Every Habs fan believes that this is their year.
Somebody in Ontario was willing to bet $100K on it.
Per the FanDuel traders, one Ontario bettor wagered $100K on the Montreal Canadiens to make the playoffs.
If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you already know that I share the same belief in the Habs, only with a much smaller bankroll.
The Canadiens to make the playoffs has been a popular bet at FanDuel.
Meanwhile, Leafs Nation remains torn on whether the Toronto Maple Leafs will return to the postseason.
Per the FanDuel traders, the Maple Leafs to make the playoffs is the most popular bet in Ontario NHL markets.
Toronto to miss the playoffs is the second-most popular bet.
Same team, same province, with perhaps a portion of Leafs Nation willing to earn a profit with an emotional hedge against another disappointing season.
The 416 is the only area code with group chats that are simultaneously planning the parade and an early exit.
Meanwhile, the rival Ottawa Senators are the most popular bet to miss the playoffs in Ontario.
As for the most popular bet to win it all, Ontario bettors are banking on a bounce back from the Florida Panthers.
I recommended a play on the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup at +1300 back in June.
That number is down to +650 at FanDuel this morning.
As for the Habs to make the playoffs, I recommended throwing coffee money on them at -140 back in June.
Montreal to make the playoffs is -176 this morning.
We cashed that same bet at +156 last season.
After a remarkable run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Canadiens won’t sneak up on anybody this season.
FanDuel’s NHL Futures Day is this Friday September 25th.
Let’s revisit some of my favourite NHL futures in this Morning Coffee for Wednesday September 23rd, 2026.
Revisiting The Three NHL Futures I Bet This Summer
The Canadiens to make the playoffs opened +156 at FanDuel in the summer of 2025.
As I told my good friends Sean Campbell and Mitch Gallo from TSN690 in Montreal at the time, the Habs to make the playoffs was my favourite bet on the board.
Montreal was priced as a team that was fortunate just to make the playoffs in 2025, but likely due for regression.
Instead, the Canadiens took a massive step forward.
Montreal went from 40 wins and 91 points in 2024-25 to 48 wins and 106 points in 2025-26, narrowly missing out on the Atlantic Division title.
The Habs parlayed their regular season success into a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they ultimately ran out of gas against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Fast-forward four months later, the Canadiens appear primed to take another step towards contention.
Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, and Lane Hutson lead one of the most talented young cores in the entire NHL.
Montreal added veteran Chris Kreider to its top six.
The addition of Kreider means that Alex Newhook, Zack Bolduc, and Josh Anderson will slot in to bottom six roles along with defensive specialist Phillip Danault.
The depth up front will give head coach Martin St. Louis some tough lineup decisions to make.
The same is true for a defence core that features Hutson, Noah Dobson, and Mike Matheson, with Alexandre Carrier, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj, and rookie David Reinbacher fighting for a spot in the lineup with Kaiden Guhle on the IR.
The Habs have a solid core group, some expendable assets, and an excellent salary cap situation.
All signs point on the Canadiens trending up with room to improve as the season progresses.
Coming off a 48-win, 106-point season, FanDuel set Montreal’s regular season point total at 98.5.
While my model leans to the over 98.5, I’m comfortable with the Habs to make the playoffs at -140 as a best bet.
Meanwhile, the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup has already been cut from +1300 to +650 as the favourite.
Florida’s roster was devastated by injuries last season.
However, the Panthers are finally healthy again, with the return of Aleksander Barkov and the addition of Brady Tkachuk enough to make them the Atlantic Division favourite at +185.
Finally, I bet the Winnipeg Jets to finish with under 84.5 regular season points.
The Jets went 35-35-12 last season, landing on 82 points.
While there was a sense of optimism they could bounce back earlier in the offseason, the fallout from the Connor Hellebuyck trade request hasn’t been good, and there’s no reason for me to believe a suitable resolution will be in place anytime soon.
Hellebucyk remains the Vezina Trophy favourite at FanDuel, which is partly talent and partly a belief that he could be traded to a contending team.
As for the Jets, the dropoff from Hellebuyck to Stuart Skinner in net might be too much to overcome.
Perhaps the situation is resolved, Hellebucyk plays a full season at an elite level, and Winnipeg returns to the playoffs.
Even if Hellebuyck returns, it might not be enough to get to 85 points in an improved Western Conference.
I’m willing to bet against it and take the Jets under 84.5.
With FanDuel NHL Futures Day coming up this Friday, I’ll be back with some more plays to consider in this column.
Hopefully, we can find some more NHL winners, even if it’s some coffee money we’re throwing on them at FanDuel.
Have a great day, everyone!
