The betting market is starting to treat the Colorado Avalanche like a real 2027 Stanley Cup threat.
Colorado is sitting at +900 to win it all in 2027, which puts the Avalanche in a tight race near the top of the board. The Florida Panthers have the best odds at +850, while the Avalanche and defending champion Carolina Hurricanes are right behind at +900.
That kind of pricing says plenty. The Panthers are being viewed as a team that can still contend despite losing several key pieces, and Colorado and Carolina aren’t far off in the eyes of the market.
It also comes with the obvious late-August caution. These are just betting lines before training camp and before a single regular-season game has been played. Things can flip quickly, and the source material points to last season as the reminder: the Panthers lost captain Aleksander Barkov early in training camp.
For Colorado, one major off-ice piece is already settled. The Cale Makar extension removes what could have become a major distraction. The concern over his contract had been something to watch over the summer, but that uncertainty is gone now.
There will still be questions around the Avalanche’s salary cap situation, but that’s a conversation for later. In the immediate sense, the team can move forward without the noise around Makar hanging over it.
That kind of clarity could matter. If the Avalanche are going to get over the top in 2027, the combination of a settled roster situation and the usual chaos of a season could be enough to swing things their way.
The path won’t be simple. The Central Division should bring real resistance in 2026-27. But in a sport decided by inches, one bounce here or there can change everything.
In Other News...
Avalanche Have One More Big Contract Call To Make
The Avalanche have spent the summer sorting through a familiar kind of question for a contender: how to keep the core intact while preserving the continuity that has made the franchise a perennial threat. At the center of that conversation is Jared Bednar, the winningest coach in team history, who is heading into the final year of his deal as Colorado looks to build on recent seasons and navigate another demanding schedule.
Joe Sakic has already tried to calm any nerves around the situation, telling the media that a contract extension for Bednar is expected soon. Even so, the timing makes it an important storyline for the Avalanche, because locking in the coach who has guided so much of their success would remove a layer of uncertainty before the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Martin Necas Just Added To Colorado's Long-Term Scoring Buzz
Martin Necas is starting to look like more than just a strong fit for the Avalanche. NHL Networks annual Top 50 Players in the NHL list slotted him at No. 49, his first time making the cut, and it comes on the back of his first full season in Colorado, when he hit career highs with 38 goals, 62 assists and 100 points.
Necas already has the security of an eight-year contract extension signed in October 2025, which only adds to the sense that Colorado plans to build around his scoring. For a team that wants its top-end talent to stay in sync for the long haul, his rise onto a list like this is another sign the Avalanche may have found a core piece for the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Fans May Need To Rethink This Seventh Round Prospect
Christian Humphreys is the kind of late-round pick who can force a reappraisal fast. The Avalanche took the 20-year-old center/left wing in the seventh round in 2024, and since then he has gone from Michigan to the Kitchener Rangers and into a much bigger spotlight after a breakout season that helped fuel Kitcheners Memorial Cup run.
That surge has already shown up in how Colorado views him. Humphreys landed No. 5 on the organizations Top 25 Under 25 list for 2026, a strong sign that he is no longer just a lottery ticket from the back half of the draft. He is expected to head to the University of Minnesota for the 2026-27 season, giving the Avalanche another chance to watch how far his game can climb. [Read more 🡒]