The NHL regular season wraps up on Thursday, but aside from one wild card spot, the Stanley Cup playoff picture is pretty clear. One thing that’s emerging is that there only will be a few teams that have never hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup fighting for it over the next two months.
With the postseason starting this weekend, BetCanada.com continues our Canada sports betting analysis with a look at the odds that this year’s champion will be a first-time winner, especially one from Canada.
Prop | Odds | Percent Change |
Yes, first-time winner | +625 | 13.8% |
No first-time winner | -625 | 86.2% |
In the Eastern Conference, the Ottawa Senators have clinched a wild card spot. The Columbus Blue Jackets, a team many thought would contend for the worst record in the league this season, still have a chance to get in the postseason. They need the Montreal Canadiens to lose in regulation tonight at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. Montreal Canadiens betting odds have the Habs as a -125 moneyline favorite in their regular-season finale.
If the Habs win, they clinch the last spot in the East and face the Washington Capitals in the first round. If Carolina wins in regulation, then the Jackets can grab the last spot by beating the New York Islanders in Columbus on Thursday.
In the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets have wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy, as the team with the best regular-season record, for the first time in franchise history. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues clinched the final two playoff spots in the West, eliminating the Calgary Flames.
Along with Calgary, the Vancouver Canucks have been eliminated from postseason contention, despite their historic last-minute three-goal comeback against the Dallas Stars last week.
Canada sports betting apps have long odds against a first-time Cup winner (our hypothetical odds are +625 on this prop). There could be as few as three teams (Wild, Jets and Senators) seeking their first Cup and no more than four (if the Blue Jackets reach the playoffs).
We know that two Canadian teams will seek their first championship, and we analyze their chances below. The odds shown are via Pinnacle (as of April 16) and are subject to change.
Winning the Presidents’ Trophy should be a big deal. It represents consistent excellence through an 82-game season and teams that win it are guaranteed home ice as long as they’re in the playoffs. The Jets have +855 odds to win the title at Pinnacle Canada Sportsbook as of April 16. The problem is, it has been a while since the best regular-season team won the Stanley Cup.
The 2013 Chicago Blackhawks were the most recent team to get the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup double.
Surprisingly, though, it hasn’t been a rare occurrence for the Presidents’ Trophy winner to be seeking their first Cup. The Jets are the 11th team since 2003 to be in that position. For those curious: Ottawa 2003; Buffalo 2007; San Jose 2009; Washington 2010, 2016 and 2017; Vancouver 2011 and 2012; Nashville 2018; and Florida 2022 were the others. None of them won the Cup that year.
Winnipeg Jets betting odds are enticing because the team certainly has the tools to make history. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is likely to win the Vezina Trophy again as the league’s top netminder. He has played 62 games, tops among goalies, and leads the NHL with 46 wins, a .924 save percentage and eight shutouts.
But scoring might be an issue beyond the top line, which includes Kyle Connor (41 goals, 55 assists) and Mark Scheifele (38 goals, 48 assists). Only Gabriel Vilardi (27) and Nikolaj Ehlers (24) have also topped the 20-goal plateau for the Jets, and they’re both battling injuries. Ehlers will miss at least part of the playoffs with a right foot injury. Vilardi has been out since March 23 thanks to an upper-body injury. However, he skated in a team practice Tuesday.
The Jets are among the top handful of teams on the board in Stanley Cup betting odds, depending on the operator, but they are not the favorite.
VIDEO: Is 2025 the year a Canadian team finally wins a Stanley Cup for the first time in 32 years? Check out our analysis below, exclusively at BetCanada’s YouTube site.
The Senators are a feel-good story for the league. They’re returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and they have a young core. Tim Stutzle, 23, leads the team with 76 points (23 goals, 53 assists). They have five 20-goal scorers, with Drake Batherson, who has 24 goals, being the oldest at 26. Brady Tkachuk leads the Senators with 29 goals. He hasn’t played in April (upper body injury), but he worked with the team this week and should be ready for the first round.
Ottawa will likely lean on Linus Ullmark, whom the team acquired from Boston in the offseason, to be its netminder for the postseason. He has a 2.67 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. However, if anything happens, Anton Forsberg can step in. He has a 2.72 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
The Senators will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, a matchup confirmed Tuesday when the Leafs clinched the Atlantic Division. A best-of-seven Battle for Ontario is must-see television, and not just in the nation’s largest province. A young team with not much to lose facing a more veteran squad that may have its last shot at a Cup with its current roster could make the Sens a trendy pick for some to advance in the playoffs.
As for making a run all the way to the title, current Ottawa Senators betting odds are still long, at +3605 with Pinnacle, to win the Cup.
USA Today photo by Marc DesRosiers
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters. He shares his expertise on BetCanada, among other sites.
