The start of the new National Hockey League season is here and people across the planet can't wait to see who ends up winning it all this year. Will there be a new champion crowned or will the Florida Panthers win it all for the third year in a row? That's up in the air, but the Edmonton Oilers are our pick to win the 2026 Stanley Cup.
Will the Eastern Conference be able to get the job done? That's what the team's fans are hoping for, as Edmonton reached the Stanley Cup Finals last year, but lost to Florida. Head coach Kris Knoblauch just landed a new contract and so did Connor McDavid. With that now in the past, the team is ready to push forward and attack the task at hand.
| Stanley Cup odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers to win | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| Oilers to win | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Canes to win | +850 | +850 | +850 |
| Stars to win | +850 | +850 | +850 |
"In the NHL, you never know what's going to happen, so it's nice to have it out of mind and it's done and now we're just worried about the regular season," Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Whether it was happening or not, I would still be worrying about the regular season, but now that I have that security, it's nice and I don't have to worry about it and I can spend all my attention to our next game."
According to the best online sports betting sites, the Oilers hold +750 NHL betting odds to win the title this year. Per the NHL betting sites, the Panthers remain at the top with +650 odds. In our opinion, these two teams could end up meeting in the final series once again. However, we believe that revenge will be posted by the Western Conference side. That's right we're going with Edmonton.
If there's one thing we learned about Connor McDavid with this #oilers extension: He really wants to win, and he really wants to win in Edmonton.
Just as he said along.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 6, 2025
The Florida Panthers remain the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year
As we hinted to above, the Florida Panthers remain the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, as Florida has won the title in back-to-back seasons. Last year, Florida took care of business against Edmonton, wrapping things up in Game 6. Now with the season here, Florida is locked in on defending its crown once again.
“Everybody here likes coming to work,” Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said in an interview leading up to the season. “We want to work harder than anybody else, if we can. And then we want to try to have more fun than anybody else. If you do the first, you get to do the second fairly easily.”
For anyone who has not been watching the Florida Panthers/Tampa Bay Lightning game...this is the carnage.
Absolute chaos tonight.
Greer started it with the Hagel hit. Bolts started swinging the entire 2nd period. https://t.co/S6bGkcbVhs pic.twitter.com/jqRkjAIe81
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) October 3, 2025
For everyone who is thinking about getting in on the betting action, let us remind you that there's no better time than now to take advantage of the promotions sportsbooks are offering. With the NHL season here, deals like the BetOnline bonus codes - promotions is something that you're surely going to want to take a look at, especially if you're on the fence about participating in sports wagers.
Back to the action on the ice, Florida has been given its +650 NHL playoffs betting odds to post an incredible third consecutive championship-winning season. From our chair, we wouldn't be shocked at all if the Eastern Conference powerhouse is able to get things done there, but we're doubling down with the Edmonton Oilers as our pick.
Will the Oilers and Panthers meet in the Stanley Cup Finals again?
A big question people have on their minds leading up to the first full set of games for 2025-26 is will the Oilers and Panthers meet in the Stanley Cup Finals again? It's a great question and things could end up being that way once the postseason gets here. Few people can argue that these are two of the top teams out there overall.
However, other teams like Dallas and Carolina are going to have a say in things. In the Western Conference, the stars are being looked at as the main competition for the Oilers, as they have a ton of offensive talent and the defense is quite strong too. They certainly have what it takes to give McDavid and Edmonton a run for their money when it matters most. Will that end up being the case?
On the other side of the bracket in the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes know what it takes to surprise people in the postseason and they would love nothing more than to take Florida down soon enough. Plenty of people think those two teams will end up meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals, which we'd love to see. We'll see how things go there, but Dallas and Carolina will definitely be two teams to watch.
