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NHL betting guide: 32 teams, 32 bets to make this season

BySean Allen and Victoria Matiash ESPN logo

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 12:57PM

The NHL drops the puck on a new season Tuesday night, and with every team playing 84 games, it will be the biggest season yet. As 32 teams enter the season with renewed optimism and reshuffled rosters, we have what sports bettors can look forward to this season with one futures bet to make for every team. Sean Allen and Victoria Matiash have the betting insight for every team, including awards races, playoff chases and player milestones.

The Carolina Hurricanes open the season as co-favorites to repeat, but will they be a good bet to do so? Also, which players have betting value when it comes to the Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Trophy? From Jack Hughes prop bets to Quinn Hughes prop bets and everything in between, here are the 32 best bets to make for the NHL season.

Sean Allen made his best bets for the Eastern Conference, and Victoria Matiash for the Western Conference. All odds provided by DraftKings

and areaccurate as of publish time.

Anaheim Ducks To Miss Playoffs (+120): Chris Kreider is now in Montreal. Mason McTavish is over in St. Louis. Out for weeks to start the season, Troy Terry is hurt. Anaheim's blue line appears radically different, with experienced defensemen Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas and John Carlson gone elsewhere. This isn't the same team that clinched a playoff spot this past season and, on paper, they're not better. Unlike the San Jose Sharks, who seem poised to replace Anaheim amongst the top four in the Pacific. Which may not even suffice, if five teams advance from the Central.

Charlie McAvoy, Norris Trophy Winner (25-1): McAvoy set up the power-play offense at a top-15 rate per minute while logging a team-high 24-plus minutes a night. He's the distribution engine on a thin blue line, and a full season in his prime could have him in the conversation for best blue-liner. The volume of minutes is the edge.

Tage Thompson to Record 50+ Regular Season Goals (10-1): No, he's never had 50 in a season before, but 47 in 78 games was a solid run in 2022-23. His 40-goal campaign last season was actually a 43-goal pace if you toss out his seven-game slow start. Now remember that it's an 84-game regular season and Thompson is in his prime.

Dustin Wolf to Record 30+ Regular Season Wins (+230): Banking on breakout performances from youngsters like Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin, and bounce-back showings from veteran Jonathan Huberdeau (once that hip is fully healed) and others, the Flames might not be as bad as last season. If so, and Wolf starts about 60 of 84 games, 30 victories is achievable.

Carolina to Win The Stanley Cup (+650): They didn't lose much, if anything, in the offseason and Seth Jarvis has plenty of time to recover. Why not get in on the ground floor for a Hurricanes dynasty? Especially if they actually manage to use Alexander Nikishin as leverage to be in on the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes.

Patrick Kane to Record 20+ Regular Season Goals (+100): They don't call him "Showtime" for nothing. In his return to Chicago, Kane stands to put up some fairly impressive numbers on a top line and power play with Connor Bedard, once the star center returns in early November. Feeling and moving the best he has in some time, Kane is capable of scoring 30-plus goals in anything resembling a full campaign. He's only one season removed from potting 21 in 72 contests in Detroit.

Martin Necas& Nathan MacKinnon to Record a Combined 215+ Regular Season Points (+100): This dynamic duo piled up 227 points in 158 contests in 2025-26. Now they have up to 168 total games to bang out 215. For plus-money, it's an appealing proposition for two historically durable skaters.

Columbus to Make The Playoffs (+150): The offseason was touch-and-go, with Zach Werenski musing about a departure and Kirill Marchenkotraded to Toronto, but everyone that matters is back, Adam Fantilli is set to level up and Valeri Nichushkin is a game-changing change-of-scenery bet. Why can't they push for a wild-card spot?

Jason Robertson to Record 45+ Regular Season Goals (+140): He scored 45 in 82 games this past season while competing on an expiring contract. Now, betting on himself with a fresh one-year deal, the 27-year-old has two extra games to hit the same mark.

