NHL Betting News This Month | Stanley Cup 2027 Best Bets, Market Watch & Betting Analysis | September 2026

Oddsmakers are putting their faith in the Florida Panthers rebounding to win the Stanley Cup for the third time in four seasons after missing the playoffs in 2025-26. Florida's Stanley Cup betting odds have lengthened slightly from +625 to +650. The Panthers will welcome back captain Aleksander Barkov and gritty winger Matthew Tkachuk from debilitating injuries that scuttled last season for both players. Adding Matthew's brother, Brady, from Ottawa in a trade, and trading for rugged Garnet Hathaway and nasty defender Radko Gudas, the Panthers are going to be the nastiest team in the league. They'll be no fun to play against. That's a vital quality in surviving the grind to win the Stanley Cup. Adding Jacob Markstrom from New Jersey gives Florida a world-class netminder to replace the departed Sergei Bobrovsky. 

The Carolina Hurricanes have also seen their odds to repeat as Stanley Cup champions lengthen significantly. The Canes were at +675. They're now listed at +750. It's not really surprising. Retaining the Cup can prove to be a tall order. Last season's defending champion, the Florida Panthers, won for the second year in a row. They were just the fifth team to win consecutive Cups since 1990. Carolina won the Cup in 2006 and waited 20 years to win it again. Already, the challenge of winning again is proving more daunting. Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen left the team as a free agent, signing with the Edmonton Oilers. Carolina made no offseason upgrades in personnel.

The reigning Presidents' Trophy winners held steady in Stanley Cup futures. The Colorado Avalanche were the third betting choice at +750. Now they are the co-second betting pick at +750. Signing Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Cale Makar to an eight-year, $163.2 million contract made him the highest-paid player in NHL history with an AAV of $20.4 million. The Avalanche entered last spring's postseason as the chalk to win the Stanley Cup. They looked like champs in waiting as they rolled through the first two playoff rounds. However, injuries to their Hart Trophy-winning center, Nathan MacKinnon, and Makar put Colorado on the back foot in the Western Conference final against Vegas, and the Avs never recovered. They suffered a further blow when the season ended. General manager Chris MacFarland left the club to take over as GM of Colorado's Central Division rivals, the Nashville Predators. 

Concerning offseason injuries caused the betting line on the Edmonton Oilers winning the Stanley Cup to lengthen from +800 to +850. Newly signed Cup-winning goalie Frederik Andersen from the Hurricanes will miss the start of the season. They hoped he would finally solve their longstanding issue between the pipes. Veteran forward Mattias Janmark is also out following summer surgery. The hiring of the controversial Mike Babcock as head coach also leaves people wondering about the direction the Oilers will take this season. With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as a 1-2 punch down the middle, and the hopeful return to health of Zach Hyman, there's cause for optimism. Edmonton lost the 2024 and 2025 Cup Final series to the Panthers.

One thing about the Vegas Golden Knights. They're never afraid to make bold moves. This summer, though, the only moves were departures. Coach John Tortorella, after leading the club to the Cup Final, was let go and replaced by Ryan Craig. Forwards Pavel Dorofeyev and Keegan Kolesar, and goalie Akira Schmid were all dealt away. Even so, the Golden Knights remain over the NHL salary cap limit. More subtraction from the roster will be necessary before opening night. That's causing the betting public to fade the Golden Knights. The Stanley Cup odds on Vegas lengthened from +850 to +1000.