There may be a lot of uncertainty around the Colorado Avalanche heading into the summer, but that isn’t reflected in the 2025 Stanley Cup odds right now.
FanDuel, who appear to be the first sportsbook to reveal their odds for who they think has the best chances of winning the Stanley Cup in 2025, believe the Avalanche have a very good chance of going all the way next season.
Very, very good chance.
Colorado, who lost in round two to the Dallas Stars, have the second best odds of going all the way at +950. The Edmonton Oilers, who are set to face-off against the Florida Panthers later this week to crown this year’s Stanley Cup winner, have the best odds at +900. Carolina and Dallas are right there with the Avalanche at +950 as well.
The oddsmakers have loved the Avalanche in recent years. Last year, they were considered the favorites to win it all in early June, with Boston and Toronto not far behind them. None of those teams managed to get past the second round.
It’s not terribly surprising to see sportsbook love Colorado. After all, they’ve got plenty of star power, with the likely Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and Norris Trophy nominee Cale Makar. However, given the question marks surrounding Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin, two massive pieces of the roster, I’m not sure I’d give them the second-best odds if I was in charge of things. There’s still plenty of talent on the roster, but a lot of teams in the NHL are loaded with talent.
The Avalanche are certainly not the biggest surprise at the top, though. The New Jersey Devils, who didn’t even make the playoffs this past season, were given the fourth-best odds of winning it all. There’s talent on that team, but given their issues on defense and in net, they’re probably rated a little too high.
Keep in mind these are extremely early odds. These odds change over time, and will certainly change after the NHL Draft and free agency take place. Depending on what Chris MacFarland is able to get done, those odds could go either direction.