Early Stanley Cup Predictions & Odds 2025: Favorites, Long Shots to Win Stanley Cup 2025
Most Stanley Cup odds front-runners have found living up to the lofty hype more difficult than devouring a stack of 24 fully loaded pancakes without getting an upset stomach. Consistency has been an elusive beast for most contenders, but that won't matter so long as they find chemistry and confidence when it matters most.
My early Stanley Cup predictions involve a bonafide favorite, a contender whose odds are much longer than their on-ice play suggests, and a playoff-proven long shot that has turned things around, potentially in the nick of time.
Stanley Cup predictions to make after the Super Bowl
- Stanley Cup favorite pick: Edmonton Oilers (+650 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Stanley Cup contender pick: Winnipeg Jets (+1500 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐
- Stanley Cup long-shot pick: New York Rangers (+4000 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐
Our new player props odds tool can help you find the best odds on contender you wish to back!
Stanley Cup 2025 odds
Early picks to win Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup favorite pick: Edmonton Oilers
Best odds: +650 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 13.33%
Sourcing consistency has not been an issue for the Oilers, who have played at an elite level since awakening from an extended Stanley Cup Final hangover.
The Oilers had the 16th-ranked points percentage (.525) through 21 games. Their 10-9-2 record had them placed behind the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres.
Since then, the Oilers have been the NHL's second-finest outfit. The Oilers - who boast a .735 points percentage and a 24-8-2 record - continually prove why they have been the Stanley Cup odds favorites for most of the season.
Oilers built for the playoffs
They are by no means the most well-rounded team, but you don't need to be when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are on the ice. In addition to boasting two Hart Trophy odds front-runners, the Oilers have one of the best offensive defensemen in Evan Bouchard and a top-10 defensive unit.
They are also battle-tested in the postseason and have the character among the leadership group to harness last season's Stanley Cup Final loss and use the unrivalled sorrow as a motivating factor, helping galvanize when the time comes.
And it will come.
Stuart Skinner represented an oil-field-size question mark going into last season's playoffs, and there will again be uncertainty where he's concerned.
While Skinner had more shaky moments in the first round of last year's playoffs than a martini pre-pour, he settled down in the latter stages, even stealing a few games en route to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Finally, I can't see anyone or any team preventing McDavid from getting his name scribed on the Stanley Cup.
Hungrier than a hyena that hasn't fed in days, he's gone his first nine seasons without one. Unless an opposing goaltender conjures a Conn Smythe-like playoff series, this is McDavid's year.
Our best sports betting sites have almost been as bullish on the Oilers as I have over the last 14 months. FanDuel currently edges the others, where a $10 bet will profit $65.
Oilers' 2024-25 key season stats
| Stats | Ranking |
|---|---|
| One-goal game win % | 7th (.600) |
| Scoring-first win % | T-6th (.714) |
| Win % after allowing first goal | 5th (.519) |
| Goals per game | T-4 (3.31) |
| Goals for per 60 minutes 5-on-5 | 7th (2.59) |
| Goals against per game | 8th (2.75) |
| Goals against per 60 minutes 5-on-5 | 16th (2.28) |
| Home points % | T-12 (.633) |
| Away points % | 3rd (.680) |
| Win % leading after one period | 8th (.778) |
| Corsi % | 3rd (54.16) |
| PDO | 24th (99.36) |
| Power play | 6th (25) |
| Penalty kill | 23rd (75.6) |
Stanley Cup contender pick: Winnipeg Jets
Best odds: +1500 via Caesars | Implied probability: 6.25%
It's bizarre to think of the Jets as a Stanley Cup contender, not only due to their history of choking in the playoffs but also because of their record as the NHL's second-best team.
Ordinarily, a team with the second-best points percentage (.723) two-thirds through a season is among the Stanley Cup odds leaders. That's not the case with the Jets, whose +1500 odds at Caesars are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the ninth-shortest.
Considering 16 teams make it to the dance, it's fair to slap a contenders tag on the Jets.
A class above every team not named the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg's regular-season stats are staggering.
That utter dominance is somewhat concerning, though, as it's a tough ask to maintain this exceptional level throughout the regular season and playoffs. However, the Jets have runaway Vezina Trophy odds favorite Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes.
