2024 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Who Wins the Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe & More Picks

Gary Pearson

Last Updated: April 19, 2024 12:16 PM EDT • 4 min 36 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

With the puck set to drop on the 2024 NHL postseason, we've plunged into the world of what could be with our 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs predictions for the finalists, the Stanley Cup winner, the Conn Smythe victor, and more using the Stanley Cup odds as the primary reference point.

As a sports bettor, there's nothing more satisfying than placing a futures wager with odds longer than a Taylor Swift concert wait list and seeing it eventually hit. It's incomparable, just like that first sip from the Stanley Cup. Not that I'll ever know what that's like.

The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs begin Saturday with six games on tap this weekend. All eight first-round series will be underway by end of day Monday.

Studying our Stanley Cup betting guide and trusting these predictions is better than the Magic 8 Ball I used to rely on as a kid, here's our take on some of the most popular Stanley Cup playoff futures markets from our best NHL betting sites.

Stanley Cup winner: Hurricanes

	DraftKings	FanDuel	BetMGM	Caesars	bet365
Hurricanes Stanley Cup odds	+650	+650	+650	+700	+700

This prediction may appear excessively chalky. Well, that's because it is. According to our best sports betting sites, the Carolina Hurricanes are the consensus Stanley Cup favorites. While there's no proof to speak of, I hopped aboard the Hurricanes' bandwagon after they lost to the Florida Panthers in last season's Eastern Conference Final.

Despite being riddled with injuries, the Hurricanes fell one round short of euphoria. Rod Brind'Amour won the Stanley Cup as a player with Carolina and is hellbent on repeating the feat as the don behind the bench. Coaching arguably the league's most well-rounded team, Brind'Amour has created a winning culture. And they're entering the playoffs with a clean bill of health and a lot to prove.

Best bet: Hurricanes to win (+700 via Caesars)

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Stanley Cup Final matchup: Hurricanes vs. Stars

Despite a valiant effort, the Dallas Stars will fall to the Hurricanes in a Stanley Cup Final featuring two teams that made it to last season's Western and Eastern Conference Final.

If this comes to fruition, you'd have to feel bad for a handful of the Dallas veterans, particularly Ryan Suter and Joe Pavelski, who are first and third on the ignominious list of active players with the most regular-season games without winning a Stanley Cup. You'll never guess who's second: current Hurricanes defenseman and another former Shark, Brent Burns.

In this scenario, Burns would get to lord his Stanley Cup over his former teammates.

Best bets: Hurricanes vs. Stars exact matchup (+2300 via FanDuel) | Hurricanes to beat the Stars (+4000 via FanDuel)

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Conn Smythe winner: Jake Guentzel

According to the fresh-off-the-press 2024 Conn Smythe odds, Jake Guentzel is the third-favorite to win the playoff's most coveted individual accolade. As the Hurricanes are going to win the Cup, Guentzel lifting the Conn Smythe Trophy fits better than Cinderella's glass slipper if she grew a bunion.

Guentzel won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016-17, his rookie season. He's a man destined for fairytale endings, and moving to Carolina at the trade deadline before leading his new team to glory sounds like a script tailor-fit for Disney+. Guentzel has already made an impression since joining the Hurricanes, notching 25 points in 17 games, the 10th-most during that timeframe.

Best bet: Jake Guentzel to win the Conn Smythe (+2500 via FanDuel)

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First No. 1 or No. 2 seed to be eliminated: Canucks

While there's no specific prop bet for this pick, you can back the Nashville Predators to beat the Vancouver Canucks, which DraftKings offers at +130. Head over to our Stanley Cup playoffs upset picks for reasons why the hungry Predators will beach the Canucks.

Here's some more food for thought. Preds' veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh has played 185 playoff games. If you exclude Ian Cole, that's five more than the entire Canucks' team. He's but one of a collection of Nashville veterans with ample playoff experience. Being seasoned is not a prerequisite to playoff success, but it helps.

Best bet: Predators to beat the Canucks (+130 via DraftKings)

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3+ first-round series go to Game 7

There have been at least three Game 7s in three of the last five playoffs, including 2021-22 and 2022-23. The last three Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs series have gone the distance, while the Nashville-Vancouver and Colorado-Winnipeg matchups feel primed for a seventh and deciding game.

You can probably exclude Washington-New York and New York-Carolina from the list of potential candidates, leaving Tampa Bay-Florida, Vegas-Dallas, and Los Angeles-Edmonton. You'd hope at least one of those series goes the distance. And who doesn't love the palpable nervous energy of a Game 7?

Best bet: 3+ first-round series to go to Game 7 (+100 via FanDuel)

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2024 Stanley Cup playoffs betting previews: Round 1

Here is our collection of first-round preview content to get you ready for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Here are our best NHL betting sites:

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Written By:
Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson has written professionally since 2010, focusing on sports betting since 2014. Before entering the sports betting space, he contributed to the Canadian Press, FanSided, the Hockey Writers, the Calgary Herald, and other publications. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Gary, who consumes sports like a blue whale devours plankton, has a penchant for writing predictions and analyses across several sports, including hockey, soccer, football, tennis, and more. He bets regularly, preferring single-game picks, props, and live betting. While there isn't a sport he has yet to dabble in, Gary prefers betting on soccer, hockey, and football. He studied at various post-secondary institutions, including the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Griffith University, located in Brisbane, Australia. Gary has a marketing degree and completed his bachelor's degree in journalism at Griffith University. He feels strongly that life experience is as essential as post-secondary education, helping formulate more accurate predictions and analyses. Gary believes that competing at a high level of amateur sports during his formative years helped him better understand an athlete's psyche and the nuances and complexities of a team's dynamic, both on and off the playing surface. He feels that knowledge is immeasurably important when offering his analytical expertise. He has lived on five continents and currently resides in Canada.