Every NHL Team's Championship Odds at the Start of the 2024-25 Season

The NHL 2024-25 regular season will begin before the weekend, but we're going to be a bit more future-focused for the time being.

The B/R hockey team is greeting the final off-day before the schedule commences by scanning championship odds for all 32 teams as laid out by our pals at DraftKings.

It's a more relevant task in some cities than others, for obvious reasons, but we nevertheless worked the room from prohibitive underdog to odds-on favorite while factoring in the most recent reasons for optimism and reasons for concern along the way.

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

Let's face it, no one was putting the Sharks anywhere near championship contention anyway, but the depth of the illusion of optimism will be determined by the seriousness of the lower-body injury sustained by No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini on Tuesday night.

Third overall pick Beckett Sennecke is a key piece of the future for the Ducks, but he had to wait to show glimpses in the preseason thanks to a stress fracture in his right foot—sustained in off-ice training—that kept him out of action until a Wednesday debut against Utah.

Adam Fantilli, who turns 20 on 12 October, had 12 goals and 27 points in 49 games as a rookie. He seems poised to raise his level in year two as a regular after notching team bests in goals (4) and points (6) through four preseason games.

There's no expectation for relevance, but it should be interesting to watch year two of the Connor Bedard project in Chicago. Still just 19, he had 22 goals and 61 points in 69 games as a rookie and is surrounded these days by the likes of Teuvo Teräväinen and Tyler Bertuzzi.

The Canadiens took a turn for the better with the trade that brought Patrik Laine from Columbus for a player and a pick, but it veered off course with a knee-on-knee hit against Toronto that yielded a sprain and will keep him on the sidelines for two to three months.

It's been two years since the Pacific Division champion Flames were eliminated from the playoffs by their rivals from Edmonton, and to suggest it's been a freefall since is being kind. Could they squeak into the playoffs? Maybe. But winning a first Cup since 1989? Not a chance.

Former fifth-round pick Samuel Ersson elevated to the No. 1 position in the Philadelphia net last season and has staked his claim to keeping it for 2024-25, stopping 67 of 69 shots (.971 save percentage) across two preseason starts. He was 23-19-7 in 51 games in 2023-24.

Even if you assume Pierre-Luc Dubois is a revelation in the nation's capital and Alex Ovechkin carries a full season's worth of goal-scoring momentum into an all-time NHL record, it's still nothing close to enough for a second title or a real push to get close to it.

There's plenty of reason to like the artists formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, because there's little reason to believe 21 teams are better. As for personnel, Kailer Yamamoto made a case to make the roster on a PTO with two goals against San Jose on Tuesday.

It's year four for the Kraken in Seattle and the perception is that they'll remain on the outside looking in when it comes to real contention. They were 17 points out of the final Western berth last season, and it's difficult to believe they'll cover that ground, let alone surpass it.

Expecting even a 22nd overall finish might be a bit optimistic for these Blues, who've not shown much reason for excitement with a desultory preseason start that's yielded four losses in five games. Looking for a positive? Dylan Holloway scored two goals in his first game.

There was held breath around Buffalo when star defenseman and new team captain Rasmus Dahlin missed the start of training camp, but he's back healthy and made the trip to Europe for the opening weekend. It won't yield a Cup for the Sabres, but the playoffs? Maybe.

If you're hoping for the Islanders to do anything more than compete for a lower-tier playoff spot in the East, you'll need to hope Ilya Sorokin is in top form. The 29-year-old had back surgery in the offseason and has been skating on his own away from training camp.

Pittsburgh's grizzled core four—Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson—is still good enough to compete for a title. But there's not enough talent among the other players on the roster to do much beyond hope for a No. 8 playoff spot.

It won't yield a Cup and may not even end an eight-season playoff drought, but the Red Wings have gotten a look at the future with the impressions made by Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson, who combined for five points in their first five preseason games.

Wait and see just how costly Tuesday's preseason game at Montreal was for the Senators, who saw Tim Stützle leave after a hit by Arber Xhekaj, and Brady Tkachuk exit after he also got involved with the same player following the play. Defenseman Thomas Chabot also left early.

It's probably no better than a first-round exit for the Wild, but owner Craig Leipold is bullish for the future if he can keep Kirill Kaprizov past 2025-26. "Nobody will offer more money than us, or longer," he said. "So all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win."

It could be because of injuries or it could be a product of new coach Scott Arniel's new philosophies. Either way, the Jets have tinkered with the idea of rotation three "skill" lines alongside one "checking" line. "I want to see how it goes," he told the Winnipeg Sun.

The Lightning represent the line between teams with unrealistic hopes for a title and those with what could be considered an actual chance if things break right. Jake Guentzel helps replace Steven Stamkos' numbers if not his presence, and other veterans remain too.

Expecting the Kings to go from three first-round exits against Edmonton to a banner raise is difficult enough to fathom, but it got even harder when defenseman Drew Doughty suffered a fractured ankle that will keep him sidelined for at least a month. A good start is vital.

The Bruins will be probably fine thanks to the depth of talent on the roster, but there's clearly an issue in goal, where anointed No. 1 Jeremy Swayman is still not signed. That likely leaves Joonas Korpisalo, who came from Ottawa in a trade, to begin the season as the starter.

The Predators are most people's champions of the offseason, and they'll be looking to get over a first-round hurdle that has tripped them up in each playoff appearance since 2018. It would take a lot of things to break right for them to win a Cup, but it's not a ridiculous suggestion.

The Canucks won the Pacific and pushed Edmonton to the limit in the second round, but TSN's Mike Johnson is suggesting a step back due to a number of career years. "The reason they're called career years is because they happen once in your career," he told One Big Question.

The Golden Knights could probably make the playoffs on muscle memory alone and thus be in real contention for another championship, but the absence of depth after the exits of Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson and other forwards is a legitimate concern.

Jack Roslovic wasn't exactly a high-profile free-agent signing in July, but if he's able to be successful sliding onto Carolina's top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, it will be a boon for a team typically known for its defensive prowess.

Need evidence that preseason isn't everything? Look at the Avalanche, winless in their first four games. If you think that means they won't be a factor, think again. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon assisted on a power-play goal four minutes into their first appearance.

The Devils were 23rd overall last season and made a slew of moves to make people believe they'll return to the form that had them third overall in 2022-23. But the product of one of those moves, defenseman Brett Pesce, didn't make the trip for the weekend in Prague.

The good news is that the Rangers are the defending Presidents Trophy winners and should continue to be elite. The bad news is that their perennial MVP candidate, Artemi Panarin, has left two preseason games with injuries and didn't play in two games in between.

The Maple Leafs haven't seen a final four since 2002, but it doesn't keep them from a number that suggests they're a favorite. It'll depend, as usual, on the production of the pricey core four and the distraction prompted by Mitch Marner, whose six-year deal runs out in June.

If you're looking for a team that's not the morning-line favorite, it would be difficult to find a better option than the Stars, who are as skilled and deep as any of the other 31. Keeping Matt Duchene in the fold and adding Colin Blackwell to the fourth line was a boon for GM Jim Nill.

They were an eighth seed and made the Cup Final two springs ago. Then they won it as the third-best regular-season team in the East last year. So, it doesn't matter where the Panthers are placed going into 2024-25, there's a good chance they'll play relevant games.

So, Connor McDavid has officially done everything there is in the NHL. Except one thing. The Oilers got to the Game 7 brink in Florida in June and added forward strength with free agents Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, but concern remains about the quality of the defense.