NHL Eastern Conference Odds 2025-26: Who Will Win the Conference?

As we rapidly approach the 2025-26 NHL season, now’s a good time to take stock of what the standings may look like in the Eastern Conference. 

Is it fair to call the East the NHL’s stronger conference as of late? I’d say so. 

Seven out of the last ten Stanley Cup winners have emerged from that conference, and the league’s burgeoning dynasty, the Panthers, also hail from the East. 

Despite Florida’s dominance, there are also a great deal of contenders elsewhere in the conference, like the Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, and Lightning. 

Here’s where the odds currently stand for who will win the Eastern Conference as of September 9. 

NHL Eastern Conference Odds

Who’s Favored to Win the NHL Eastern Conference?

Florida, the defending Stanley Cup champion, is favored to win the Eastern Conference once again. 

The Panthers went 47-31-4 last season, finishing third in the Atlantic Division behind Toronto and Tampa Bay. In the playoffs, Florida had a 16-6 record, with their most difficult series coming in the second round against the Maple Leafs. 

While it’s surely hard to believe for some, the Panthers could be better this year than they were last season. Much of that will depend on how they fare in the injury department. 

The second half of their season last year saw many key players sidelined due to injuries. Florida had a 34-20-3 in the remainder of the games after the Four Nations break. If they can hold onto more of their core this year, they could end up having a stronger regular season than they did last year. 

That could be difficult given the lingering injury troubles for star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who missed 30 games last season and could miss two to three months to start this upcoming season. 

Consider also that the Panthers could look to punt on the regular season altogether. They had a worse record than they did in their Cup-winning 2023-24 season and still showed themselves to be an indestructible playoff juggernaut this past year. 

Florida should be viewed as an unquestioned favorite until someone takes ‘the belt’ from them. Some of the other contenders, like Toronto and the Hurricanes, have a chance at doing so this season, but until we see one of them knock the Panthers down a peg, there’s no reason to believe they will.