Lucas Raymond to Record 80+ Regular Season Points (+110): Raymond set up goals at a top-30 rate per minute and inherits more of the offense with Patrick Kane gone. Averaging sub-19 minutes per game in his career, he has minutes to add to an 84-game pace of 78 points across the past three seasons combined.

Evan Bouchard to Record 90+ Regular Season Points (+110): He collected 95 points in 82 contests this past campaign. If there's a puck-moving defenseman who can reach 100 in an 84-game stretch, Bouchard may serve as the biggest threat as power-play mate to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Durable as they come, the 26-year-old has only missed two regular-season matches in the past five years.

Jacob Markstrom to Record 30+ Regular Season Wins (+380): The way this Florida team stacks on paper with the addition of Brady Tkachuk and return of Aleksander Barkov should allow for any goaltender that appears in 50 games to win 30 of them. Markstrom just needs to stay healthy to meet this bar.

Drew Doughty to Record 35+ Regular Season Points (+135): While his halcyon days with the extra skater are admittedly in the rearview, Doughty registered only one point of 23 in 30 games on the power play this past season. Even with Brandt Clarke taking over the lion's share of special teams' minutes, the single point feels anomalously low for someone who's still competing with the man-advantage. Doughty has averaged 0.55 points/game throughout his illustrious career. Slapped with the "C" ahead of 2026-27, the 36-year-old isn't that long in the tooth yet.

Kirill Kaprizovand Quinn Hughes to Record a Combined 180+ Regular Season Points (+170): This is essentially a wager on the health of both skaters. Kaprizov has averaged 1.24 points/game since his first full season In Minnesota. If the winger plays 79 of 84 contests, that translates into 98. Leaving Hughes to account for 82 himself. The star defenseman is projected to collect between 82 and 86, so that adds up well.

Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki to Record a Combined 200+ Regular Season Points (+850): Betting on the up-and-coming Canadiens offense to take another step up does not seem unreasonable. They combined for 189 points last season, get an extra two games to play with the new schedule and should see a new level for Ivan Demidov's creativity with them on the power play. They don't have to both earn triple-digits here; just combine for 200.

Ross Colton to Record 30+ Regular Season Points (+115): The last time Colton moved from one organization to another -- traveling from Tampa Bay to Colorado for the 2022-23 season -- he collected 40 points in 80 games. Keen to make a good first impression once again in Nashville, Colton will be afforded the opportunity to contribute from the third line with Jonathan Marchessault and secondary power play. Thirty points isn't a big ask at all.

Jack Hughesto Record 110+ Regular Season Points (25-0): This has got to be it, right? The season Hughes manages to stay on the ice for the whole campaign? If he does, 110 points will be a cake walk. He led all players in March and April with 38 points, which is a 147-point pace over an 84-game schedule. Heck, at that rate, he can even miss a few games.

Matthew Schaefer, Norris Trophy Winner (16-1): Bold, but the profile's real. Schaefer stepped straight into top-pairing, power-play minutes as a rookie and produced all season. This one gets real traction if the Islanders' power play gets out of the league basement.

Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Dorofeyev to Record a Combined 65+ Regular Season Goals (+110): The Rangers may have bolder goals, like getting back into the playoff mix, but no matter the team trajectory, this power play remains as dangerous as ever, especially with the addition of Dorofeyev. They actually combined for more than 70 goals last season, but let's shave a few off because they can't both get credit for all the power-play tallies.

Drake Batherson, to Record 100+ Regular Season Points (28-1): OK, yes, he had only 71 points last season, so this would be adding 30 -- a tall order to be sure. With Brady Tkachuk gone to Florida, someone absorbs the man-advantage load and Batherson already produced at a top-20 power-play rate per minute. He's the finisher poised to inherit more.

Porter Martone, Calder Trophy Winner (+280): Chalky, yes. But chalky for a reason. He showed everything we need to see in his nine-game sample at the end of last season, with tons of shots, plenty of scoring and power-play acumen.

