The Stanley Cup is arguably the most recognizable trophy in sports, and every NHL team starts the season aiming to hoist it at the end. We’re officially a quarter of the way through the 2023-24 NHL season, and it’s a good time to examine live Stanley Cup odds.
You can bet on the odds for each team to win the Stanley Cup at all of the best sports betting sites. Stanley Cup futures odds are posted in the offseason and stay live from the start of the NHL season in October through the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the spring.
This guide can help with your Stanley Cup futures bets and shows the latest NHL championship odds as posted at the best NHL betting sites.
Stanley Cup odds
See below for current Stanley Cup futures odds direct from NHL betting sites. If you see odds you like, click them to visit that sportsbook and claim your first-bet bonus.
Who are the Stanley Cup odds favorites?
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche are the consensus betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Colorado’s offense is led by center Nathan MacKinnon. He tallied 30 goals and 82 points just past the midway point of the regular season.
Colorado (31-14-3) are tied with the Winnipeg Jets atop the NHL’s Central Division.
Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton’s in the midst of a franchise-record 15-game winning streak. But the Oilers are only in third place in the Pacific Division with a record of 28-15-1.
The Oilers remain among the Stanley Cup betting favorites based on overall talent. Forwards Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman combined to score 70 goals at the midway mark of the season.
New York Rangers
The Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division with a record of 29-15-3.
Left wing Artemi Panarin is New York’s leading scorer with 29 goals and 63 points. Starting goalie Igor Shesterkin is 19-11-1 in net.
Vegas Golden Knights
The reigning Stanley Cup champions are second in the Pacific Division with a record of 28-14-6. The Golden Knights trail the Canucks by seven points for the division lead.
Mark Stone leads the Las Vegas offense with 49 points on the season. Goalie Adin Hill flourished early with a 10-2-2 record and a 1.93 goals against average, and he just returned from an undisclosed injury that sidelined him since mid-December.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins solidified their position as leaders in the Atlantic Division with a formidable 30-9-9 record. Boston set an NHL record with 65 wins last season.
David Pastrnak is again the offensive catalyst with 31 goals and 69 points. Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha, and Charlie Coyle are also key contributors on offense.
Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark is 14-6-2 in net.
How to read Stanley Cup odds
The best sports betting apps will post Stanley Cup odds in American odds format, which means you’ll see both negative and positive odds. Negative odds indicate the favorite, while positive odds signal the underdog.
Negative odds, such as -155, tell you how much you have to wager to win $100. In this example, if you bet $155 and your wager won, you’d get $100 in winnings (plus your stake back).
Positive odds, such as +220, work slightly differently. The number you see shows you how much you stand to win for every $100 you bet. So in this example, if you bet $50 at those odds and you won, you’d be paid $110 in profit (plus your $50 back).
Every bet you make will pay out based on how much you wager and the odds when you finalize your bet slip.
What bets can I make for the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Because the NHL is one of the top US sports, it lends itself to a broad selection of bet types. Below, we look at some of the most common and popular NHL betting odds.
Moneyline: This is a very straightforward bet that requires you to choose which team will come away from the game with a victory. Puck line: Similar to the point spread in other sports, the puck line is typically set at 1.5 goals. This cushion allows the underdog to win puck line bets if they lose by only one goal (or win outright). Conversely, the favorite must win by at least two goals to cover a puck line bet.Over/under: Also known as a totals bet, this wager gives you a predicted number of goals the two teams will combine to score. Your job is to determine whether they will combine to score over that predicted total or be held under it. Period betting: These are moneyline and over/under bets focused on individual periods within the game. Prop bets: Proposition bets are side bets with a sportsbook on events during the game that usually don’t tie to the final outcome. These can be based on individual player performances or team accomplishments. Parlays: Multiple wagers placed on a single bet slip. All of the legs of the parlay have to win for the parlay to pay out. Live betting: Also called “in-game betting,” this style of wagering lets you place bets on games while they are being played.Futures: Just as the name implies, NHL futures odds usually focus on end-of-season results or accomplishments.
You’ll encounter a wide variety of NHL bets at online sportsbooks, so don’t be afraid to try new bet types and expand your betting experience.
How Stanley Cup odds change throughout the season
Sports betting lines move for two main reasons:
New informationPublic betting
In the case of Stanley Cup futures odds, regular-season team performance will be the primary driver behind odds movement.
Oddsmakers use a variety of sources to gather information when crafting their initial lines. Upon release, Stanley Cup futures odds will be very favorable for the bettor, but that’s because so little data is available this early in the process.
As more information becomes available, such as how a team is playing, how players are performing, injuries, and other news, the oddsmakers can tighten up the lines. The closer it gets to the postseason and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the more accurate those lines become.
As a bettor, you must weigh the risk versus reward of betting early when there isn’t a lot of information available vs. waiting until the picture is clearer but the odds are less friendly.
How Stanley Cup futures betting works
Futures bets are a large part of every sportsbook’s offerings, which means you can find them for just about any sport. The Stanley Cup Final is no exception, especially since the NHL is one of the four major US sports leagues.
With futures bets, you can bet on which team you think will win the NHL championship well before the regular season even begins. The best sports betting sites like Caesars and DraftKings tend to publish their Stanley Cup futures odds not long after the previous NHL season comes to a close.
When the lines are first released, the odds will differ greatly from what they will look like during the regular season and as the playoffs approach. This is due to the limited data oddsmakers have to work with when they initially make their odds.
Those lines will shift as the offseason progresses and the regular season starts. The more games that are played, the clearer the playoff picture becomes. The field of reasonable contenders narrows, so the odds tighten.
As a bettor, you have to weigh the risk versus reward of betting early or late. Betting early means you’re giving yourself the best possible odds, but you may lack pertinent information.
By waiting, you’ll encounter less favorable odds, but you can make a much more educated decision. This is the negotiation of timing any futures bet.
See more: NHL betting promos
Recent Stanley Cup winners
Here are the last 10 Stanley Cup championship teams and the team’s coach at the time.
Season Team Coach 2022-23 Colorado Avalanche Jared Bednar 2021-22 Tampa Bay Lightning Jon Cooper 2020-21 Tampa Bay Lightning Jon Cooper 2019-20 St. Louis Blues Craig Berube 2018-19 Washington Capitals Barry Trotz 2017-18 Pittsburgh Penguins Mike Sullivan 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins Mike Sullivan 2015-16 Chicago Blackhawks Joel Quenneville 2014-15 Los Angeles Kings Darryl Sutter 2013-14 Chicago Blackhawks Joel Quenneville
Other NHL futures bets
Besides betting on the Stanley Cup playoffs, numerous other hockey futures bets are available. Futures bets usually involve a considerable time between the bet’s placement and the outcome’s determination. These bets can focus on team or player achievements.
Team futures might comprise bets on which team will advance to the Stanley Cup Final, secure the Presidents’ Trophy, win their conference, or take their division. Odds for these bets will fluctuate based on each team’s probability of attaining particular milestones.
Season win totals are another popular futures bet, with sportsbooks establishing lines predicting each team’s tally of victories before the start of the season.
Bettors can then wager on whether a specific team will secure more or fewer victories than the sportsbook’s forecast. This type of bet is widespread across numerous North American sports, not only hockey.
Futures bets can also focus on individual player performance, such as forecasting which player will secure major end-of-season awards such as the Vezina Trophy, Hart Trophy, or Norris Trophy.
Some of the NHL futures available at many sports betting sites include:
Vezina TrophyNorris TrophyDivision championsConference championsSeason win totalsTop goalscorerTop point scorer
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