The NHL regular season ends in just three weeks. A couple of teams have locked up playoff spots but many teams are fighting to either secure home-ice advantage in the first round or claim one of the two Wild Card spots available in each conference.
All seven of Canada’s NHL teams are either in a playoff spot now or within four points of one, as of March 25. Three of those teams – the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks – have never won the Stanley Cup, the most prestigious trophy in professional sports. At BetCanada.com, our Canada sports betting analysis continues with a look at the odds that this year’s champion will be a first-time winner, which would include any of the three Canadian teams or one of seven U.S. franchises with Cup-less trophy cases.
Prop | Odds | Percent Change |
Yes, first-time winner | +625 | 13.8% |
No first-time winner | -625 | 86.2% |
The main reason a first-time winner is such a longshot is that just a few of them are projected to make next month’s postseason. However, the Jets and Senators are in playoff spots, while the Canucks only trail the St. Louis Blues by three points (81-78) for the Western Conference’s final Wild Card spot.
We’ll go through the chances for each of the Canadian trio, ranking them based on their current odds of winning at Pinnacle Ontario Sportsbook.
The Jets are battling with the Washington Capitals for the President’s Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. However, neither team is better than the sixth choice on the Pinnacle future’s board. That’s the Jets, with the Capitals (+995) right behind.
If there’s a knock on Winnipeg, it’s that the current group has not made it past the first round and the Western Conference is chock full of contenders in Stanley Cup odds. Just to get to the Cup final, the Jets (if the season ended today) would need to beat a Blues team currently on a six-game winning streak, then the winner of the Dallas Stars-Colorado Avalanche series, then a conference final where they would likely face either the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings or Edmonton Oilers.
Good luck with that.
The Jets won’t be pushovers. They have allowed a league-low 170 goals, while their 246 goals scored ranks second best. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck is just about a cinch to win his third Vezina Trophy this year as the league’s best netminder; he’s the top reason that Winnipeg Jets betting odds are enticing. Kyle Connor (37 goals, 86 points) and Mark Scheifele (35 goals, 77 points) might be two of the NHL’s best offensive players that few people talk about. At least one will need to make their presence known if the Jets are to make it to the second round or beyond in this postseason.
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.
Could the Senators be ready to put a turbulent recent past behind them and make their presence known this spring? It’s possible. With 13 games left, the Sens hold the top Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re just six points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning for third place in the Atlantic Division. Catching Tampa Bay would mean a first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The top Wild Card spot would almost certainly pit them against the Florida Panthers, last season’s champs, which would make Ottawa Senators betting odds to win the Cup a longshot.
Forwards Tim Stutzle (20 goals, 70 points), Drake Batherson (20 goals, 56 points), Brady Tkachuk (28 goals, 54 points) and defenseman Jake Sanderson (seven goals, 48 points) give Ottawa a young core. Batherson will turn 27 in a month. In addition, Linus Ullmark, one of the league’s top goalies, is in his first season in the Canadian capital.
This season might not be the one for Ottawa to go the distance. But after seven seasons without the playoffs, Sens fans will be eager to see this season as a springboard for a possible Cup run next season.
The oldest of the Cup-less three, Vancouver Canucks betting odds are also the longest of the three. Vancouver has been to the Stanley Cup final three times in its 54-season history. It will take a lot for the Canucks to get their first this season as they are currently on the outside looking in and needing to make up a three-point deficit in 11 games.
It has been a tumultuous season on the Pacific Coast. Much of it was dominated by the discord between JT Miller and Elias Pettersson in the locker room. Vancouver traded Miller to the Rangers, but now Pettersson, second on the team in points with 45, is day-to-day with an unspecified injury.
Should they supplant the Blues for the final Wild Card berth, a series with the Jets would await. The teams have split the first two games they’ve played this season, and Winnipeg hosts the final regular-season contest between them on Friday.
Vancouver’s final 11 games will be tough. Besides the Jets, they face the Golden Knights twice and have games against playoff contenders Dallas, Colorado, the Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets.
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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.
