2027 NHL Stanley Cup Predictions and Championship Futures Odds
Lord Stanley is heading back to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the first time in 20 years as the Carolina Hurricanes were the last team standing in the postseason. After knocking off a Vegas team that was sure to fizzle out, the Hurricanes brought in the second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Unfortunately for us fans, that means that we are now living in a hockey-less world until late fall. Despite that fact, we had a lot of amazing hockey to watch and plenty of storylines to go with it. For starters, Carolina finally got over their Eastern Conference Championship curse, Vegas managed to sneak their way into the championship (with a lot of help from the playoff setup) despite managing just 39 wins in the regular season, and teams like Montreal and Buffalo surprised many.
As we enter the offseason and begin counting down the days until hockey returns, now is a great time to start looking ahead at who has a legitimate chance of bringing home the Stanley Cup next year. In this article, we will analyze the teams with the five best odds and their biggest question mark for next year, as well as look at where the rest of the league ranks.
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Carolina Hurricanes +600
It may not be a surprise to see the defending Stanley Cup champions sitting atop the league with the best odds to win the trophy again next season. Their core is intact for next season, and they have enough money to make some key free agent signings or moves by the trade deadline during the season. Carolina ranked second in the league in scoring and fifth in goals allowed during the regular season and went 16-3 in the playoffs. They are in a really good position to have another strong postseason showing, and who knows, now that the curse is broken, they could find their way right back to another finals berth.
Biggest Question for Next Season:
What happens with Frederik Andersen?
Beloved goalie Frederik Andersen is an unrestricted free agent. While recency bias may kick in and question why this is a big deal as he was just benched, well he did lead this franchise in the regular season and in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Before the finals, he allowed just 2.19 GA/G during the playoffs. While he is 36 years old, it should still be in Carolina’s best interest to keep a proven goaltender and a fan favorite for at least one more year.
Colorado Avalanche +700
Next up are the Colorado Avalanche who, on paper, had the best team in the NHL last season. Unfortunately, they fell short of returning to the Stanley Cup Finals again. Colorado led the league in both scoring and goals allowed thanks to a historic start to the season and the unexpected emergence of Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood split time during the regular season, but Wedgewood dominated in his 45 appearances. He allowed just 2.02 GA/G an managed a .921 SV%. If that isn’t dominant enough, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas both hit the 100-point milestone mark on the season and the duo combined for 91 goals. Cale Makar, Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen, and Parker Kelly all scored 20 or more goals, and the Avalanche had 15 players record at least 20 points on the season. Pure domination. They may have some depth concerns heading into the offseason, but they will be back in the thick of things next season.
Biggest Question for Next Season:
Can they replace depth?
The Avalanche are not expected to have a lot of room in their budget to make a bunch of moves. They will have to rely more on graduating prospects within the organization while being very calculated where they allocated their thin budget. They also have to afford to extend Makar, who would take precedence over depth concerns.
Tampa Bay Lightning +1000
The Lightning have the third best odds in the NHL to claim the Stanley Cup next season at +1000. They faced a surprising first round exit at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, who somehow forced their way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite their unfortunate exit, the Lightning were still one of the best teams in the league last season, finishing inside the Top Three in both scoring and goals allowed. Their roster featured both the Hart Trophy Winner (Nikita Kucherov) and the Vezina Trophy Winner (Andrei Vasilevskiy). Kucherov finished the year with 130 points, while Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel both filled a “Robin” like role, tallying 38 and 36 goals. They also had an incredible season from blueline Darren Raddysh who finished with 22 goals on the season, though doing so in a contract year.
Biggest Question for Next Season:
Can the Lightning add one more superstar to the mix?
Tampa Bay has an insanely loaded roster right now. However, they have enough cap flexibility (which could be further swelled depending on whether Raddysh resigns) to sign another top skater. If they do not bring back Raddysh, Rasmus Andersson and John Carlson could replace him. Or they could further boost the offensive attack with a guy like Alex Tuch or Viktor Arvidsson.
Edmonton Oilers +1100
It is a bit of a surprise to see the sportsbooks favoring the Oilers as much as they are here, giving them the fourth best odds. Connor McDavid is set to enter what may be his final season in Edmonton, but things are already starting to unravel. First, they are on the brink of bringing in the highly questionable Mike Babcock to be their lead bench coach. On top of that, Darnell Nurse wants out, and others may follow. The Oilers were dominated by Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs, but they still had a strong regular season where they were one of the top scoring teams in the NHL. Despite the fact that the Oilers have McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on their roster, I would stay away from them as a legitimate Stanley Cup threat for this next season unless the front office makes some major improvements.
Biggest Question for Next Season:
What can they do for McDavid?
They have had the best player in the world on their team for quite some time and have yet to win a championship with him. When everything seemed wrapped up two years ago, the Oilers front office convinced McDavid to sign an extension. However, they have done nothing significant to add around him. They have a good chunk of money available to make some moves, but they have to make the right ones in order to not waste McDavid’s talent, but to also potentially keep him around in the future.
Minnesota Wild +1300
The Minnesota Wild round out the Top Five with +1300 odds to win the Stanley Cup. This franchise is dangerous and it will just keep improving. They upset the Dallas Stars in the first round, and they managed to finish the regular season with 104 points. In the playoffs, they benefitted greatly from the emergence of Jesper Wallstedt, but even in the regular season he and Filip Gustavsson were one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL. However, the two Swedish netminders were not the team’s only dynamic duo. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy also tallied over 40 goals apiece and they both reached the 85-poing milestone on the season. As if they were not already loaded enough, there are some rumors of the Wild being a potential landing spot for Dylan Larkin.
Biggest Question for Next Season:
Can they improve their roster despite the large free agent class?
If you read the last sentence of the previous paragraph, you will know that Larkin is potentially heading to St. Paul. That would be an immediate improvement in terms of stardom. However, they have a lot of free agents that will need to be re-signed or replaced. They have Quinn Hughes for another year so an extension may be on the table which could limit spending on other depth pieces. Minnesota’s front office is facing a critical offseason, one that can push their championship window wide open, or make it very short lived.
The Rest of the League:
Florida Panthers +1300
Vegas Golden Knights +1300
Ottawa Senators +1600
Dallas Stars +1700
New Jersey Devils +2200
Anaheim Ducks +2500
Montreal Canadiens +2500
Buffalo Sabres +2700
Los Angeles Kings +3000
Utah Mammoth +3300
Columbus Blue Jackets +4000
Toronto Maple Leafs +4000
Winnipeg Jets +4000
Philadelphia Flyers +4000
Washington Capitals +4500
San Jose Sharks +4500
New York Rangers +6000
Pittsburgh Penguins +7500
New York Islanders +8000
Boston Bruins +8000
Detroit Red Wings +8000
Chicago Blackhawks +10000
Nashville Predators +10000
St. Louis Blues +10000
Calgary Flames +22500
Seattle Kraken +22500
Vancouver Canucks +50000
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