The 2025-26 NHL season gets underway today (October 7th, 2025). It’s an exciting time of year here in Canada with the season running until June with all teams playing 82 regular season games.
There are a few Canadian teams that look like contenders this year. The Edmonton Oilers are looking to take the final step after losing to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals the past two seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still trying to get over the hump with their solid roster, and the Winnipeg Jets showed they are legitimate contenders winning the Presidents’ trophy last year before losing in the second round of the playoffs. The Senators and Canadiens are also considered outside contenders after both making the playoffs last season with strong young rosters.
The Oilers enter the season as Cup favourites with 8-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup according to SportsInteraction.com, while the Maple Leafs have odds of 16-1, and the Jets are 25-1. The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens are the other two Canadian teams with an outside chance at winning the Cup with 33-1 odds and 50-1 odds, respectively, entering the season. The Canucks (60-1) and Flames (100-1) would be major surprises if they made a deep run in the playoffs.
The start of the season always brings a lot of new interest in betting on the NHL from Canadians who may not have placed an online wager in the past. If this applies to you then this page is for you. This page should act as a beginners guide to betting on the NHL for this 2025-26 season. I will look at the Stanley Cup odds to start and follow that up by looking at some popular NHL wagers you can make on each game throughout the season and finish up with a 3 step guide to start placing NHL bets online.
2025-26 Stanley Cup Betting Odds
Here’s a screenshot from SportsInteraction.com of the Stanley Cup odds for the 14 favourites leading into the season (screenshot also shows odds to win the Eastern and Western Conferences):
The Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights are the favourites to win the Stanley Cup, followed closely by the Hurricanes, Avalanche, and Stars.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the next group of contenders along with the Panthers, Lightning, and Devils.
The Ottawa Senators just barely made the above screenshot with odds of 34-1 to win the Stanley Cup. To see the full list of Cup Winner odds head to SportsInteraction.com select ‘NHL’ from the Top Events section and select ‘Futures’.
Typical NHL Betting Options
There’s really two betting options that get the vast majority of NHL bets each night: the money line (straight up winner) and over/under bets. You will also see the puck line (spread) odds included with the other two in a typical display of betting odds for an NHL game, but it’s the first two that get the most action, so those are the ones I will break down below.
Money Line
The money line wager is simply betting on which team will win the NHL game. In the NHL there is always a winner thanks to 3-on-3 overtime followed by a shootout, so there are only two possible outcomes in each game: Team A or Team B winning. Let’s look at an example from Sports Interaction using the Flames vs Oilers opening game from this season:
The Flames are the underdogs and a bet on them would payout at a multiple of 2.85 of the wager. So a $100 bet on the Flames would pay out $285 if they pulled out the win. That win can come in regulation, OT or the shootout. Just as long as they win the game, their money line wager is a winner.
The Oilers are favourites with odds of 1.44, so a $100 bet on Edmonton to win the game pays out $144 (wins $44) if they win the game as expected.
Over/Under (Total)
The over/under is a bet on the total number of goals scored in the game by either team. The over/under is typically set at 6 or 6.5 in an NHL game, but you can see the total set anywhere from 4.5 to 7 depending on which teams are playing. Let’s continue with the Calgary vs Edmonton example:
The Flames vs Oilers game has the total set at 6 goals. For the over to hit 7 or more goals must be scored in the game, while for the under to hit 5 or fewer goals must be scored. If exactly 6 goals are scored in the game the over/under bet would “push” and be returned.
**It’s important to note that a goal given for a shootout win does count towards the total.
I’ve also broken down the puck line and regulation time betting options on our hockey betting page, so check that out to learn more.
Bet On The NHL From Canada – 3 Step Guide
Now that you know the bets you can make on an NHL game it’s time to actually place some of those bets. This three step guide will walk you through how to place your first NHL bet, from opening your sportsbook account to clicking the “Place Bet” button your first NHL wager.
#1. Open An Online Sportsbook Account
You will need to open an online betting account in order to bet on the NHL. Our #1 recommended betting site is SportsInteraction.com. I’ve used their sportsbook in all of the examples above.
Sports Interaction is solely focused on the Canadian sports betting marketplace and this results in a sports betting product and service that is completely catered towards Canadians.
Next it’s time to deposit. Sports Interaction accepts Interac e-Transfer (recommended), Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Apple Pay, paysafecard, Online Banking transfers, and many more deposit options. Simply put you should have no trouble getting your money into or out of Sports Interaction thanks to their vast selection of banking options and great customer support.
#3. Place Your NHL Bets
To find the betting lines for your first NHL bet at SportsInteraction.com, click on ‘Sports’ in the top navigation bar and then select ‘NHL’ from the secondary menu in the top navigation. This will bring up the betting lines for upcoming NHL games. You can also select ‘Futures’ or ‘Specials’ to see the other NHL betting markets.
On the NHL page you will see all of the games for the night with betting options that look like the screenshots I included above outlining the various bets. When you select your wager it will show up in your ‘Bet Slip’ on the right side of the sportsbook. You should then enter your total stake amount and your “Potential Payout” will automatically be displayed.
This screenshot showing a $5 money line bet on the Canadiens to win in Toronto as an example.
If everything looks good, go ahead and select ‘Place Bet’ below the payout.
Check out our hockey betting section for more information about wager on hockey online. And if you have any questions regarding betting on NHL games do not hesitate to contact me.
2 Responses to “How To Bet On The 2025-26 NHL Season From Canada”