Last season was a rousing success for the Vancouver Canucks, as they totalled the third-most points in team history. They won their first division title since 2012-13 and pushed the eventual Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton Oilers to the limit in their second round matchup.
Now, it's a question of if the Canucks can build on last season and continue to grow in 2024-25? As good as the tandem of general manager Patrik Allvin and head coach Rick Tocchet are, this is no guarantee of the team contending again this coming campaign.
However, as much as you cannot be certain of much in the NHL, the Canucks are still viewed favourably by the majority of media outlets who cover hockey. Given due credit to The Hockey News, this includes MoneyPuck.com.
Canucks predicted to qualify for the playoffs
Of course the first goal in an NHL season is to make the playoffs, and in this respect MoneyPuck.com gives the Canucks odds of 80.4 percent to qualify. These odds are fourth-best in the Western Conference and seventh-strongest in the NHL as a whole.
MoneyPuck.com does not see the Canucks hitting 109 points again like last season. However, they still project them to break the 100-point barrier, with 101.7. (So let's round that up to 102 points.)
In addition, the NHL analytics site does not favour the Canucks to repeat as Pacific Division champions, although they do still give them odds of 21.3 percent. For what it's worth, these are the second-best odds to win the division behind -- surprise, surprise -- the Oilers, who have odds of 47.9 percent which are also the best odds of any team in the NHL to win their division according to MoneyPuck.com.
What about once the Canucks are in the playoffs?
Turning to what the Canucks will actually do once they reach the playoffs, they have been given odds of 42.7 percent to make the second round. These are fourth-best in the Western conference, which sounds good when you consider that's how many teams advance from each conference.
When it comes to advancing to the Western Conference Final however, the Canucks have been predicted to miss out. Their odds of 21.1 percent are also fourth-best in the Conference, with the Oilers and Dallas Stars leading the way, at 36.2 percent and 31.4 percent respectively.
Finally, the Canucks have been given odds of 5.6 percent to win it all, which while not sounding great, are still tied for seventh-best in the NHL by MoneyPuck.com. Further, consider that the Oilers have the best odds, and even theirs are only 12 percent.
Overall, we appreciate Canucks fans want to see their team improve on last season. However, making the playoffs again and advancing to at least the second round would still constitute a success.
At the same time, when Thatcher Demko returns, if he can remain healthy and perform at a similar level to last season, then you never know. Further, if Elias Pettersson can provide a full season of his best fom, Brock Boeser can have another 40-goal season and so on, perhaps the Canucks can similarly surprise the rest of the NHL like they did in 2023-24.