The 2025/26 NHL season will soon be upon us, and while most people are looking closely at who will win the Stanley Cup, the Presidents’ Trophy race is also one that will be competitive.
In 2025, it was the Florida Panthers who were crowned world champions, but it was the Winnipeg Jets who had the best regular-season record and earned their place in the playoffs as a result.
This year, there is a chance for another team to do that, and we’ll take a look at the favorites as we provide you with our best free NHL betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash.
Check out the best NHL betting sites here.
Below you’ll find a list of the favorites to win the NHL Presidents’ Trophy 2026.
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2024 and 2025 with finals victories over the Oilers, there’s no surprise that many are expecting Florida to have yet another campaign full of victories.
In 2024/25, Florida secured 47 victories in their 82 regular-season games. Only the Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers registered more, but in the playoffs, they were excellent and claimed a second consecutive title.
This offseason, they have been able to agree on new contracts with Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad, while they have also brought in Jeff Petry. The roster is arguably even stronger this year, and head coach Paul Maurice will be keen to add a Presidents’ Trophy to his cabinet, too.
In the Atlantic Division last year, the Panthers finished third, behind Toronto and Tampa Bay, so they’ll have to improve on that this year if they want to win it.
Fitness is a big part of the way they play, but they also tend to score a lot and outwork their opponents, and they avoided any major injuries, too. More of that in this campaign will be perfect, but odds of +550 are quite short when you take everything into account for what is needed, so there are better options here.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
The Hurricanes are right in the mix when it comes to the Stanley Cup this year, and that means they have to be in the conversation for the Presidents’ Trophy too.
The 2024/25 season saw Carolina claim a 47-30-5 record for the campaign, nine wins short of the what the Jets were able to achieve to win this last year. But despite being among the contenders in recent years they have failed to go deep in the playoffs.
That makes the bet to win the Presidents Trophy more appealing as it relies on lots of wins in the regular season instead, and they definitely have what it takes to get that done.
Bill Zito has worked hard in the offseason by bringing in Nikolaj Ehlers from the Jets to bolster the attacking lineup, adding excellent speed on the ice and a stellar goalscoring record, which will only help them to earn more wins – and also take wins away from the Jets in the process.
They’ll have to do better than the Capitals in the Metropolitan division, but at odds of +650 there is great value in Carolina getting the most wins in the NHL regular season, so take it while you can.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
The team with the best chance of success in the Western Conference at coming away with the Presidents’ Trophy is surely the Vegas Golden Knights.
In 2024/25 they picked up 50 wins from their 82 games to reach the playoffs, where they were crowned Pacific Division champions to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round.
Now they have strengthened their roster with the incredible addition of Mitch Marner, who was signed from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a sign-and-trade deal, with Nicolas Roy going in the opposite direction. That means they have added a star coming off his first 100-point season, with 27 goals and 75 assists in the campaign.
But while his number are mightily impressive, Marner’s playoff statistics are nowhere near as good, and that means that betting on the Golden Knights to win the Presidents’ Trophy instead of the Stanley Cup is probably a better value pick
Alongside Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, there is a super-talented core in the Vegas lineup and they weren’t that far off the trophy last time out. At odds of +750, the value is excellent and this is a bet to keep a close eye on if you want to look at something different from the usual contenders.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
Read Daniel's ProfileAsk Daniel about this guide:
