The race to the Stanley Cup is officially on.
With the ultra-successful Four Nations Face-Off giving hockey diehards and casuals alike an amazing taste of playoff hockey, the push for the playoffs should be watched with enhanced scrutiny. There is less than two months left in the regular season, and that will be followed by the best postseason tournament in sports.
History indicates there are more than a handful of teams capable of winning the Stanley Cup right now, which is why the odds for even the favorites are so long. That makes right now the time to place your futures bets on the Cup champ – if you can find a club you feel will go all the way.
Here is a look at where the 2025 Stanley Cup odds currently stand.
2025 Stanley Cup Odds
Odds current as of 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 18, 2025
- Edmonton Oilers (+575)
- Carolina Hurricanes (+650)
- Florida Panthers (+850)
- Dallas Stars (+900)
- Washington Capitals (+1100)
- New Jersey Devils (+1200)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (+1200)
- Vegas Golden Knights (+1200)
- Colorado Avalanche (+1300)
- Winnipeg Jets (+1300)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+1800)
- Los Angeles Kings (+2000)
- Minnesota Wild (+2500)
- New York Rangers (+3300)
2025 Stanley Cup Favorites
Edmonton Oilers (+575)
The Oilers came within a victory of both winning the Cup and doing so in historic fashion by turning around a 3-0 deficit. So Edmonton is clearly hungry, and of course loaded, led by tandem Hart Trophy winners Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
It may seem like a coincidence, but there is a reason no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The fishbowl aspect of hockey coverage north of the border is real, especially in a town like Edmonton, where the Oilers are by far the biggest act in town.
Aside from that, Edmonton will need to contend with the absolutely loaded Western Conference – where Colorado is somehow the first wild card. Still, the Oilers have skill for days and have been one of the NHL’s stingiest teams under coach Kris Knoblauch, which makes them a worthy favorite.
2025 Stanley Cup Contenders
Carolina Hurricanes (+650)
The Canes are having another Cane-like season. They are one of the best possession teams and are near the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference. Rod Brind’Amour is a great coach, and Carolina already upgraded its roster by acquiring forwards Taylor Hall and Mikko Rantanen in an attempt to bolster its offense.
Carolina is pretty locked into the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division, and likely a first-round date with the New Jersey Devils, whom it thoroughly demolished in five games in the first round in 2023.
Still, Carolina’s offense tends to be an issue come playoff time, even though it scored three goals in eight of its 10 playoff games in the postseason last year. Plus, even while Pyotr Kochetkov has held down the Hurricanes’ goaltending, his .863 career save percentage is concerning, as is the health of primary starter Frederik Andersen.
Florida Panthers (+850)
The Panthers are once again looking dangerous, especially since the reigning Cup champions are almost assured of a playoff spot as of mid-February. Like Carolina, Florida is once again one of the league’s best possession teams and has a veteran roster laden with playoff experience after consecutive Cup Final runs.
Perhaps Florida’s lineup is a bit too experience-heavy though, because it may run out of gas after playing into June in consecutive years. Plus, forward and emotional leader Matthew Tkachuk went all out in the Four Nations Face-Off and sustained an injury, which we will be keeping a close eye on the rest of the way.
The Lightning reached the Final in three straight years from 2020-22, though those runs were disjointed due to COVID-19, which means think long and hard before putting your money down on the Panthers to repeat.
Dallas Stars (+900)
The Stars are like the Hurricanes west, in that every year they seem to be in the mix but also cannot seem to get over the hump. Still, Dallas is right there in the playoff field in the West, since Pete DeBoer’s team has reached the Western Conference Final in consecutive seasons.
The Stars have great goaltending in Jake Oettinger and a veteran-laden lineup. The only question is whether they can scale the Western Conference mountain, which could mean beating three of the Jets, Golden Knights, Avalanche, Oilers or Wild.
2025 Stanley Cup Dark Horses
Colorado Avalanche (+1300)
Somehow the Avalanche are tied for fourth-shortest odds of any Western Conference team, and seventh-shortest in general, even though they have a Hart Trophy favorite (Nathan MacKinnon), Norris Trophy favorite (Cale Makar) and likely Vezina Trophy finalist (Mackenzie Blackwood) and have won the Cup before.
It is Blackwood’s presence, and play, that has Colorado seeming especially dangerous. Colorado started 14-13-0 and languished with the awful play of Alexandar Georgiev, but Blackwood, and fellow acquiree Scott Wedgewood, have turned things around quickly with Colorado’s 19-9-2 spell that cemented it into a playoff spot.
Whether Blackwood can keep it up into the playoffs remain to be seen. But this group won the Cup with Darcy Kuemper tending goal, which means the Avalanche don’t need much support in goal to have success – though the fact they are unlikely to have home-ice advantage may be a problem.
Winnipeg Jets (+1300)
Quick, without looking, which NHL team led the league in points as of the Four Nations break?
That’s right, it was the Winnipeg Jets, and frankly, it wasn’t particularly close. Winnipeg has scored the most goals of any team and is trotting out goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who is having another Vezina Trophy-caliber season – he is a four-time finalist, two-time winner and is the overwhelming favorite to repeat this season.
The West is a minefield, especially since Winnipeg could end up facing Colorado in the first round again – the Avs quickly dispatched the Jets in five games last season. But if the Jets can dodge Colorado in the first round as the No. 1 seed in the West, their road to the Cup Final could be the easiest of any Western Conference team.
New York Rangers (+3300)
The Rangers are more likely to miss the playoffs than not, but if they get in they will be super-dangerous. New York still has arguably the top netminder in the East in Igor Shesterkin, and it has dominated the Carolina Hurricanes, especially in the playoffs since the Rangers have bounced their Metropolitan Division rivals in two of the past three postseasons.
New York’s schizophrenic season seems destined to end with a fiery, dramatic end, especially since it had six players in the Four Nations Face-Off and four playing for the United States.
But of all the long shots, New York has all the pieces to go on a run, even though it has fallen short of the Stanley Cup Final in every season since 2014.
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