NHL Futures Odds: Is There Anyone Who Can Prevent Colorado From Winning the 2026 Stanley Cup?

(AsiaGameHub) –   Now that all 16 playoff teams have been determined, it’s time to analyze NHL futures odds for the winner of the 2026 Stanley Cup.

The Colorado Avalanche are the consensus betting favorite across sportsbooks. The Avs, who face the Kraken tonight in their regular-season finale, claimed the Presidents Cup Trophy as the regular-season champion.

Stanley Cup Futures Odds at FanDuel

The NHL Playoffs kick off on Saturday, so let’s take a look at Stanley Cup futures odds at FanDuel:

• Colorado Avalanche +310
• Tampa Bay Lightning +360
• Carolina Hurricanes +500
• Dallas Stars +1100
• Vegas Golden Knights +1200
• Edmonton Oilers +1500
• Ottawa Senators +1600
• Minnesota Wild +1700
• Buffalo Sabres +1800
• Utah Mammoth +3500
• Montreal Canadiens +3500
• Pittsburgh Penguins +4000
• Anaheim Ducks +6000
• Los Angeles Kings +6000
• Philadelphia Flyers +6000
• Boston Bruins +7500

The Florida Panthers, winners of the past two Stanley Cups, failed to qualify for the playoffs this year.

Leading Stanley Cup Contenders

Can Colorado repeat its regular-season dominance in the postseason? The Lightning are a dangerous force with the best goaltender among all playoff teams. Will Carolina finally break through now that Florida isn’t in their way?

Avalanche +310

The Avalanche are heading into the playoffs on a strong note, going 4-1 in their last five games before tonight’s regular-season finale against the Kraken.

Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 53 goals this season. Defenseman Cale Makar returned from an upper-body injury on Tuesday and recorded three assists in a 3-1 win over Calgary.

Regardless of who wins the Stars vs. Wild matchup, the Avs will face a tough second-round opponent.

The only major question for Colorado revolves around the lack of playoff experience for both of their goalies. Scott Wedgewood (30-6-6) leads the NHL with a 2.07 goals-against average but has never started an NHL playoff game. His teammate Mackenzie Blackwood (23-10-2) has just seven playoff starts, all from last year’s opening-round loss to Dallas.

Tampa Bay Lightning (+360)

The Lightning (50-26-6) notched their fifth 50-win season in franchise history.

Nikita Kucherov is one of the top betting favorites to win the Hart Trophy as the regular-season MVP. He has tallied 130 points this season—only Connor McDavid had more, with 134.

Former Hurricane Jake Guentzel brings plenty of playoff experience from his time with Carolina and Pittsburgh, where he helped the Penguins win the Cup in 2017. He and Kucherov form a potent 1-2 punch; Guentzel finished second on the team in goals (38), assists (50), and points (88).

Lightning standout Andrei Vasilevskiy ranks second among all NHL goalies with a 2.33 goals-against average. The “Big Cat” has a 39-15-4 record this season.

The veteran netminder helped Tampa Bay win two consecutive Cups in 2021 and 2022, and he still has the skill to lead the Lightning to another championship.

Hurricanes (+500)

Head coach Rod Brind’Amour has guided the Hurricanes to the playoffs for the eighth straight season. Carolina (53-22-7) secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 113 points and will face Ottawa in the opening round.

The Hurricanes won two of three games against the Senators during the regular season. Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov are back to help the Hurricanes compete for their second franchise Cup.

Carolina has a balanced offense with seven players scoring 20+ goals. The Hurricanes lost Martin Necas to Colorado but filled that gap with Nikolaj Ehlers, who finished the season with 26 goals and 71 points.

The biggest question for Carolina is in goal: rookie Brandon Bussi (31-6-2) will make his playoff debut. Backup Frederik Anderson (16-14-5) has postseason experience but struggled this season with a 3.05 goals-against average.