Sidney Crosby to Record 90+ Regular Season Points (+300): Give the captain his due: Crosby set up goals at a top-25 rate per minute and hasn't slowed, even as the roster around him churns. He remains the offense's straw that stirs it. A points total set to Pittsburgh's middling team outlook undersells that he'll still be feeding scorers.

Macklin Celebrini, Hart Trophy Winner (+450): MacKinnon plays with Cale Makar. McDavid competes with Draisaitl. If he nears 115 points again and helps drag his Sharks into the postseason for the first time since 2019, Celebrini will be in heavy consideration for the award honoring the most valuable to his team. No other skater in San Jose even hit 60 points in 2025-26.

Kraken to Finish the Regular Season with the Fewest Standings Points (+425): There's a fresher feeling in Vancouver, where the Canucks are expected to benefit from an overhaul in management and fresh voice behind the bench. With emerging young talent and bounce-back performances anticipated from some veterans, the Flames may serve as somewhat of a pleasant surprise this season. That leaves the Kraken, who, despite management's best efforts to attract high-end talent, as a realistic candidate to tumble to the bottom of the NHL's weakest division, and league standings altogether.

Jimmy Snuggerud to Record 30+ Regular Season Goals (+600): Tapped as one the league's top potential breakout candidate, Snuggerud is projected to substantially build on his rookie tally of 51 points in 70 games. On a top line and power play with Robert Thomas, he could score 40 goals. Which makes this 30-plus offer all the more appealing.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Vezina Trophy Winner (+800): If you're backing a goalie award, Vasilevskiy's the ironman to do it on as he's elite, durable, and on a strong defensive team that funnels him volume. Wins and workload are what Vezina voters reward, and he is one of the few goalies that checks both.

Auston Matthews to Record 55+ Regular Season Goals (12-1): Rather than chasing the award futures on Rocket Richard Trophy at 10-1, add a little more return for specificity in Matthews getting back on track as one of the league's premiere scorers. He was still a top-10 shooter on rate last season, he just needs his health to cooperate.

Dylan Guenther to Record 40+ Regular Season Goals (+215): At age 22, and still improving, he scored 40 in 79 games this past season. While Guenther's shooting percentage (16.5%) registered a bit high, having up to five additional games this year arguably serves as adequate compensation.

Vancouver Canucks Under 74.5 Regular Season Points (-110): The Canucks will likely register more than the 58 points earned last season, but not that many more. New GM Ryan Johnson, along with the rest of his management team, is playing the long-game. There's no pressing sense of urgency. On paper, Vancouver's squad is the weakest in the league and there are only so many points to go around. If they accumulate 70 by April 10, that will be viewed as a step in the right direction.

Vegas Golden Knights Pacific Division Champion (+185): Before competition gets underway, the Pacific Division crown feels like a two-team race between the Golden Knights and Oilers. Considering how the goaltending situation appears more suspect in Edmonton than Vegas, and the uncertainty of how new coach Mike Babcock will gel with his new charges week over week, siding with Ryan Craig's experienced crew strikes as the safer bet.

Cole Hutson, Calder Trophy Winner (+950): While everyone is distracted by Martone, Gavin McKenna or the other rookie forwards, look to the blue line. It's a small sample, but Hutson led the league in power-play points per minute (on just 14 games). Small-sample rates regress, yet the underlying role if he can quarterback a loaded, Alex Ovechkin-laden unit is real and sticky.

Winnipeg Jets to Record 90+ Regular Season Points (+130): Before eking out a measly 82, the Jets recorded 116 points -- good enough for the Presidents' Trophy -- the previous season. According to general consensus, the current realistic expectation for this not-spectacular-but-not-that-terrible club probably lies near the arithmetic mean, which is 99. Ninety points in 84 games feels very doable, even without Connor Hellebuyck.