The 2024-2025 NHL Eastern Conference odds are tight at the top. Florida won the conference last season, and parlayed that into a Stanley Cup win over Edmonton for their first championship!
Can the Panthers go back-to-back in the Eastern Conference? I’ll take a look at the odds to win the conference, analyzing the favorites and some sleeper teams. Then, I’ll wrap up this article with my NHL Eastern Conference betting prediction.
Read on to see who I expect to see at the top in the East!
2024-2025 NHL Eastern Conference Odds
| TEAM | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Florida Panthers | +550 |
| New Jersey Devils | +600 |
| New York Rangers | +600 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +650 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +700 |
| Boston Bruins | +900 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1100 |
| Detroit Red Wings | +2000 |
| Buffalo Sabres | +2200 |
| Ottawa Senators | +2200 |
| New York Islanders | +2500 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | +2500 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +2800 |
| Washington Capitals | +3300 |
| Montreal Canadiens | +5000 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +8000 |
The defending Stanley Cup champions from Florida (+550) are favored going into the season with an implied probability of 15.4%. New Jersey and the New York Rangers (+600) are right behind them with an implied chance of 14.3%.
Toronto (+650) is also in the mix with a 13.4% implied probability, with Carolina (+700) and Boston trailing them. The NHL Eastern Conference winner odds are forecasting a tight race at the top of the conference!
You can bet on this market at Bovada, by navigating to Sports > Hockey > NHL Futures > Conferences > Eastern Conference.
Favorites for the 2024-2025 NHL Western Conference Odds
Let’s start the proceedings with a look at the favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference.
Florida Panthers (+550)
- Eastern Conference Position in 2023-24: Champions
- Key Players: C Sam Reinhart, LW Matthew Tkachuk, C Aleksander Barkov, G Sergei Bobrovsky
- Total Eastern Conference Championships: 3
- Head Coach: Paul Maurice
The Panthers were swept by Carolina two years ago in the Stanley Cup finals. They bounced back in a major way last season, finishing first in the Atlantic Division. Then, they took out Tampa Bay in five games, Boston and New York in six games each, before a classic seven-game win over Edmonton to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup!
Florida re-signed Sam Reinhart, who had a career year with 57 goals and 94 points overall. Matthew Tkachuck added 88 points, and a grit that powered the Panthers all season. Aleksander Barkov is one of the NHL’s most underrated players.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had a good season, but struggled at times in the playoffs. The Panthers also lost backup Anthony Stolarz, so replacement Spencer Knight will have to stay ready.
Florida also let Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Vladimir Tarasenko depart. The defending champions have enough left to try and go back-to-back. However, after three straight Cup final runs, do they have enough left in the gas tank? Florida is a deserving favorite at NHL betting sites, but the best bet might lie elsewhere.
New York Rangers (+600)
- Eastern Conference Position in 2023-24: Lost in Conference Final to Florida
- Key Players: LW Artemi Panarin, C Vincent Trocheck, LW Chris Kreider, G Igor Shesterkin
- Total Eastern Conference Championships: 5
- Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
The Rangers reached their second conference final in three seasons but couldn’t get past the Panthers. It was still a successful campaign for the Rangers, who won the Metropolitan Division. They also won the Presidents’ Trophy with 114 points, the most in the NHL’s regular season.
They have largely the same lineup as last season, led by Artemi Panarin, who was fourth in the league with 120 points. The offense falls off a bit after that as Vincent Trocheck was next with 77 points, although Chris Kreider (75 points), Adam Fox (73), and Mika Zibanejad (72) were right there.
Fox will be without his defense partner, Ryan Lindgren, for the first few weeks of the season due to injury. But the Rangers are solid in goal behind Igor Shesterkin and veteran backup Jonathan Quick. The Rangers would love another crack at Florida in the playoffs, and they offer decent value at Bovada!
Toronto Maple Leafs (+650)
- Eastern Conference Position in 2023-24: Lost to Boston in First Round
- Key Players: C Auston Matthews, RW Mitch Marner, RW William Nylander, G Joseph Woll
- Total Eastern Conference Championships: 0
- Head Coach: Craig Berube
It was another disappointing season for the Maple Leafs as their Stanley Cup drought continues. Toronto lost to Boston in the first round, the third time in seven seasons that has happened. The Maple Leafs finished the season with 102 points, and their 303 goals in the regular season were second only to Colorado.
Auston Matthews won the Rocket Richard with 69 goals, while William Nylander had a career-high 98 points. The Leafs bolstered their blue line with Chris Tanev and Ekman-Larsson.
But it’s the Leafs, so there are big questions. Will they extend Mitch Marner’s contract, and if not, will they trade him? Will goalie Joseph Woll stay healthy enough?
The biggest question comes behind the bench. How will the Leafs respond to new head coach Craig Berube after moving on from Sheldon Keefe? Berube was a noted tough guy as a player, and won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2018-2019. The Leafs are extremely talented, but can Berube use his toughness to get them over the hump?
2024-2025 NHL Western Conference Sleepers
Next, let’s look at a couple of teams that offer a better value than the odds on the Bovada betting board suggest.
Boston Bruins (+900)
The Bruins weren’t as talented as in recent years, but they still managed 109 points and their customary first-round elimination of the Maple Leafs. They made a run at the Panthers, but ended up losing in six games in the second round.
Boston signed Elias Lindholm, who had 15 goals and 44 points in 75 games between Calgary and Vancouver. He’ll add to an offense still led by David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, although Marchand had a few surgeries in the offseason, so don’t worry if he gets off to a slow start. The Bruins also signed Nikita Zadarov to bolster the blue line.
The Bruins also got Jeremy Swayman signed to a deal after trading Linus Ullmark to Ottawa. Those two goalies split time as the Bruins #1 last season, but now the pressure is on for Swayman. He could be the most important player in Boston’s NHL betting odds this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning (+1100)
It’s the end of an era in Tampa Bay as longtime captain Steven Stamkos wasn’t re-signed, and moved to Nashville. Stamkos was with the Lightning for 16 years, and was their captain for a decade. The Lightning suffered a first-round loss to their state rivals, the Panthers, but after two Stanley Cups, Stamkos and the team decided to part ways.
It’s a fresh start for the Lightning, who still have a great team. Nikita Kucherov led the NHL with 144 points, while Brayden Point added 90. Victor Hedman is the new captain, and is still one of the best defensemen in the league.
But as is the case with the majority of the league, all eyes will be in goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy had the highest goals-against average of his career (2.90). If he can’t improve on that, Tampa Bay’s NHL Eastern Conference winner odds, and their Stanley Cup odds, lose all their value.
NHL Eastern Conference Predictions and Betting Pick
Florida may still be the best team in the Eastern Conference, but after two long Cup runs, it’ll be tough for them to muster the energy late in the season. As for Toronto, I have to see how they react to Berube, who has a different style of coaching to recent Leafs’ coaches.
I’m leaning towards the New York Rangers in these odds to win the Eastern Conference in the NHL. They won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, and didn’t lose any major players. They have continuity, toughness, an elite player in Panarin, and their back end is excellent. Let’s take the New York Rangers to win the Eastern Conference this season!
