The Washington Capitals snuck into the playoffs last April and had one of the most active and effective offseasons of any team in the NHL. Despite that, sportsbooks are skeptical of them making another playoff appearance during the 2024-25 season.
FanDuel’s current public odds for the Capitals to make the playoffs are +172, only ranking ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets (+1100) and Montreal Canadiens (+700) in the Eastern Conference.
Even the Buffalo Sabres, who have missed the playoffs an NHL record 13 consecutive seasons, have been given slightly better odds of qualifying for the 2025 postseason (+162) than the Capitals.
FanDuel’s initial futures betting on the next winner of the Metropolitan Division also gave the Capitals very low odds. They’ve since course-corrected some from +4700 to +1700 but Washington remains below teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and New Jersey Devils who missed the playoffs last year.
Additionally, many sportsbooks, including FanDuel and BetMGM, give the Capitals low odds to challenge for the franchise’s second Stanley Cup.
As things currently stand, FanDuel has the Capitals (+6500) tied with the Seattle Kraken, Utah HC, and Sabres for the seventh-least-likely team to raise the Cup in 2025. BetMGM sees things similarly, with the Capitals also given the seventh-worst odds (+6600) to win a championship.
Via FanDuel, the way-too-early pick to win the Stanley Cup next year is the Edmonton Oilers (+850), followed by the 2024 Cup champion Florida Panthers (+950) and the Dallas Stars (+1000). The next group of clubs includes the Devils (+1100), Colorado Avalanche (+1100), Carolina Hurricanes (+1400), and New York Rangers (+1400).
On the other end of the spectrum, the Blue Jackets (+40000), San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks are tied for the worst odds, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks (+22000), Canadiens (+20000), and Calgary Flames (+17000). After the Flames is the group of four teams which includes the Capitals (+6500).
BetMGM also has live futures on how many goals and points Alex Ovechkin racks up in his age-39 campaign. Ovechkin has -110 odds of scoring over 28.5 goals and -120 odds of scoring under 28.5 goals.
