This month, the 2026-27 NHL regular season begins with a September 29th triple-header featuring the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, against the Florida Panthers. The preseason, which begins this weekend, will be shortened to accommodate the expansion from 82 to 84 regular-season games.
With NHL prediction markets already active, we can see that the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes are listed among the teams most likely to win the 2026-27 NHL Stanley Cup. But can Jordan Staal and the Hurricanes actually repeat as world champions? Or will Florida and Colorado live up to exceedingly high expectations? Let’s take a look!
Florida Panthers team captain Aleksander Barkov is healthy entering the 2026-27 NHL preseason and should help propel the team to a better finish compared to last year, when it missed the postseason entirely.
Power forward Brady Tkachuk will be united with his brother (Matthew) on the ice. The Panthers gave up a fortune in draft picks to the Ottawa Senators to make the deal happen, an audacious move by Panthers GM Bill Zito. Goaltending duties will now be turned over to Jacob Markström, who was acquired through a trade with the New Jersey Devils.
The offseason moves have resulted in prediction market forecasters strengthening Florida’s contract price to win the NHL Stanley Cup to 13¢. Although it is still extremely early (the preseason hasn’t even begun yet), it’s easy to see why the Panthers are so hyped on sites like Kalshi.
The defending NHL Stanley Cup champions are still in the mix as one of the top three teams projected to win it all. The Hurricanes surprised plenty of hockey experts last year in their unexpected rumble through the postseason. Their contracts are listed at 9¢ on Kalshi to repeat.
Unsurprisingly, the Colorado Avalanche are the other team remaining in the top three for potential Stanley Cup winners. The team was unceremoniously swept out of the Western Conference playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights despite being huge favorites to win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Traders who want to pick up contracts for Colorado to win the Stanley Cup can buy contracts for 11¢. Overall trading volume in the championship market is roughly $1.5 million.
This year’s NHL preseason will only last eight days. Professional sports leagues have caught on to the fact that fans don’t mind (at all) if exhibition games are sacrificed in order to add more regular-season contests to the schedule.
The shortened preseason is good news for hockey fans all around. This Saturday, sports forecasters can buy and sell actual contracts on preseason matchups with the knowledge that meaningful games will begin on September 29th.
For those who reside within the United States, prediction markets like Kalshi are available throughout the country. Traders who are 18+ can sign up for a new Kalshi account and begin forecasting sports outcomes in less than five minutes.
Loading …
