2024-25 NHL Futures Odds, Predictions and Best Bets: Early Look at Division Odds

With the Stanley Cup Final well in the rearview, some of us are already and undoubtedly looking ahead to the futures market for value after a lot of the dust has settled both in the 2024 NHL Draft and free agent market.

Below, I'm going to be doing a division by division breakdown where I think the smart money should land and some dark horse bets I don’t mind.

The Edmonton Oilers opened as favorites to win outright (Stanley Cup) at +700 with last years champions, the Florida Panthers, right behind the Western Conference Champions.

Dallas and Carolina are being priced as close contenders which is concerning to me. Only one of those four teams have a roster that’s stable, the other three have a mountain of paperwork on their desk as I type this out to make sure there’s people at training camp in September. 

Having said that, the Oilers are viewed to be one of the major winners of free agency having picked up Arvidsson and Skinner on the open market. The Stars had a questionable day to the say the least, and the Maple Leafs addressed their blueline in a huge way among some of the notable contenders.

So without further ado, let’s start in the Atlantic. And as an editorial note I will be placing a major emphasis on what we know about all of these teams plans and offseason workload when making our decision. 

All odds are courtesy of bet365.

Atlantic Division Winner odds

1. Florida Panthers +180
2. Toronto Maple Leafs +333
3. Boston Bruins +450
4. Tampa Bay Lightning +450
5. Detroit Red Wings +1100
6. Ottawa Senators +1100
7. Buffalo Sabres +1300
8. Montreal Canadiens +7500

This division has proven to be incredibly tough to even qualify for the playoffs in the last few seasons (just ask BUF, DET, and OTT)  let alone win it.

The usual suspects sit atop this board and for good reason.

All of the top four teams are good enough and are expected to make moves to contend as well as have a lot of public handle coming in on them.

The team that stands out to me here is Boston. While I don't love the terms and average annual value (AAV) on the Lindholm and Zadorov deals, there's little doubt that those two are highly impactful players and address two needs. Tampa Bay remains a contender but I am not as high on them as I have been in the past. They replaced the outgoing Stamkos and Sergachev contracts with Guentzel and McDonagh. Both of which are awesome players of course, but I am not convinced that they made a substantial upgrade as a roster.

Metropolitan Division Winner odds

1. New Jersey Devils +180
2. Carolina Rangers +210
3. New York Rangers +260
4. New York Islanders +1400
5. Pittsburgh Penguins +1500
6. Philadelphia Flyers +1600
7. Washington Capitals +1400
8. Columbus Blue Jackets +10000

There is not a ton of intrigue in this division with it being very top heavy as we can see.

There is virtually no chance that the Islanders, Penguins, Flyers, Capitals or Blue Jackets can win the division, evident in the odds. And between the three that can it’s essentially a jump ball but there is one team that stands out to me which will remain a theme throughout this article.

The New Jersey Devils have a roster that is very much intact, ready to rock ‘n’ roll in their prime and now have an excellent goalie tandem to ensure they return to the postseason after a down year riddled with poor goaltending and injury.

I absolutely think this team will be contending for top spot and they have the least amount of work to do this off-season. The Hurricanes on the other hand are in a very precarious situation with their roster and have a ton of work to do. 

The Capitals thus far have been the busiest team of this bunch and have made a ton of moves to remain competitve during the twilight years of Ovechkin. However, they are currently 14 million dollars over the cap and therefore must be exiting some players to get compliant. Absolute no fly zone for future bettors.

Central Division Winner odds

1. Dallas Stars +175
2. Colorado Avalanche +220
3. Winnipeg Jets +475
4. Nashville Predators +800
5. St. Louis Blues +1600
6. Minnesota Wild +1200
7. Utah Hockey Club +2000
8. Chicago Blackhawks +9000

The Dallas Stars have bought out aging defenseman Ryan Suter which was predictable as he’s struggled mightily the last two seasons.

Meanwhile, The Avalanche beat the Jets this playoffs rather handedly, but in my humble opinion it was more to do with the Jets folding like a cheap tent than it was due to superb play from Colorado.

The Jets are an excellent team with some promising young talent and a perennial Vezina candidate. Some surgery is needed on their blueline but this team has options especially with Ehlers reportedly on the block. They can address some needs by trading him to a team looking for offence.

It's worth noting that this division was dealt a massive curve ball when Predators General Manager Barry Trotz signed the the top three ranked free agents in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marsshesault, and Brady Skjei. Their odds to win this division went from +900 to +333 in a span of about three hours.

The fact the public immediately jumped on them at that price was predictable, and I would caution a buyer's beware sentiment to all.

While I do love the moves and the Predators, the players they have acquired are in the twilight's of their respective careers. In the case of Stamkos, the data showed he was not nearly as effective last season without Kucherov. While he's still a great player, I don't view this team as being the force to be reckoned with in the West as they're being lauded as. It's a tad out of step with their reality which is behind Dallas and Colorado in the Central division.

Pacific Division Winner odds

1. Edmonton Oilers +160
2. Las Vegas Golden Knights +275
3. Vancouver Canucks +240
4. Los Angeles Kings +550
5. Calgary Flames +1800
6. Seattle Kraken +1600
7. Anaheim Ducks +12500
8. San Jose Sharks +20000

This division prior to the draft was a lot more interesting than it is today as the Oilers leveled up its roster to fortify its Stanley Cup runner up roster.

Prior to the draft Edmonton had 7 forwards signed and 5 defenseman and a shade over ten million to spend, and they returned four key players as well as added Victor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner to their middle six forward group all for 12.5 million.

Having said that, this team has historically pissed away the first half of their seasons, and so checking down to Vegas or Vancouver are not bad ideas whatsoever. To be fair, the Canucks are the Pacific Division Champions afterall.

But those three teams are the only ones worth spending your hard earned money on.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.