Leafs, Sabres, Ducks, Sharks and Panthers enter the season with major roster questions, creating intriguing Over/Under bets
NHL teams are knee-deep into training camp, with the regular season set to start on Tuesday night.
That’s incredible, since it seems like yesterday we were all watching the World Cup.
But with rosters taking shape and opening night almost here, it’s also a fun time to start looking at NHL futures markets – particularly Betway’s Over/Under total for regular season team points in 2026-27.
These bets are essentially a season-long referendum on whether a team is better or worse than the market expects.
Offseason additions and departures matter, but so do goaltending, injuries, young players taking another step and whether last season’s results are actually sustainable.
And unlike Stanley Cup futures, you don’t need a team to make a deep playoff run with these. You just need the team to outperform, or fall short of, the number over 82 games.
Here’s where you should be leaning, in my opinion:
Toronto Maple Leafs Over 95.5 Points (-135)
So much needs to happen here, I know. But again, taking the over doesn’t mean you expect the Leafs to capture the 100+ point form from before last season, when they cratered and went 32-36-14.
The Leafs overhauled the organization – new general, new coach, extensive roster changes, plus securing the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, which they used to take Gavin McKenna.
By taking the over, and I banking on several things happening – Auston Matthews remains healthy and re-emerges as a Top 10 player in the NHL, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, at 38, finds the fountain of youth and gives the Leafs at least 50 games, free agent defenceman Darren Raddysh gets them 15+ goals and 60+ points, and defenceman Chris Tanev stays healthy for 70+ games.
That, and McKenna emerging as an 18-year-old in Year 1, dishing Matthews passes on the power play, cementing a second-line role with John Tavares and William Nylander, and finishing with 50+ points.
The Leafs probably have the widest range of possible outcomes in the NHL. That’s why, in NHL betting at Betway, the 95.5 interests me so much – because it’s borderline make-the-playoffs territory. You don’t think that they have that in them, at the very least?
Buffalo Sabres Under 95.5 Points (+100)
Yes, I know the Sabres had an excellent season last year, going 50-23-9, and taking the Montreal Canadiens for a healthy run in the playoffs last spring. I am looking at the roster reductions – Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram, a combined 108 points out the door. Who did they replace them with? Not with direct, like-for-like replacements; that’s for sure.
Olen Zellweger is expected to take on a more expanded, Top 4 role, replacing Byram on the back end. Buffalo seems to be relying on internal growth to replace Tuch’s 33 goals.
Anaheim Ducks Under 95.5 Points (-135)
Anaheim made a huge jump last season, but they saw their defence gutted during the offseason – John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Zellweger and Jacob Trouba all gone. The Ducks ranked 29th in goals allowed per game last season at 3.51.
The good news is Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals last year, re-signed last week, teaming up with Leo Carlsson to form Anaheim’s core. But the Ducks need another step forward after finishing 43-33-6 last season, despite significant roster losses.
San Jose Sharks Under 94.5 Points (-111)
For a team led by one of the NHL’s exciting young players, Macklin Celebrini, 94.5 points is an enormous expectation. The Ducks went 39-35-8 last season.
Celebrini, though, outscored the next two Sharks’ leading scorers combined. That’s too much weight on one guy. The Sharks were also 25th in save percentage (.887) and 30th in goals-against average (3.54) last season.
Florida Panthers Over 107.5 Points (-135)
Yes, I am going there, even though they had 84 points last year, mostly because last season was a poor baseline for evaluating the roster.
The main reason was Aleksander Barkov’s absence; he missed the entire season after tearing his ACL and MCL. He has looked good in the preseason, scoring in both games. Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, Seth Jones and Carter Verhaeghe also missed time last year.
Plus, the Panthers added Brady Tkachuk in a trade with Ottawa. That’s a loaded top nine.
Bobrovsky is gone, and the Panthers are going with Jacob Markstrom in goal. Markstrom posted a 3.07 GAA and an .883 save percentage in New Jersey last season. Goaltending will be a big variable for the Panthers this season.
However, their underlying puck possession numbers, the return of Barkov, the addition of another Tkachuk, and the hope that Markstrom can be merely solid boost the over argument.
