The Florida Panthers are the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions, but they aren’t the preseason favorites to take home the title during the 2025-26 NHL campaign.
That honor belongs to the Carolina Hurricanes.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Carolina is the favorite at +750 (bet $100 to win $750). That puts it just ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers, the latter of which faced the Panthers in each of the last two Stanley Cup Finals.
Here is a look at the top 10:
Some might be surprised to see anyone but the Panthers atop the list.
After all, they took home each of the last two Stanley Cups and had a successful offseason that saw them bring back Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand.
However, injuries are a significant concern for the team with forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek expected to miss the start of the season and Aleksander Barkov potentially out for the entire campaign after suffering a torn ACL and MCL.
That could open the door for another team, and the Hurricanes are potentially positioned to take advantage of the situation.
Carolina lost to the Panthers in last year’s Eastern Conference Final and has made the playoffs in each of the last seven years. It advanced to the Eastern Conference Final three times during that span and will look to take the next step this season.
Sebastian Aho is set to lead a dangerous offensive attack that will also have to deal with the formidable Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference as well.
Still, the Panthers are champions until someone eliminates them and will surely be a factor once again come playoff time.
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