffs again, for now, without knowing anything else, they remain, for me, the favorites. Not by much, but they remain the favorites, and not a team we’re willing to take off the price for now.
Karry Shreeve, head of hockey at Caesars Sportsbook
Gamblers are also focused on the Avalanche, who have received the third-highest betting volume on BetMGM and ESPN BET. Outside of the favorites, the Toronto Maple Leafs (+1600) are a popular option, with the most bets and volume on BetMGM.Carolina is one of the most consistently dominant teams we’ve seen in recent years, having regained some talent over the summer as they look to make another deep run. Bettors will likely have their postseason struggles in mind, but it took the Panthers at full speed to eliminate them. We expect Carolina to contend in the playoffs again.
Adrian Horton, Senior Director at ESPN BET
