Finally, the 2024-25 NHL season has arrived. Over the summer, some major players switched teams, and the Arizona Coyotes moved to Utah to begin a new franchise. With no official name released yet, they’re using “Utah Hockey Club” as a placeholder; that’s how you’ll see it listed in our sportsbook.
Steven Stamkos was among the major players to find new teams. He left the Tampa Lightning after 16 years, signing a four-year contract with the Nashville Predators. He’ll be joined by Jonathan Marchessault, who left the Golden Knights to join the Predators in the offseason. For more insight on the top teams in the NHL betting market (plus one underdog), carry on reading this NHL season preview.
NHL CHAMPIONSHIP FAVOURITES
If you like to keep your sights on the top teams of the season, watch out for these picks boasting some of the best NHL odds on the board.
Edmonton Oilers +750
After having a terrible start to the 2023-24 season, the Edmonton Oilers fired their head coach and hired a rookie coach in Kris Knoblauch. The impact was immediate, and the Oilers went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost to the Florida Panthers in seven games.
This season’s Oilers should be able to build on that performance. Most importantly, they re-signed Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract extension. The duo of Draisaitl and Connor McDavid is the core of Edmonton’s elite offence—which has been beefed up with the additions of Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. Evander Kane is out after getting surgery and will be back next year, likely for the playoffs.
A portion of Edmonton’s success last season came from their decision to go with Stuart Skinner over Jack Campbell in net—and Skinner will be back for 2024-25. Grab the Oilers at +750 if you think they’ll win the Cup, or +550 if you think they’ll win the President’s Trophy.
Florida Panthers +900
The defending Cup champions are second on the futures market at +900. They’ve been hot for the last few years, getting to the playoffs in four straight seasons. The bulk of last season’s scoring came from Sam Reinhart, who had a career season, putting up 94 points and scoring 57 goals which eclipsed his previous high by 24 goals.
Up against the salary cap, the Panthers had to make some less-than-ideal adjustments to their roster. They lost Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and backup goalie Anthony Stolarz. They added backup goalie Chris Driedger, and veteran defencemen Adam Boqvist and Nate Schmidt. Aaron Ekblad will likely need to help with the Panthers’ weakened defensive core. Get them at +950 to win the President’s Trophy.
NHL CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS
Next up for Stanley Cup betting are the talented teams that are sure to make a splash in the postseason.
Dallas Stars +1200
The Dallas Stars are coming off of a very strong season where they made it all the way to the Western Conference Championship game, and fans have every reason to believe they’ll carry the momentum through 2024-25.
The team will lose a veteran in Joe Pavelski, who retired in the offseason. But beyond him, their offensive core will look similar to last year. Fans will be eager to watch Logan Stankoven get a full season under his belt. The rookie debuted last year and excelled in the postseason, scoring three goals and registering five assists. The team’s more established stars, like Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will all be back.
As for their defence, they lost Brandon Sutter, but added Brandon Smith, Matt Dumba and Ilya Lybushkin. They’ll still have Miro Heiskanin on their top line. With this talented roster, they’re -650 just to make the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs +1200
After eight straight seasons of making the playoffs but getting eliminated in the early stages, the Leafs have a monkey on their back. Last season, they were able to lean on their Auston Matthews-fueled offence to make up for a porous defensive core that finished the season 21st in goals allowed.
It’s no surprise that the Leafs’ top six on offence are returning. We expect another season where Matthews and William Nylander run the show and put-up incredible numbers. Fortunately for them, they did make some changes on the blue line.
Their biggest additions are defencemen Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Tanev is a steady, shot-blocking defenseman who should get paired with the more offensively-minded Morgan Rielly. These new additions should bode well for the Leafs. Bet on Toronto at +1000 to register the longest win streak of the 2024-25 season.
NHL CHAMPIONSHIP UNDERDOGS
We haven’t forgotten about the underdogs. With NHL odds at Bodog, we factor in everything to make NHL betting fair for every team. Take a peek at the top underdog team we’ve got our eye on.
Montreal Canadiens +10000
Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes are entering Year 3 of the rebuild in Montreal and expectations are sky high. The Habs have arguably the best young roster and prospect pool in the NHL. 2022’s No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky is proving to be the dynamic power forward everyone thought he would be and he’ll be a fixture on the top line and powerplay with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. They also acquired Patrik Laine, who will compliment Kirby Dach on the Habs’ second line. Montreal has a young, but very deep defensive corps, and under the tutelage of Martin St. Louis, the Habs are poised to push for the postseason and beyond in 2025. All in all, it’s safe to say this will be a solid year for Stanley Cup betting. Head over to Bodog to search for your favourite teams and keep an eye on the upcoming NHL odds. The season won’t hold back, and neither do we.