By Gary Pearson, BetMGM
If you look up the definition of perennial, you might see these five teams as case studies.
Not only do they have the shortest Stanley Cup Oddsbut they’ve also either won the Cup or knocked on the door in recent seasons.
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And the odds suggest that one of them will lift the Holy Grail at the end of the season.
Colorado Avalanche (+250)
Colorado Avalanche are the best team in hockey, and it’s not particularly close at this early stage. With just one loss in regulation, Jared Bednar’s team is the class of the league.
Their plus-31 goal differential is 15 better than second-place Carolina. Nathan MacKinnon, the MVP favoriteaccumulates points faster than a toddler collects toys, and Cale Makar is as dominant as ever.
I don’t think the Central Division rivals, the Winnipeg Jets or the Dallas Stars, pose a daunting threat.
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The question is whether the tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood can hold up their end of the bargain when it counts.
Seth Jarvis and Brayden McNabb (James Guillory-Imagn Images)
Carolina Hurricanes (+360)
If at first you don’t succeed… well, you know the rest. No sentence sums up Carolina better Hurricaneswho have stumbled in the Eastern Conference finals in two of the previous three seasons.
And we all know who made the trip – those pesky Florida Panthers. As has become a habit, the Hurricanes are among the best in the NHL through the quarter of the season.
They have arguably the most complete unit, and the callouses they’ve built after previous playoff heartbreaks should help them win the Prince of Wales Trophy for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.
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Their path to the promised land, however, may depend on their ability to exorcise the demons from their Panthers.
Florida Panthers (+375)
Even without captain Aleksander Barkov, the back-to-back defending champions have the depth, experience and pedigree to return to the Stanley Cup final four for a fourth straight season.
THE Panthers have proven time and time again that they are the class of the Eastern Conference, especially when it matters most. As long as they make the playoffs, I don’t think their ranking matters.
Paul Maurice’s collective is built for the playoffs, and there is no other team I have more confidence in to do the business when the stakes are low. Attrition and Barkov’s absence could be the only factors stopping them from conquering the elusive treble.
Which state or province will produce the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup champion?
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Vegas Golden Knights (+400)
Some immediate concerns have surfaced in Sin City. The good news is that time is on the side of Bruce Cassidy and the collective. Mark Stone must return to full health and Vegas must find an answer between the pipes.
We’ll see if Carter Hart can stop the bleeding while we wait for Adin Hill to return. But like the Panthers, these Golden Knights are built for playoff success, with the addition of Mitch Marner reinforcing that notion.
Edmonton Oilers (+450)
There are a few guarantees in life: the sun rises in the east, the Toronto Maple Leafs will not make the Stanley Cup Final, and the Edmonton Maple Leafs The tankers will come in time.
As long as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are healthy, Edmonton will be among the favorites to secure a third straight Stanley Cup Final berth.
