Four futures to bet before Opening Night

The 2025-26 NHL season gets underway in less than a week, which means time is running out to put the finishing touches on your preseason portfolio.

Luckily for all of us, there have been other things going on in the sporting world to distract bettors, which has allowed a handful of prices to slip through the cracks in the futures market as we hurl towards Opening Night on Oct. 7.

Below are four futures to move on before the rest of the betting world catches on:

Jon Cooper to win the Jack Adams Trophy (50/1, Caesars)

It’s hard to believe that Jon Cooper, who will coach in his 1,000th game for the Lightning this season barring a stunner, has never won the Jack Adams Trophy.

Normally, the Jack Adams goes to the coach in charge of the biggest overachiever in the league, so you can see why Cooper never got the honor since Tampa Bay is always projected to be a heavyweight, but it does seem unfair that the Lightning’s consistency is being held against the man who has orchestrated it.

Cooper has led the Lightning to two Stanley Cups, three conference championships, four division titles, and one Presidents’ Trophy during his decade in charge of the Bolts, and they’re a trendy pick to win the Stanley Cup this year.

A big season in Tampa should see Cooper finally get rewarded with Coach of the Year honors.

Anze Kopitar to win the Selke Trophy (25/1, bet365) 

The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association votes on the Frank J. Selke Trophy, given to the league’s best defensive forward, and it will be very hard for the scribes to ignore the romance of handing this award to Anze Kopitar in his final season.

The surefire Hall-of-Famer built a career on being an elite two-way center, and this seems like a great way to honor the Slovenian as he rides off into the sunset. 

Jet Greaves to win the Vezina Trophy (300/1, Caesars) 

You don’t have to go back too far to find the last Vezina winner that came from nowhere. In fact, most sportsbooks didn’t even list a price on 2022-23 winner Linus Ullmark before that season started. 

And even though last year’s winner, Connor Hellebuyck, was the preseason favorite, three of the top five in the voting (Darcy Kuemper, Logan Thompson, Anthony Stolarz) were triple-digit long shots before Opening Night.

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Don’t be surprised if this year’s sleeper ends up being Jet Greaves, who put up terrific numbers in a short sample with Columbus last season.

Greaves will compete for playing time with Elvis Merzlikins this season, but the latter has struggled to find consistency for years, which will leave the door open for the undrafted 24-year-old to grab the No. 1 job.

Dean Evason worked wonders in his first season as head coach in Columbus, and he’s proven to be an elite defensive coach, so Greaves should be in a decent position to put together a breakout campaign.

Macklin Celebrini to win the Hart Trophy (250/1, FanDuel)

It’s hard to understate just how good Macklin Celebrini was in his rookie season. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft potted 25 goals and tallied 63 points in 70 games, and those numbers underrate the impact that the 19-year-old had when he was on the ice.

Asking Celebrini to jump from 63 points to the 100-plus he will need to get on Hart ballots may seem ludicrous, but he may be good enough to pull it off, especially since the Sharks should be better than they were a year ago when they finished dead last.

We’re asking for a massive leap from Celebrini with this bet, but the price reflects that.

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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.