Carolina's championship parade has barely wrapped up, and already the betting markets have moved on, rolling out early lines for the 2026-27 season. As always happens this far in advance, some of those numbers land right where you'd expect. Others don't.
For the Dallas Stars, it's a bit of both as they're still priced as a contender, just not the kind of runaway favorite they've been in years past, and the names surrounding them on the board are worth a second look.
Dallas comes in at +1700 to win the Stanley Cup, good for the eighth-best odds in the league. That puts them right alongside the Washington Capitals, a team that went from a strong season to a disappointing one before retooling this summer, an odd bit of company for a franchise that's been a fixture near the top of the West for years.
The conference numbers tell a similar story as Dallas sits at +750 to win the West, fifth-best in the conference, trailing Vegas and Edmonton but still ahead of Utah and Anaheim.
Make Sure You Bookmark THN's Dallas Stars Site For The Latest News, Exclusive Interviews, Breakdowns, And So Much More.
It's a noticeably different spot than where the Stars are used to standing. For a stretch, they were the team everyone else in the West had to catch. Now, after a first-round exit this past spring and three consecutive Western Conference Finals losses before that, the market has adjusted its expectations accordingly.
For the Central Division picture, Dallas isn't a top two lock anymore as they are now priced behind both Colorado and Minnesota at +400 to win the division. It's much the same on the Presidents' Trophy line, where Dallas sits at +1700, tied yet again with Washington for the eighth-best odds in the league.
Dallas remains squarely in the contender conversation, however, after years of being the clear standard-bearer in the West, the odds now paint a picture of a team that has some real ground to make up.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Leave a Comment