Bet On NHL Hockey Vancouver Canucks Season Preview
The Vancouver Canucks will hope to learn from adversity and ice an even better team that was at or near the top of nearly every defensive and offensive statistical category last season. Obviously wholesale change was not necessary for the Canucks.
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After all, they were just one game away from winning it all last season.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Odds to Win the Northwest Division: -800
Odds to Win the Stanley Cup: 7/1
Last season: 54-19-9, 117 points (1st place Northwest, 1st place West)
Key Additions: Marco Sturm, LW; Alexander Sulzer, D; Mark Mancari, RW; Andrew Ebbett, C; Mike Duco, RW; Steve Pinizzotto, RW
Key Departures: Christian Ehrhoff, D; Raffi Torres, LW; Jeff Tambellini, LW; Tanner Glass, LW
Youngsters to Keep an Eye On: Chris Tanev, D; Cody Hodgson, C; Eddie Lack, G; Yann Sauve, D
Offensively, Vancouver will be largely the same – some depth was brought in to replace some of the departed but the core is remaining. Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Manny Malhotra and Maxim Lapierre will Vancouver’s projected centers making for one of the deepest groups at that position in the NHL. Cody Hodgson lingers as potentially the odd man out possibly forcing him to line up on one of the wings.
It is certainly good to have depth at forward – Kesler may miss the beginning of the season while he recovers from a hip injury which should give Hodgson ample opportunity to prove himself. As it looks, Vancouver’s first three lines will have Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Mason Raymond, Kesler, Alexander Burrows newly signed Marco Sturm, Manny Maholtra and Mikael Samuelsson. Mason Raymond and Mikael Samuelsson each had offseason surgery and like Kesler may take some time to get back in the fold. Max Lapierre, Jannick Hansen and Chris Higgins highlight what could be one of the more talented fourth lines in the game. [ad-4437448]
Defense will definitely be a strength this season Vancouver especially since Kevin Beiksa and Sami Salo decided to resign with the team. The Canucks lost Christian Ehrhoff to the Buffalo Sabres during free agency. But they still have Keith Ballard, Dan Hamhuis, Andrew Alberts, Chris Tanev, Aaron Rome and Ryan Parent in the defensive fold. Like the forwards, there were some banged up defensemen that won’t have had all that much time this offseason to recover from injuries sustained in the playoffs. Vancouver is deep and they are strong once again on the back end and are the envy of most AGAIN.
Roberto Luongo returns between the pipes for Vancouver with Corey Schneider acting as his more than capable backup. If it wasn’t for the playoffs there would be absolutely no controversy for the Canucks but memories of a finals collapse by Luongo are fresh in the minds of fans, players and coaches. Still, there is no arguing the fact that Vancouver is as talented as any team in the league in net.
Betting Prediction: In every aspect of the game, the Vancouver Canucks are in the Top tier. The forwards are strong and deep, the defense is talented and deep and the goaltending features one of the two or three best tandems in the NHL. Vancouver is stacked and should have no problem running away with the weakfish Northwest Division. The Northwest Division is a lock, the President’s trophy is within grasp again and the Stanley Cup is within their reach as well. If the old adage is true, Vancouver’s past adversity could mean good things are ahead for this franchise.
Vancouver finishes 1st in the Northwest by a mile!
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