We’re back for another season of best bets in the Canadian Football League.
Everything feels wide open this year, so it should be fun to try to find an edge as we go along. This week, we’re going to take a look at three games plus a couple of season-long plays that have caught my eye, so let’s get to it.
Ottawa Redblacks vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders — Thursday, June 5, 9 p.m. ET
The Ottawa Redblacks and Saskatchewan Roughriders both improved quite a bit a season ago and head into this opener with high expectations.
It was a tough preseason for the Riders, who lost one of their big free-agent acquisitions, Sean McEwen, to a season-ending ACL injury. I have concerns that this uncertainty on the offensive line could give the Green and White some issues on opening night.
One of Ottawa’s big additions was in the backfield, where William Stanback will look to give the Redblacks’ offence a boost. He could be in tough, however, as Saskatchewan was the best run defence in the league last year. Obviously, there are some changes to that side of the ball as well, but Corey Mace’s crew should still slow Stanback down.
Both teams have the talent to be high-powered offences this season, which should make this a really fun opener. My concerns about Saskatchewan’s offensive line are enough for me to think Ottawa can at least keep this one within a field goal, if not get the outright win.
PICK: Ottawa +3.5
Toronto Argonauts vs. Montreal Alouettes — Friday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. ET
The defending Grey Cup champions open their schedule with a rematch of the East Final in Montreal as they visit the Alouettes.
Chad Kelly broke his leg in that game and has only just started throwing now, which likely means Nick Arbuckle will get the nod after his Grey Cup heroics in November. It feels strange to doubt him in Week 1 when he did enough to help the Argos win a championship in his last meaningful game, but I’m still having a tough time believing Arbuckle can lead this team to consistent success.
On the other sideline, the Davis Alexander era officially kicks off for the Alouettes after they sent Cody Fajardo to Edmonton this offseason. Alexander looked more than capable of leading Montreal after Fajardo went down with an injury last season. Now with a full training camp as “the guy” under his belt and a talented receiver room at his disposal, Alexander could have a massive year in Montreal.
Toronto’s championship team drew a lot of attention in the offseason as several players abandoned ship. I think the Argos lost too much to hang with a very talented Montreal team at the start of the season.
PICK: Montreal -4
Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Calgary Stampeders — Saturday, June 7, 7 p.m. ET
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats make their way to McMahon Stadium in Calgary to open their season against Bo Levi Mitchell’s former squad for the second year in a row.
Last season, Mitchell threw for 750 yards in two games against his former team. This year, he has Kenny Lawler as a new toy to play with, along with Tim White and Shemar Bridges, who is expected to take another step after a strong rookie campaign.
He’ll go up against a Calgary defence that underwent a major facelift this offseason. It was clear the Stampeders felt their defence was an issue, ousting Brent Monson and several of the players who were a part of the unit that allowed the second-most points in the league in 2024.
Monson is now the defensive coordinator in Hamilton, but exacting revenge could be tough in this spot as Calgary’s changes didn’t stop on the defensive side of the ball. Vernon Adams Jr. will make his debut in Red and White this weekend. He, along with Dominique Rhymes, should give the lowest-scoring team in the league last year a shot in the arm in a highly-competitive West Division.
Calgary certainly is a different team from a year ago. Whether that means they are good remains to be seen. I’ll take Hamilton’s continuity to win out in a season-opening shootout.
PICK: Hamilton +1, OVER 52
Futures
As promised, here are a few quick picks from the futures market if you want a rooting interest all season long.
Bo Levi Mitchell M.O.P. +1400 and OVER 4,575.5 passing yards
As mentioned above, I think Bo is going to have a big follow-up to his massive year last season. Adding Kenny Lawler to an already talented receiving room is going to make this aerial attack a difficult one to stop. Add that with his comfort in the Milanovich system, and it feels like Mitchell should have a big year.
A.J. Ouellette UNDER 950 rushing yards
Ouellette never really found his stride in 2024, picking up just 558 yards in an injury-riddled first season in Saskatchewan.
When Ouellette wasn’t injured, he was inconsistent in his Green and White debut. I don’t think that gets better behind an offensive line that just took a huge hit on the interior. Combine that with the potential for more injury problems, and it seems unlikely the bruising back hits this number in 2025.
Toronto Argonauts UNDER 11 wins
I really liked several elements of this Toronto team last season, but a lot of those are gone now. They lost quite a bit in free agency, and I’m not sure they did enough to replace what walked out the door.
Another layer of difficulty is at QB where Chad Kelly took no snaps this preseason as he recovers from the injury he suffered in last year’s East Final. As mentioned above, Arbuckle was enough to win a championship game, but I have concerns about the position for the Double Blue as the season goes along.
Montreal is still great, and Hamilton and Ottawa both could see big improvements this year, so this could be a tough number to get for Toronto. They could go 10-8 and I could still hit this bet, so I’m feeling pretty good making this a pick to follow as the year rolls on.
