Four NHL Future Bets To Consider Ahead Of The 2026-27 Season

The 2026-27 NHL season is just around the corner, and fans are making their predictions for the Stanley Cup winner, major individual awards and scoring projections.

After an intriguing off-season with blockbuster deals, major free-agent acquisitions and unresolved trade requests, trying to pick which players and teams will rise to the top at this stage in the hockey calendar can be extremely difficult.

However, BetMGM sportsbook has several futures set up for the upcoming season, so let's take a look at some of the best value bets to consider.

The Minnesota Wild are an impressive team with several superstars across the roster. Defensemen Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, and the strong goaltenders all make the Wild a great team.

They could certainly use some help down the middle, but Minnesota is still a powerful team as they proved this past year, eliminating the Dallas Stars in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and finishing seventh in the regular-season standings.

There are multiple teams that stand in front of Minnesota in terms of being a favorite to win the Cup, but for the value it could be a good bet to consider.

Sticking with the Wild, and a brief mention of their goaltending, Jesper Wallstedt is a big piece of the tandem. 

Filip Gustavsson shares the crease with Wallstedt. Gustavsson played 50 games while Wallstedt played 35, but Wallstedt played 10 of the Wild's 11 post-season contests last year.

Wallstedt, 23, posted a .909 save percentage in the playoffs, and a .916 SP in the regular season. Still at a young age, he has room to grow. And if he can continue the momentum of owning the net in Minnesota at the end of last year, with the type of team they are, he could do some damage between the pipes.

Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov is the reigning Hart Trophy winner. Based on that, he should already be a strong favorite for the Hart Trophy next season.

Despite winning the award once before last season, and the stature of a player that he is, BetMGM has him with the fifth-best odds for the Hart, behind Leon Draisaitl, Macklin Celebrini, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid.

With the constant 100-plus-point seasons — doing so in each of the last four years — he could very much be the top choice and favorite to win the Hart. So, being the fifth favourite to win the award according to BetMGM, he'd be a great bet to look at.

This is more of a sneaky choice, but Utah Mammoth right winger Dylan Guenther has proven to be a pure and elite goal-scorer. Last year, he had a breakout season in terms of putting the puck in the net, notching 40 goals and 73 points in 79 regular-season games.

At 23, Guenther is still growing and has been improving with each season, now gearing up for his fifth campaign in the NHL. Along with his progression, the Mammoth as a whole have grown, too.

The organization made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time last year. With that, Logan Cooley continues to excel, and Utah added Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck, making the team more competitive. All that can lead to Guenther adding to his goal total, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him hang around the top of the league in that category.

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