NHL Stanley Cup 2024-25 Odds: Will the Cup Stay in Florida?

• • Head Coach: Kris Knoblauch
  • 2023-24 Record: 49-27-6 (Stanley Cup Finalists)
  • Stanley Cup Titles: 5
  • Key Players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard

Following a 2-7-1 start to the 2023-24 season, the Oilers did the improbable and reached the Stanley Cup Final. Head coach Jay Woodcroft was swiftly fired after the miserable stretch and replaced with AHL coach Kris Knoblauch.

Ultimately, the Oilers came two goals away from winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990. They stormed back from a 3-0 series deficit only to lose Game 7 in Sunrise, FL.

Despite the loss, McDavid won the Conn Smythe for the MVP of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. McDavid has received brisk work in the preseason, but made the most of it. He appears healthy and in top-game shape for the regular season.

Connor McDavid finds Corey Perry to tie the game! 🤝

📺: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/QR92f44JDn

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 1, 2024

As long as McDavid is on this team, the Oilers are always going to have a chance. Leon Draisaitl is expected to play out the final year of his contract in Edmonton, so the offensive prowess that makes this team good will remain together.

The Oilers didn’t make huge waves in free agency or the trade market. However, they did send defenseman Cody Ceci to San Jose, which may be an addition-by-subtraction move. Along with McDavid, Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman returning, Evander Kane will be back for the Oilers in 2024-25.

Additionally, signing left winger Jeff Skinner to a one-year deal is a big get for the Oilers. Skinner is coming off a solid season in Buffalo, with 24 goals and 22 assists. It isn’t his best campaign, but expect Skinner to excel playing on this talented Oilers squad.

In addition to Evan Bouchard, that gives the Oilers their top four point-getters returning. The franchise also managed to keep role players Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark. Warren Foegele will be missed, but retaining Brown was paramount for their depth.

The concern for the Oilers entering the playoffs was whether goaltender Stuart Skinner would hold up in the crease. He fought through a rough patch and benching to lead the Oilers to Game 7. Which Skinner will we see in Edmonton next season?

If anything, the Oilers will once again be the most entertaining team in the NHL to watch in 2024-25! We’ll see if they can pull off what Florida did after losing in the Stanley Cup Final to respond with a title in the next year.

However, since the 1982-83 season, only three teams have won the Cup after losing in the Final a season earlier — the Panthers being the third this past season!

• • Head Coach: Paul Maurice
  • 2023-24 Record: 52-24-6 (Stanley Cup Champions)
  • Stanley Cup Titles: 1
  • Key Players: Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, Sergei Bobrovsky

The Florida Panthers are the 2024 Stanley Cup champs after edging out the Edmonton Oilers in seven games on home ice. They nearly collapsed and coughed up a 3-0 series lead but prevailed in a 2-1 victory in Game 7!

Are the Panthers a serious threat to win back-to-back Stanley Cups? Given the core of this team will return, the Panthers will have a legitimate chance to get back into the winner’s circle.

Gonna watch Reino’s Stanley Cup Final-winning goal on repeat 🔁 pic.twitter.com/yZqiUfm7H0

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 25, 2024

The offensive core will stick together for the Panthers in 2024-25. All the big guns are returning, including 28-year-old Sam Reinhart who inked a massive eight-year contract to remain in Sunrise. That deal is going to look bad in five years, but the Panthers needed to impress Reinhart’s camp to retain his services.

However, the team took a significant hit on the blue line due with defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson departing. The Panthers could afford to lose Ekman-Larsson, but Montour will be dearly missed on this roster.

Winning back-to-back Stanley Cups is not easy, either. Since 1997, only three teams have won consecutive championships — the Tampa Bay Lightning were the most recent team to pull off the feat in 2020.

With the Panthers winning in late June, they haven’t had a very long break for their title defense in 2024-25!

• • Head Coach: Peter DeBoer
  • 2023-24 Record: 52-21-9 (Lost Western Conference Championship)
  • Stanley Cup Titles: 1
  • Key Players: Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Wyatt Johnson, Miro Heiskanen

The Dallas Stars are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup on sports betting apps and sites in 2024-25! This is a team built to win now.

They are coming off an appearance in the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. Despite coming up short in six games, the Stars are optimistic that they have a championship team this season.

With left winger Jamie Benn and netminder Jake Oettinger entering contract years, there is added incentive for these two important players to have solid performances.

The 35-year-old Benn will be looking for one last payday, while 25-year-old Oettinger is looking for his first big deal.

A motivated Oettinger bodes well for the Stars between the pipes. After breaking out with a 2.37 GAA and 0.919 save percentage in 2022-23, Oettinger’s numbers regressed to a 2.72 GAA and 0.905 save percentage. Nevertheless, the Stars still won the Central Division with a record of 52-21-9 and 113 points!

The team’s young core is intact for the 2024-25 campaign. Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz are in the midst of the prime of their careers, while defenseman Miro Heiskanen is an elite blue liner and he’s only 25. I also expect 29-year-old Wyatt Johnson to be a solid contributor again this season.

JASON ROBERTSON HAS A HAT TRICK 🎩

WHAT A PERFORMANCE TO GIVE THE STARS THE LEAD 😱 pic.twitter.com/K4Kdb2gy9R

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 28, 2024

Joe Pavelski opted to retire following the 2023-24 season. Despite his 40 years of age, he was a key player for the Stars a season ago. That said, his age showed in the playoffs, and it was evident he couldn’t keep up with the younger talent. It was the right time for Pavelski to hang up the skates.

Aside from Pavelski exiting, the Stars will look largely the same this season. That isn’t a bad thing for a team coming off a 113-point campaign. If the Stars keep plugging away and avoid major injuries, they are one of the top 2024-25 Stanley Cup picks at +1,200!

• • Head Coach: Craig Berube
  • 2023-24 Record: 46-26-10 (Lost First Round)
  • Stanley Cup Titles: 13
  • Key Players: Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly

Yet another early exit for the Toronto Maple Leafs had the front office making more personnel moves. A year after GM Kyle Dubas was fired in favor of Brad Treliving, the Maple Leafs have a new boss behind the bench.

Former St. Louis Blues’ head coach Craig Berube replaces Sheldon Keefe in Toronto. Berube won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, but he was relieved of his duties this past December. He is a different coach than Keefe.

Berube won’t play favorites and will demand effort on every shift. He isn’t shy about holding players accountable, so Mitch Marner has nowhere to hide this season. The talented forward has been the subject of trade rumors for over a year now but is still in Toronto.

Marner’s regular season production is unquestioned, but he has done a disappearing act throughout his career in the playoffs. That can be said for the Maple Leafs as a whole — regular season merchants rather than clutch performers in the playoffs.

Leafs Auston Matthews

First 69-goal NHL season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 pic.twitter.com/5RkWjV6AIM

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) April 14, 2024

The talent on this roster is undeniable, though. Superstar center Auston Matthews took over the captain role from John Tavares in the offseason, signaling a new era in Maple Leafs’ hockey. Matthews came a goal short of becoming the ninth player in NHL history to record 70 goals but had an unbelievable season nonetheless.

All of Matthews’ supporting cast is back, while I expect fellow American Matthew Knies to have a breakout season in 2024-25. Max Domi re-upped with the Leafs, but Tyler Bertuzzi left for the Chicago Blackhawks. The Leafs bolstered their defense by adding Ekman-Larsson in free agency.

Toronto has the talent to win a Stanley Cup, but can Berube get this team over the hurdle in the playoffs?