NHL season 2026/27 Prediction and Tips

Adam Scriven Updated: 29 Sep 26 13:30

Winning three straight Stanley Cup titles is a feat which has eluded any NHL team since 1982, and the Florida Panthers became the latest in a string of franchises to fail in their three-peat bid last season. However, Adam Scriven believes the men from Sunrise are in good shape to bounce back in style.

In 2025, the Panthers became the seventh team to lift the Stanley Cup in successive seasons, but they did not even make it to the playoffs last year in a campaign blighted by injuries.

With their stars fit again and with some eye-catching additions, a much better showing is expected this year. The competition will be fierce, though, not least from defending champions Carolina Hurricanes, who claimed the second Cup win in their history and first since 2006 last season.

NHL season 2026/27 Tips Summary

Best Bet - Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup @ 13/2
Alternative Bet - Boston Bruins to make the playoffs @ 11/4
Alternative Bet - Macklin Celebrini to win Art Ross Trophy (most points) @ 9/1

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NHL season 2026/27 Prediction

Best Bet: Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup @ 13/2

Injuries can have a huge impact on an NHL team's season and the broken bodies began piling up early for the Florida Panthers last season.

Captain Aleksander Barkov suffered a serious knee injury on the first day of preseason training and missed the whole campaign. Meanwhile star forward Matthew Tkachuk managed just 31 appearances of the 82-game campaign.

Getting those two back, hopefully for a full, healthy campaign, will be huge, as will the addition of Matthew's brother Brady Tkachuk, signed from the Ottawa Senators.

The younger Tkachuk brother has had five consecutive 20+ goal seasons, scoring at least 29 in four of those, and it will be exciting to see what he can do as part of a higher-quality outfit.

The Tkachuks unsurprisingly struck up an on-ice rapport for the USA team on their way to Olympic gold last winter and they could be key to the Panthers' success.

Alternative Bet: Boston Bruins to make the playoffs @ 11/4

The Atlantic Division looks as fiercely competitive as ever, but the Boston Bruins are a standout price at 11/4 to reach the postseason.

The Bruins have missed the playoffs only once in the last 10 seasons - and that was partly by design as they decided to prioritise an early draft pick over results towards the end of the 2024/25 season.

They used that seventh overall pick to acquire James Hagens, and the 19-year-old looks set to get plenty of ice time for the Bruins after an impressive preseason.

There were no significant departures over the off-season, while they added German forward JJ Peterka, a 25-goal scorer in each of the last three seasons.

Head coach Marco Sturm did an impressive job in his first year behind the bench, and there is little reason to suspect the Bs won't be pushing hard for the playoffs again this term.

Alternative Bet: Macklin Celebrini to win Art Ross Trophy (most points) @ 9/1

After missing the playoffs for the last seven seasons, the San Jose Sharks look ready to return to the dance and they will be expecting a hefty contribution from new captain Macklin Celebrini.

The 20-year-old had a stunning campaign last year, becoming only the second teenager after Wayne Gretzky to record at least 40 goals and 70 assists in a season.

He ended the year with 45 goals and 70 assists and his 115 points placed him fourth in the list for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the player with the most points over the season.

At 20, Celebrini should only be getting stronger and he has played 152 games over the last two seasons. Youth and fitness count in his favour, with perpetual Art Ross front-runners Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov all set to end the season on the wrong side of 30.