Can Winnipeg finally live up to hype in the playoffs?
Like the rest of his team, Hellebuyck has a recurring nightmare he can't shake: playoff hockey. A goaltender of his caliber must come good in the postseason at some point, and this year is as good as any.
Another major concern is the fact that they'll be playing a bunch of meaningless hockey down the stretch. That's never idyll entering the postseason gauntlet. But I love how this team plays in front of Hellebuyck, and this year, unlike last, they back up their defensive excellence with a balanced yet prolific attack.
Jets' 2024-25 key season stats
| Stats | Ranking |
|---|---|
| One-goal game win % | T-2 (.688) |
| Scoring-first win % | 1st (.821) |
| Win % after allowing first goal | 4th (.571) |
| Goals per game | 1st (3.61) |
| Goals for per 60 minutes 5-on-5 | 8th (2.55) |
| Goals against per game | 1st (2.39) |
| Goals against per 60 minutes 5-on-5 | 1st (1.79) |
| Home points % | 2nd (.783) |
| Away points % | 4th (.654) |
| Win % leading after one period | 2nd (.917) |
| Corsi % | 19th (49.29%) |
| PDO | 2nd (102.68) |
| Power play | 1st (33.33%) |
| Penalty kill | 14th (79.7) |
Stanley Cup longshot pick: New York Rangers
Best odds: +4000 via Caesars | Implied probability: 2.44%
In the embryonic stages of the season, the Rangers were among the Stanley Cup odds favorites. And then, like a grizzly bear amid an extended hibernation, the Rangers' heart rate slowed, and so did everything else on the ice. I'm sure Blueshirts' fans wish their heart rates didn't suffer the opposite fate.
I was about to pull the trigger on the Ottawa Senators as my long-shot pick. However, I veered away at the last minute due to their postseason inexperience, an insipid offence, and questions about whether Linus Ullmark can recapture his elite form.
The Rangers have an uphill battle on the horizon. They must leapfrog four teams to secure a wild-card spot. A wild-card spot is the best-case scenario at this juncture.
At long last, the Rangers have gotten their Broadway act together. They are tied for the fourth-best points percentage since Jan. 9 (.667) with an 9-4-2 record.
If they scratch and claw their way to a playoff berth, they'll be a team to be reckoned with. Nobody, especially the first seed, will want to play a team that made two of the last three Eastern Conference finals and has one of the premier playoff goaltenders.
Igor Shesterkin is lights out when the spotlight burns brightest, and the Rangers will have played clutch, meaningful hockey for the better part of four months before the dance commences.
Caesars has the most competitive price among our best sportsbooks, offering +4000. A winning $10 bet would profit $400.
Rangers' 2024-25 key season stats
| Stats | Ranking |
|---|---|
| One-goal game win % | 10th (.545) |
| Scoring-first win % | 5th (.720) |
| Win % after allowing first goal | 22nd (.300) |
| Goals per game | 14 (2.98) |
| Goals for per 60 minutes 5-on-5 | T-10 (2.52) |
| Goals against per game | T-20 (3.05) |
| Goals against per 60 minutes 5-on-5 | 24th (2.59) |
| Home points % | T-21 (.536) |
| Away points % | 14th (.519) |
| Win % leading after one period | T-11 (.750) |
| Corsi % | 21st (48.84%) |
| PDO | 16th (100.14) |
| Power play | 19th (20.6%) |
| Penalty kill | T-6 (82.2) |
Stanley Cup FAQs
Who is the favorite for the Stanley Cup?
The Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes are the +650 co-favorites. Those odds imply a 13.33% win probability, according to our odds calculator.
When is the Stanley Cup Final?
The 2025 Stanley Cup Final began Saturday, June 8 and finished on June 24. Those are rough dates to expect the 2025 final to be played.
Where is the Stanley Cup Final?
The top advancing seed in the Stanley Cup Final gets home-ice advantage, meaning they'll host four of seven games if the series goes to a decisive Game 7. The two venues will be confirmed once the finalists are set.
Who won the Stanley Cup last year?
The Florida Panthers won last season's Stanley Cup Final, defeating the Oilers in seven games. It marked the Panthers' first Stanley Cup triumph.
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