It wasn’t that long ago that the Carolina Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup, but the upcoming hockey season already lies just around the corner. The puck drops on the preseason in September before the regular season gets rolling in October, meaning there’s no better time than now to take a look at NHL futures and awards markets.
As teams hit the ice over the next few weeks, we’re diving into these betting markets to find the best bets and top picks. We’ll start with the big one – here are the 2027 Stanley Cup odds and favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, including some best bets to win the title.
2027 Stanley Cup Odds: NHL Futures, Favorites and Best Bets
As things currently stand, fans won’t be surprised by any of the 10 teams at the top of the market in terms of odds to win the 2027 Stanley Cup. Here’s a look at the favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook:
- Florida Panthers (+650)
- Carolina Hurricanes (+650)
- Colorado Avalanche (+700)
- Edmonton Oilers (+800)
- Vegas Golden Knights (+850)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (+1200)
- Minnesota Wild (+1300)
- Dallas Stars (+1400)
- Washington Capitals (+1700)
- Montreal Canadiens (+2200)
Of course, these are just the 10 franchises currently listed near the top of the odds board to hoist the Cup, but it sure looks like a list of clear contenders. There’s a solid case to be made for most of them, but which of these make the most sense as a top betting pick following one of the busiest offseasons in recent memory?
Florida Panthers (+600)
It feels like something of a cop-out to go with the co-favorites from the jump here, but there’s a clear reason the Panthers find themselves tied with the reigning champs at the top. Florida went to three consecutive Stanley Cups prior to 2026 and won back-to-back in 2024 and 2025. This has been one of the best teams in the NHL over the last few years when healthy – last year was merely the exception.
Yes, the Ice Cats weren’t themselves last season, but something of a soft tank arose as a result of the various injuries on the roster. Captain Aleksander Barkov missed the whole year, so of course losing the top-line center in training camp with a severe knee injury is going to do a number on the offense. Matthew Tkachuk missed significant time to start the campaign and Seth Jones was also sidelined for quite a while later on. It’s almost shocking the Panthers still won 40 games given the various absences, finishing the year with 84 points on a 40-38-4 record.
Now, most key pieces from the championship core still remain in place between a recovered Barkov, Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and more. The front office also took a massive swing in trading for the other Tkachuk brother, Brady, bringing even more star power to the top-six forward group. Really, lines one through three are as deep as any in the NHL, while the fourth has grittiness that’s also matched up and down the defensive pairings.
The only glaring hole compared to years past is at goalie following the departure of Sergei Bobrovsky. However, Jacob Markstrom signed in free agency along with Akira Schmid. Markstrom and is just one season removed from a 2.50 GAA with a .900 SV% – with strong two-way play in front of him, he may be insulated enough in his new situation to rebound from a tough season.
Overall, it’s just too tough to bet against Florida given what this core has shown in recent years. Even as the favorite, they’re certainly worth the bet to come out of the Eastern Conference and hoist the Stanley Cup again given their playoff pedigree.
Colorado Avalanche (+700)
The Western Conference is something of a gauntlet once again. There are numerous clubs that could make it to the Stanley Cup, but there are some yellow or red flags with many of the top contenders. The Golden Knights played deep into the postseason and lost 37 goals and their top finisher on the power play with the departure of Pavel Dorofeyev. Down in Dallas, the Stars had to sacrifice depth like Mavrik Bourque in order to retain Jason Robertson on a one-year deal that’ll bridge him to his next contract. The Wild still don’t have great options at center to count on come playoff time. The Oilers were busy, but their offseason strategy was a bit baffling.
That leaves us with the Avalanche as a clear top dog out west as they come off a Presidents’ Trophy with a conference final flameout to show for it. They racked up a whopping 125 points last season with a goal differential of +99 that blew every other team out of the water, but injuries ultimately did them in down the stretch of the postseason as Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon both battled some ailments when it mattered most. Bad luck happens; that’s just hockey for you.
Colorado did make moves this offseason, but didn’t really pull any major levers. Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton and Jack Drury were all shipped out via trade, clearing up cap space. The big signing was an extension for Makar, who became the highest-paid player in NHL history with an eight-year, $163.2 million deal that carries an AAV of $20.4 million. The Avs will have some grinders on the bottom lines, but they have a Hart and a Norris candidate at the top in their superstar duo. Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog, Devon Toews and Brett Kulak are hardly a poor supporting cast. In goal, Scott Wedgewood could end up a Vezina finalist if he can recapture the magic of a 2.02 GAA and .921 SV%.
Is it a little lame to take the favorite in their conference? Yes, but given the state of the other top contenders on their side of the bracket, the Avalanche are a deserving top pick to take home the Stanley Cup.
Tampa Bay Lightning (+1200)
It’s been a few years since the Lightning showed much in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, given that they’re now coming off their fourth consecutive first-round exit. This time around, the loss came in seven games to an up-and-coming Canadiens team, putting a damper on 106-point campaign in which they went 50-26-6. With an aging core and little success beyond simply appearing in the postseason since three straight trips to the final and back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021, why should we believe in this team moving forward?
For starters, they signed longtime Capitals defenseman John Carlson to a two-year deal following his brief tenure with the Anaheim Ducks. While they lost Darren Raddysh after his breakout campaign as well as some names deeper down the lineup, Ilya Mikheyev was a decent depth signing and the talent in the top half remains as impressive as ever. Nikita Kucherov is a perennial Hart candidate and they still have Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and several other notable names. Netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is coming off another Vezina win with a 2.31 GAA and a .912 SV% last season.
The floor is very, very stable for Tampa Bay, even if the ceiling has appeared capped over the last few years. With a couple of better bounces, the Bolts probably could’ve made it deeper in the playoffs this past time around, too. Anything can happen once the postseason rolls around, and of course, it’s a long season in which transactions can always be made to beef up the firepower. If the Lighting can either get aggressive via trade or simply get hot at the right time, they make for an intriguing Stanley Cup pick outside of the clear favorites.
