Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

2026 NHL Stanley Cup Predictions and Futures Odds

by Ryan Cobbett - 10/6/2025

NHL Stanley Cup predictions Sergei Bobrovsky Florida Panthers

The 2025-26 campaign gets underway tomorrow night after a long offseason of anticipation. The Florida Panthers will once again look to defend Stanley and keep the trophy in Florida for another year. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, and others are itching at the chance to get back on the ice and claim the best trophy in sports. This offseason we had some big moves like Mitch Marner getting moved to Vegas which ended the Core Four’s time in Toronto, K’Andre Miller and Nikolaj Ehlers have joined forces in Carolina, Montreal went in on a deal that brought Noah Dobson to Canada, and Kirill Kaprizov and Connor McDavid both agreed on extensions to keep them put as franchise cornerstones. Back in the early days of summer, Carolina had the best odds to win the Stanley Cup at +700 while Florida (+750) and Edmonton (+750) trailed. Over the course of the off-season, these odds have changed and now is the time to turn in your final bets on NHL Futures. Let’s take a look at who currently has the best odds to bring Stanley home this season.

Doc’s Sports offers NHL expert picks for every game on our hockey predictions page.

Florida Panthers +750

Why they will:

They have figured it out the last two seasons. Despite injuries and other depth concerns, Florida still found a way to bring home the Stanley Cup. In fact, they largely dominated their playoff competition and there was little doubt that they would once again repeat. The team extended Brad Marchand, Aaron Ekblad, and Sam Bennett while bringing in blueliner Jeff Petry and goalie Daniil Tarasov to backup Sergei Bobrovsky. With the core kept together and some extra reinforcements coming in to provide some depth, Florida once again looks like the team to beat. The depth will be a tremendous strength for Florida here and if they can get healthy at the right time, the lineup will be star-studded. The Panthers are dangerous.

Why they won’t:

A Bobrovsky decline and injury concerns. Stop me if you have heard this before, but the Panthers are once again dealing with injury concerns to start the year. Matthew Tkachuk is going to miss a good chunk of games and may not return to the ice till the new calendar year while Aleksander Barkov tore his ACL and MCL during practice and is set to be out for quite some time. That is two of their stars out for extended time with other injury prone names taking on a big role in the lineup. It is also worth monitoring that Bobrovsky is now 37 years old. He has been elite over the past two seasons for Florida, but it is worth considering his battle against Father Time. If he declines, Tarasov isn’t exactly an ideal backup for a team with championship aspirations.

Dallas Stars +850

Why they will:

They have been so close over the last half decade. Dallas may have the best roster on paper in the league. They have one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and have some stars headlining their lineup. They were in the Top Six in both scoring and goals against while playing in the toughest division in the sport. They have a multitude of 30+ goal scorers, and they now get the reap the reward of having a full season of Mikko Rantanen in victory green. Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston, Miro Heiskanen, and Matt Duchene form a deep supporting cast. There is a perfect blend of youth and experience for the Stars, and this group is battle tested. Look for Jim Nill to be creative and find a way to pad the depth and for the new coach to push the Stars to their first championship of this century.

Why they won’t:

The depth isn’t what it was a year ago. They replaced Mikael Granlund, Cody Ceci, Evgenii Dadonov, and Mason Marchment with Radek Faksa. While they hope for a full season of Heiskanen as well as the emergence of young talent like Lian Bichsel and Oskar Back, they did not have the resources to replace the talent that left over the offseason. Dallas’ stars will take part in the Olympics, and their health and stamina will be big concerns to end the regular season. They need to stay healthy or figure out some depth or Dallas may fall short once again.

Edmonton Oilers +850

Why they will:

They were able to retain the McDavid Leon Draisaitl duo while also replacing some of the lost depth. After they fell in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in as many years, the Oilers saw Viktor Arvidsson, Connor Brown, John Klingberg, Evander Kane, and Corey Perry all depart from the roster. However, the team was able to extend Evan Bouchard and Trent Frederic as well as bringing in Andrew Mangiapane which may be one of the most underrated signings of the offseason. Mangiapane is a former 35-goal scorer and will no doubt boost the depth and keep opponents on their heels, even when McDavid is off the ice. You can’t count out the McDavid/Draisaitl combo, especially when Edmonton has been able to provide a solid supporting cast.

Why they won’t:

The goaltending situation. Yes, Stuart Skinner has played out of his mind in the postseason. He shutdown the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals last season and has a solid playoff highlight reel. However, it is a head scratcher that Edmonton has continued to neglect spending more resources on attracting a top tier goaltender to sure up the winning potential of this team. Calvin Pickard doesn’t necessarily give the Oilers the best backup plan either. This will continue to be the Achilles Heel of the Oilers.

Carolina Hurricanes +950

Why they will:

They had perhaps the best offseason this summer and now have some more stars to push this team past Florida. The Hurricanes signed Ehlers who was one of the best offensive options this summer after posting 63 points in 69 games for Winnipeg last season. He gives Carolina a 20+ goal scorer to run with Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov. On top of that, they poached Miller, from the New York Rangers, and he is bound to have an immediate impact in Carolina while furthering the depth at the blueline. This is also a championship roster with a little over $10 million in remaining cap space. Look for the Hurricanes to make another big move at the deadline this season to boost this roster.

Why they won’t:

They have been quiet in the playoffs despite being one of the best regular season teams over the last few seasons. While it is reasonable to understand Carolina being bested by Florida, it is no secret that the Hurricanes have lost their edge come playoff time and wasted a lot of really good rosters as a result. Pyotr Kochetkov is noticeably worse in the crease during the playoffs as he has allowed 3.83 GA/G in 10 playoff appearances in his career, and there have been other production concerns regarding the Carolina depth. This has to change, or Carolina will never get over the hump.

Vegas Golden Knights +950

Why they will:

The Marner experience. It is rare when a team is able to boast about adding a 100-point player. Vegas responded to Dallas’ acquisition of Rantanen by going all in on Marner. Marner has had 26 or more goals in each of his last four seasons while his 102 points from a season ago were a career high. He leaves one supporting cast to join up with Jack Eichel that can rival the McDavid/Draisaitl duo in Edmonton. He adds incredible offensive potential to a team who ranked fifth in the league in scoring while rounding out what will now be considered the best power play unit in the NHL. This is the kind of homerun move that will keep Vegas in the game when competing with the likes of Dallas, Edmonton, and Colorado.

Why they won’t:

No cap space and lack of blueline depth. The Golden Knights are over $10 million over the cap as of now which reduces the ability for the front office to add some finishing touches to the roster before the deadline. What you see is what you are going to get. This doesn’t sound great when you pair it with the fact that one of their best defensemen in Alex Pietrangelo is out for the season. This is a particularly concerning variable when you factor in the fact that this regular season will feel longer than normal thanks to the Olympics. The Olympics also adds stress to the NHL teams and will highlight a need for depth. Vegas just doesn’t have that on the backend this season which may lead to some burnout towards the end of the year. It does, however, make Vegas an interesting team to follow if you like cashing in on Overs.

Get NHL picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent Hockey Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers