Buy or Sell Every Current NHL Playoff Team's Stanley Cup Odds

American Thanksgiving has come and gone. The NHL's 2024-25 regular season has reached its quarter pole. So let's take a look at some championship-related numbers, shall we?

The fine folks at DraftKings are consistently updating their odds for teams to hoist the Stanley Cup next spring and the B/R hockey team waded into the prospective pool to apply Buy/Sell tags on the hopes of the 16 teams currently occupying playoff positions.

Familiar commodities like the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, who met in a memorable seven-game series on opposite points of the continent six months ago, are included alongside a few surprising gate-crashers who sat out the 2023-24 tournament entirely, like the Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

NOTE: Odds/standings are current through games played November 30.

No offense intended to the fine folks of southern Alberta, whose team has been one of the league's pleasant surprises with a 12-9-4 record through 25 games that's good for the Western Conference's first wild-card position. But we're selling all our Calgary stock.

While it's true the Flames are just five points out of the lead in the Pacific Division, it's no less true that they've been a pedestrian 5-4-1 in their last 10 games and that their 7-9-3 mark since October 23 is 22nd overall among 32 teams.

With recent powers like Vancouver and Colorado behind them, it's highly unlikely they hold the playoff spot let alone both gain entry and string together 16 wins upon arrival.

There are surprises and then there are surprises.

The Capitals are a few steps beyond Calgary in terms of early-season success with a 17-6-1 record through 24 games that's the best in the Metropolitan Division, the best in the Eastern Conference, and third-best in the league behind Winnipeg and Minnesota.

They've scored more goals (101) than any team in the league, allowed fewer (69) than all but eight of them, and will surely get a jolt when Alex Ovechkin returns from a broken leg to resume his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record.

Do we think they're a favorite to win the franchise's second title? No. But the early-season record plus the 40-to-1 odds make it at least worth a throwaway investment, right?

Make no mistake, the Kings are a good NHL team.

They've been a recent fixture in the playoffs, have a strong veteran core with guys like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty and boast a strong collection of talented 20-somethings, too.

But it's not the sort of group that makes you think a parade is imminent, is it?

The Kings were third in the Pacific last season and are second through 25 games this year, which means they'll probably be in the same muddled mix come playoff time. And given three straight first-round losses to Edmonton and the specter of other powers like Vegas and Vancouver hanging around, too, it's a hard ask to even win one series, let alone four.

There's a lot to like these days in Minnesota.

While we'll concede that the 16-4-4 start that's got the Wild tied (with Winnipeg) atop the overall standings could be gone with just a bad week or two, there's been little reason provided thus far to prompt worry that an extended skid is imminent.

Wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have been point-per-game players through the initial 24 games—with Kaprizov producing at an MVP-level 133-point pace. The defense is holding opponents below 30 shots per night. And the goaltending has been stellar, with Filip Gustavsson's goals-against average (2.05) and save percentage (.929) leading the league.

Again, are they a favorite? No. But the early success indicates a legit dark horse at 20-to-1.

Maybe the good times will never end on Florida's Gulf Coast.

After all, the Lightning were historically good in 2018-19, won Cups after the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, and made the final round again in 2021-22 before falling to Colorado. So the 12-9-2 start that's got them third in the Atlantic Division through 23 games this fall shouldn't be all that surprising, right?

Somehow, though, it doesn't feel as substantial as the previous years.

Tampa Bay was 7-3-0 at the end of October and it's the good start that's kept the team where it is standings-wise despite a 5-6-2 run across the 13 subsequent games. It's just a point up on fourth-place Boston in the division and just two points up on Buffalo, which shows how tenuous things are and how unlikely yet another run to the finals seems.

It's tough to draw a bead on the Canucks this fall.

Vancouver was the biggest positive surprise of the 2023-24 season under coach Rick Tocchet while winning the Pacific Division and a playoff series before falling to Edmonton across seven epic games in the second round.

Optimism was both abundant and justified entering this season and it's not as if the team has been awful. In fact, the 12-7-3 start is just six points off the first-place pace being set by Vegas in the Pacific and a point clear of the current playoff cut line.

Still, it's been a blur of injuries and other issues so far in British Columbia and it's the subsequent uncertainty that's making a deep run feel a long shot at this point. Though we'll concede the perspective could change dramatically over the season's next quarter.

Remember the trade deadline last spring, when the Golden Knights were among the consensus picks as winners following the acquisitions of Tomas Hertl, Anthony Mantha and Noah Hanifin that preceded a would-be deep playoff run?

Well, the run evaporated into a first-round loss to Dallas, but the status of Vegas as a league elite remains intact given a Pacific-best 15-7-3 record through 25 games.

Its 3.60 goals per game are sixth-best in the league, Jack Eichel is healthy and operating at a high level, and a 2023 deadline pickup, veteran center Ivan Barbashev, is on pace for career-highs in goals (39), assists (49) and points (88).

Lest anyone forget, the Golden Knights hoisted the Cup in 2023 and it's no stretch to suggest they're on a level that could make a second title in three years a reality.

Welcome to the land of the no-brainer.

The Winnipeg Jets have been the NHL's best team since the first puck drop this season, from wiping the floor with the reigning Western champs on opening night to winning their first eight games and 15 of their first 16. So suggesting a Buy label here is hardly a hot take.

But while Connor Hellebuyck (.928 save percentage/2.11 goals-against average) is and remains a goaltending stud, and winger Kyle Connor has a real chance to eclipse 40 goals for the second time in his career, it's also true that some of the bloom has come off the rose.

Winnipeg was 15-1-0 after 16 games but is only 3-5-0 since, with opponents scoring four or more goals in each of the five losses and the offense being held to a single goal three times and being shut out once.

Does it mean the record-setting start didn't happen? Of course not. But by the same token, considering the Jets to be any surer a shot than 14-to-1 odds indicate is risky at best.

It wasn't hard to find folks who were bullish on the Devils as the season began.

As anyone with a long memory will tell you, New Jersey was among the NHL's best teams and won a playoff series in 2022-23 before a blizzard of injuries and bad luck prompted a steep standings drop and a full-on postseason miss in 2023-24.

An offseason trade for Jacob Markstrom stabilized the net and has gotten the Devils back to the front of the pack so far in 2024-25, to the tune of 16-9-2 start that's got them a point out of first place in the Metropolitan Division while their 2.78 goals-against average has been sixth-best in the league.

Add an offense that's been good for 3.48 goals per game and strong special teams play—first in power-play efficiency (33.7 percent), ninth in penalty killing (81.0 percent)—and you've got yourself a legitimate contender for a deep run with a chance to make a 14-to-1 profit.

Again, we'll reiterate our respect for the league's recent powerhouses.

The Avalanche were a particularly dominant bunch in the 2022 playoffs and included a four-game sweep of Edmonton and a final-round defeat of Tampa Bay on the way to a hoist.

But injuries and attrition have had their way since, yielding a 9-9 record and just one series win over the two subsequent seasons. And nowhere have the questions been louder than in the net, where Colorado's 3,72 goals-against average this season is 30th in a 32-team league and just 0.05 better than last-place Pittsburgh.

The tandem of Alexandar Georgiev (.875 save percentage) and Justus Annunen (.872) have not been the answer, so, while a deadline deal to bring in a higher-end property is surely a possibility, these Avs will be relegated to pretender status until it happens.

Yes, we know. It's all about the playoffs in Toronto.

That's the reality for a franchise that hasn't won a title since the Original Six era and has emerged successfully from just one playoff series (yes, that's one) since the 2004-05 lockout.

So while a 14-7-2 start that's a point behind first-place Florida in the Atlantic Division and five points ahead of the current postseason cut line is nice, don't expect anyone in southern Ontario to be spinning cartwheels anytime soon.

But we'll tell you about the good news anyway.

Wingers Mitch Marner and William Nylander have been point-per-game producers, goalies Joseph Woll (2.13) and Anthony Stolarz (2.15) are both among the league's leaders in goals-against average, and much of the .652 points percentage has been compiled without the services of Auston Matthews, who's played just 14 games and scored just five goals.

Who knows, Leafs fans? Maybe this is the year.

That sound you hear? It's just the New York Rangers imploding.

The blue-shirted residents of Madison Square Garden were quick from the gate with a 5-0-1 mark through their first six games and a 12-4-1 record through the first 17.

But it suddenly seems a million years ago in a hockey-mad and media-scrutinized environment, thanks to a five-game losing streak in which New York allowed an unsightly 21 goals, scored an unimpressive 10 and heard that the whole team was on the trading block as a way for general manager Chris Drury to stop the bleeding.

The Rangers ended the skid with a Saturday defeat of Montreal to start a five-game homestand and they entered Sunday's games in possession of the East's top wild-card spot, so it's not time to pull up stakes just yet. Still, it's an awful lot of dysfunction for a team on a high pedestal and just enough reasons right now to pull back from a 10-to-1 investment.

And now, we reach the truly elite portion of our program.

The Dallas Stars entered at or near the top of the league according to every preseason expert, thanks to depth and skill across multiple lines, sturdy defense, and stellar goaltending in the form of 25-year-old Jake Oettinger.

Coach Pete DeBoer's team reached the Western finals last spring and was vanquished by the Edmonton Oilers, but a 14-8-0 start through 22 games has them a solid third in the Central Division beneath streaking Winnipeg and Minnesota.

Only one team, the Wild, has allowed fewer than their 59 goals, and Dallas has managed to average 3.45 goals per game (ninth in the league) with only moderate contributions from two-time 40-goal man Jason Robertson, who's scored just five times in 22 games.

It won't be a huge profit, but there aren't many better bets than the Stars at 9-to-1.

If you like the Stars at 9-to-1, you have to like the Hurricanes at 8-to-1.

The boys from Carolina have long been an Eastern Conference version of Dallas, relying on forward depth, a strong defensive system and sound goaltending to keep them at or near the top of the standings. But, in spite of perennial success, neither has had a title in a bit.

Carolina is 16-7-1 through 24 games and just two points out of first in the Metropolitan Division, thanks to an offense that's third in the league with 3.79 goals per game and a defense that's eighth with 2.88 allowed.

The goaltending took a hit with a knee injury to Frederik Andersen that required surgery, but 25-year-old Pyotr Kochetkov has been up to the task as a full-time fill-in, winning 10 of 13 starts with a goals-against average (2.42) that's seventh-best in the league. Center Martin Necas is second in the league with 37 points and Seth Jarvis recently returned from his own injury hiatus with five points in his first four games.

If they represent the East come springtime, it should surprise precisely no one.

Yeah, it's been a familiar fall in northern Alberta.

The Edmonton Oilers dropped a 6-0 decision to Winnipeg on opening night and found themselves outscored by a 15-3 margin while losing their first three games.

It was eerily similar to the early skid that cost Jay Woodcroft his job after just 13 games last season, a move that yielded a prolonged stretch of prosperity for new coach Kris Knoblauch and ended in a Stanley Cup Final duel with the Florida Panthers.

But even though there's been no coaching change this season, it seems the tide has turned.

Edmonton is 13-6-2 since the early stumbles and has worked its way into third in the Pacific Division with a structure that's included the most shots on goal in the league (33.2 per game) while allowing the fourth-fewest at 26.2. Still, goalies Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have been solid but unspectacular, prompting some suggestions that a goaltender will again be on executives' minds come deadline time.

Regardless, as long as Nos. 97 and 29 remain in the fold, we'll be happy to buy.

Being the champions means never having to say you're sorry.

Or, in this case, it means there's precisely zero panic over a rough early patch.

The Cup-hoisting Panthers hit the ground running to begin their 2024-25 title defense and were 11-3-1 after a 4-3 defeat of Philadelphia on November 9, but a 1-7-0 plunge through their subsequent eight games coincided with a dip to 13th in the most recent Power Rankings.

Things seem back to normal lately, though, thanks to a three-game run against Toronto and Carolina (twice) in which they've gone 3-0-0, scored 17 goals and allowed just four.

The result? They're first in the Atlantic. First on the DraftKings list. And showing no signs that they won't be a factor when it comes to the tournament.

"We just love to play for each other," goalie Spencer Knight said. "If someone makes a mistake, we just pick them up and keep moving forward. That's the kind of love we have in this room, and I think that allows us to play really hard and really free."