Emily Kaplan: Brad Marchand an ideal match for Panthers (1:11)
ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reviews on the Bruins buying and selling Brad Marchand to Florida. (1:11)
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Doug GreenbergMar 7, 2025, 05:31 PM ET
After making arguably the 2 greatest splashes of the NHL commerce deadline, the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers are the brand new favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2025, displaying +600 odds at ESPN BET.
Dallas acquired proper wing Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes and later signed him to a reported eight-year contract extension; Florida picked up longtime Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand.
Earlier than the transactions, the Stars have been +700 to win the season’s championship, whereas the Panthers have been +750 and instantly shortened to +650 earlier than settling on the present quantity. Pricing throughout the sportsbook market varies, with some books displaying the Stars as outright favorites and others posting Florida as the favourite as brief as +500.
Each groups flew up the percentages board previous the Edmonton Oilers, who sit at +700 as of Friday afternoon and usually are not the Cup favorites for the primary time since July 2, when the Panthers have been favored. The 2 groups confronted off within the 2024 Stanley Cup Remaining, with Florida prevailing.
Edmonton remains to be simply ESPN BET’s hottest Stanley Cup future choice, attracting a number one 22.7% of the bets and 14.2% of the deal with. The Panthers have the second-most cash at 9.8%, whereas the Hurricanes have the second-most tickets at 13.4%. Carolina, which had traded for Rantanen in late January, is fourth on the sportsbook’s odds board at +900.
The crew Rantanen started the season and his profession with, the Colorado Avalanche, made two huge strikes earlier than the deadline, buying facilities Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders and Charlie Coyle from the Bruins.
Previous to the commerce, Colorado was +1300 to elevate the Cup and is +1000 as of Friday afternoon, tied with the Washington Capitals for fifth.
Washington, attracting loads of consideration and particular betting markets amid Alex Ovechkin‘s objective document chase, has taken the third-most Cup futures wagers (8.5%) at ESPN BET. In the meantime, the Winnipeg Jets, main the league with 90 sport factors, are tied with two different groups at +1200 on the percentages board, however have attracted the third-most cash (9.4%) on the sportsbook. Every crew made smaller trades forward of the deadline.
