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Jeff Parker is an sports writer for BetCanada.com. Jeff lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and provides news and analysis of the latest developments in professional sports media, with an emphasis on the NHL and the CFL.
What CFL Team Has The Most Difficult Schedule?
The Canadian Football League regular season is just over a month away. BetCanada.com, as part of our Canada sports betting analysis, looks at the 2025 CFL schedule to determine which Canadian Football franchise has the most difficult path to the 116th Grey Cup.
Previewing the year ahead, BetCanada.com ranked all nine CFL teams based on the difficulty of their 2025 schedule. The results account for three key factors: How tough each team’s schedule is (based on their opponents’ 2024 record), how far each team must travel over the duration of the year, and where each team picked in the recent CFL draft.
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Ranking CFL Teams From Easiest to Most Difficult Schedule
Rank | Team | Average Rank |
1 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 2.00 |
2 | Calgary Stampeders | 2.67 |
T3 | Ottawa Redblacks | 3.67 |
T3 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3.67 |
5 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 4.00 |
6 | Toronto Argonauts | 6.00 |
7 | Montreal Alouettes | 6.67 |
8 | BC Lions | 8.33 |
9 | Edmonton Elks | 8.67 |
The regular season for CFL betting begins June 5 with the Ottawa Redblacks and Saskatchewan Roughriders kicking off 21 straight weeks of Canadian football action in Regina. The next day, the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts face off against their biggest competition in the East Division, the Montreal Alouettes. Meanwhile in the West, the fierce Winnipeg Blue Bombers – who have competed in the last six Grey Cups – debut in Week 2, taking on the B.C. Lions at home.
But what will the rest of the season bring?
Tiger-Cats Seeking Path Forward
After finishing last in the East Division in 2024, it’s the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with the easiest schedule among CFL teams in 2025.
The team with the lowest number – derived from the lower strength of schedule, fewest total miles and earlier spot in the draft – had the easiest schedule, according to our rankings.
But Hamilton isn’t relying on soft opponents alone to turn its fortunes around and reward backers at Canadian sportsbook apps.
New general manager Ted Goveia has spearheaded an aggressive offseason for Hamilton – most notably with the addition of wide receiver Kenny Lawler, now the CFL’s highest paid non-quarterback. Lawler is another weapon in an already high-powered offence that saw QB Bo Levi Mitchell post a career high 5,451 passing yards last season.
But the Tiger-Cats defence allowed the most points in the league 2024. This lack of defensive production is a big reason why the Ti-Cats odds to hoist the Grey Cup are currently hovering around +1250 at Pinnacle Sportsbook Canada.
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Who Has The Toughest CFL Schedule In 2025?
Meanwhile, the team with the most daunting CFL schedule in 2025 is the Edmonton Elks. It’s a tough draw for a franchise that hasn’t glimpsed the postseason since 2019, when they were still known as the “Eskimos.”
The good news for fans is that Edmonton has done more to right the ship this offseason than any other CFL franchise. The front office has undergone a complete makeover, with a new president, general manager, and coaching staff. The Elks also spent more money than any other CFL team in free agency. Defensive lineman Robbie Smith has been the biggest addition to the roster. The Elks made Smith, a two-time Grey Cup winner with Toronto, the highest-paid defensive player in the CFL by signing him in February.
But despite their offseason maneuvering, oddsmakers offering Canada sports betting promos have the Elks at +1600 to win the Grey Cup in 2025. That’s the second longest odds in the league, behind only the lowly Calgary Stampeders, at FanDuel.
With the sixth easiest schedule, the Argonauts are the favorite to win another Grey Cup this season. Their odds sit at +250 with FanDuel as of April 29. Other top contenders heading into the 2025 CFL season are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with the fifth-easiest schedule, and the Montreal Alouettes, with the seventh. Both teams are +500 to win the Grey Cup.
USA Today photo by John E. Sokolowski