NHL 2026: Reviewing Every Canadian Team’s Odds of Reaching the Playoffs At Season’s Halfway Point
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The 2025/26 NHL season has reached its halfway point, and a slew of narratives are already being written. The Florida Panthers’ three-peat bid has struggled to get off the ground after injuries to stars such as Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, resulting in the reigning back-to-back champions slumping to second-bottom in the Atlantic Division. In their place, the Colorado Avalanche have taken over at the top of the betting charts courtesy of a blistering run of form, which has seen them win 33 of their first 44 games.
But what of the Canadian hopes? The Great White North’s seven NHL clubs have had to endure varying fortunes so far this term. But what chance do each of them have of reaching the postseason? Let’s take a look.
Edmonton Oilers
Online betting sites currently make the Oilers a shoo-in for the postseason, and perhaps much more. Popular upstart bookmaker Lucky Rebel currently lists them as a -1400 shot to qualify for the playoffs, as well as a +1000 contender to win the Stanley Cup. Could the third time be the charm?
Connor McDavid’s doing Connor McDavid things—30 goals, 78 points through 45 games, currently riding a 17-game point streak. The scary part isn’t even McDavid, though. It’s that Leon Draisaitl just crossed 1,000 career points and hasn’t taken his foot off the gas for a second. The German’s averaging 1.47 points per game, and when those two get rolling on the same line? Forget about it.
Zach Hyman’s back to doing his dirty work around the net, Stuart Skinner’s finally looking comfortable, and the depth scoring’s actually contributing. This isn’t some paper tiger squeaking into the playoffs as a wild card. At -1400, it’s about as close to guaranteed as hockey gets. They’re going. Period.
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs are sitting second in the Atlantic with 44 points, and are looking set to build on their return to last season’s playoffs. Nick Suzuki has turned into a legit number-one center, continuing to pile up the points after last term’s 89-point burst. But the real story is Juraj Slafkovsky finally figuring it out. Remember all the hand-wringing about taking him first overall? The Slovakian superstar has lit up Centre Bell this year and silenced the detractors.
What’s working for Montreal is simple: they’re fast, they’re young, and they don’t know they’re supposed to lose. At -280, the bookmakers expect them to secure their spot at the dance without truly threatening a championship challenge.
Toronto Maple Leafs
When it was announced that Mitch Marner was headed to Las Vegas, Toronto was always going to be up against it. But if the loss of one of their crucial talismen wasn’t bad enough, a slew of injury woes have conspired to nuke any small Leaf title hopes. William Nylander’s been on IR since that collision with Artem Zub right after Christmas, Chris Tanev might be done for the year with a groin injury, while Dakota Joshua’s dealing with kidney issues.
And yet, the Maple Leafs are still sitting at a modest +150 to reach the playoffs, which indicates that they aren’t yet completely out of contention. Why? Because even hobbled and held together with duct tape, this roster has Auston Matthews. The American just came back from his own injury on New Year’s Day and immediately rejuvenated all around him, leading Toronto to four wins in their last five.
Never underestimate a desperate Leafs team in January. They’ve got enough talent to rip off a 10-2-1 stretch. Or they could spiral into chaos and miss out entirely. It’s Toronto—both outcomes feel equally plausible.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa’s faint hopes remain somewhat alive due to one man, Tim Stützle. The German is playing out of his mind so far this season—45 points through 44 games, that beautiful point-per-game pace he’s maintained for three straight seasons now. Jakob Chychrun’s quarterbacking one of the better power plays in the East, and Brady Tkachuk’s doing his best Captain Chaos routine.
But here’s the problem: the Senators can’t string together wins. They’ll beat Carolina 5-2, looking like world-beaters, then turn around and lose to Columbus and Buffalo in back-to-back clunkers. At +275, you’re getting almost 3-to-1 odds, which means bookmakers see maybe a 27% chance they sneak in.
For Ottawa to make it, they’d need something like a 12-3-1 run over the next month. Is it possible? Sure. Stützle’s that good. But even the most optimistic fan has seen enough Senators hockey to know the difference between “could” and “will.”
Winnipeg Jets
Remember October? When the Jets opened 8-3-0 and the talking heads were crowning them Central Division favorites? Well, here we are. They’ve cratered to 37 points through 44 games, sitting ninth in the Central with a minus-8 goal differential. And worst of all, they have won just three of their last 18 road games after starting with four straight away victories.
Connor Hellebuyck’s still one of the best goalies on the planet, but even he can’t steal every game when the forwards forget how to score for weeks at a time. At +475, postseason hockey seems a long shot.
Calgary Flames
Last season, Calgary secured the unwanted record of matching the highest ever points total to not reach the playoffs. This season, they’re hanging around once again, with 42 points through 45 games, respectable enough. But much like last season, it feels as though the Flames are trapped in no-man’s land. Odds of +700 seem a little too long, but it would still be a huge shock to see them secure a postseason return for the first time in four seasons.
Vancouver Canucks
Twenty-to-one odds. The bookmakers are giving Vancouver roughly a 5% chance to make the playoffs, and honestly, even that feels generous.
After dropping from 89 points in 2023 to 45 last season, everyone expected a bounce-back year from Elias Pettersson. Instead, he looks disinterested. To make matters worse, Quinn Hughes has since departed for greener pastures in Minnesota, and the Canucks look poised to enter full-blown rebuild mode. Betting on them even at +2000 is not appealing.
