If you're not into ice hockey, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Stanley Cup is the must-have water bottle that your teen has been begging you to buy for her.

It is, in fact, the trophy for the North American professional ice hockey league and is one of the most prestigious in the world of sports.

Awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion, winning the Stanley Cup 2025 is the ultimate goal.

Unlike other major sports trophies, the Cup is unique in that it is not recreated each year. Instead, the same trophy is passed from champion to champion, making it a direct link to the legends of the game.

The names of each year's winning team members are engraved directly onto its surface which is plenty of motivation for players who are desperate to win it.

After all, who wouldn't want a chance to be remembered long after their playing days are over?

This article is in eager anticipation of the 2025 season, so let's take a look at which teams are in the running and who we think has the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup 2025.

Favourites To Win The Stanley Cup 2025

The Stanley Cup playoffs typically begin in mid-April and conclude in early to mid-June.

As the season is still underway and no divisional teams or wildcards have been determined, there are still odds available on most teams to make it through to the finals.

Who do the bookies fancy? The odds are below (from Betfred 23/12/24)…

Edmonton Oilers 15/2
Florida Panthers 10/1
Carolina Hurricanes 10/1
Colorado Avalanche 10/1
Dallas Stars 10/1
New York Rangers 10/1
New Jersey Devils 12/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 12/1
Winnipeg Jets 12/1
Vegas Golden Knights 14/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 20/1
Vancouver Canucks 20/1
Minnesota Wild 20/1
Los Angeles Kings 25/1
Boston Bruins 25/1
Nashville Predators 33/1
Washington Capitals 33/1
Ottawa Senators 40/1

Stanley Cup Predictions for 2025

Last season, over a series of battles on the ice, two teams emerged as the ones to beat and they were the Western Conference champions Edmonton Oilers and the Eastern Conference champions Florida Panthers who made the finals.

In the end the Stanley Cup went to the Florida Panthers who won four games to three in the best-of-seven series.

It was their first championship in their thirty year history and it should come as absolutely no surprise that both teams are once again vying for the top spot with the bookies.

Despite the Oilers having an impressive season, with standout performances from key players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, it was not enough in 2024.

And while there's still a long way to go in this season's campaign, it is the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights who are currently leading the way in the Western Conference.

Stanley Cup Format

Like all professional sports, the road to the Stanley Cup follows a specific format.

The playoffs feature 16 teams with the top three teams from each of the four divisions (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, and Pacific) plus two wild-card teams from each conference (Eastern and Western) based on their point totals.

The playoffs are then organised into four rounds. The First Round, the Second Round (also known as the Divisional Semifinals and Finals), the Conference Finals, and the Stanley Cup Final.

All rounds are best-of-seven series, meaning the first team to win four games advances to the next round.

Matchup Determination

First Round (Divisional Semifinals):
The division winner with the most points in each conference plays against the wild-card team with fewer points.

The other division winner faces the wild-card team with more points.

And finally, the second and third-place teams in each division face off against each other.

Second Round (Divisional Finals):
The winners from the First Round within each division play against each other.

Conference Finals:
The winners of the Second Round from each division within the same conference compete against each other.

Stanley Cup Final:
The Eastern Conference champion faces the Western Conference champion.

Home-Ice Advantage

Home-ice advantage in each series is awarded to the team with the better regular-season record.

Unlike other sports that tend to choose neutral venues for a major cup final, in the Stanley Cup Final, the team with the more points during the regular season has home-ice advantage.

Another quirk is that playoff games cannot end in a tie. If a game is tied after regulation, it proceeds to sudden-death overtime, where the first team to score wins.

Overtime periods are 20 minutes long, with full intermissions between periods, and teams continue playing 5-on-5 until a goal is scored.

All in all, this format ensures that the path to the Stanley Cup is highly competitive, requiring a team to win 16 playoff games against the best teams in the league to be crowned champions.

The 2023/2024 Teams That Made The Playoffs

16 teams made the play-offs last season:

Atlantic Division

  • Florida Panthers, Atlantic Division champions – 110 points
  • Boston Bruins – 109 points
  • Toronto Maple Leafs – 102 points

Metropolitan Division

  • New York Rangers, Metropolitan Division champions – 114 points
  • Carolina Hurricanes – 111 points
  • New York Islanders – 94 points

Wild Cards

  • Tampa Bay Lightning – 98 points
  • Washington Capitals – 91 points

Central Division

  • Dallas Stars, Central Division champions – 113 points
  • Winnipeg Jets – 110 points
  • Colorado Avalanche – 107 points

Pacific Division

  • Vancouver Canucks, Pacific Division champions – 109 points
  • Edmonton Oilers – 104 points
  • Los Angeles Kings – 99 points

Wild Cards

  • Nashville Predators – 99 points
  • Vegas Golden Knights – 98 points

History Of The Stanley Cup

History buffs may be interested to know that the Stanley Cup dates back to 1892, when Lord Stanley of Preston, the then Governor General of Canada, purchased the decorative bowl in London for 10 guineas.

The Cup's journey from an amateur trophy to the pinnacle of professional ice hockey excellence really began in the early 20th century.

By 1926, the National Hockey League took over as the sole organisation with the rights to challenge for the Cup, cementing its status as the ultimate goal for professional hockey teams.

The actual cup stands nearly three feet tall and is engraved with the names of the winning teams' players, coaches, management, and staff, a tradition that began in 1907.

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