2022-23 NHL preview: Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to the 2022-23 season preview as brought to you by Betway Sports. We’ll be taking a dive into each team’s offseason and what their Stanley Cup odds are for next season from the worst odds to the best. All odds are current as of the time of writing.

Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup Odds: +5000

Vancouver’s been an interesting team to follow this offseason. Are they trading J.T. Miller? Are they going to keep him and sign him to a long-term deal?

We know on the draft floor a deal was all but done that surrounded the New York Islanders, Miller, and the 13th overall pick. That, however, likely fell by the wayside as soon as news of a potential deal leaked in the media. It’s the Lou Lamoriello way, I guess.

Nonetheless, the Canucks took Swedish forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, a player the club was high on, but made no trades this offseason.

Their biggest move was arguably inking Brock Boeser to a three-year deal with a cap hit of $6.65-million. Like with Miller, there were a lot of questions about the sniper’s future with the club. He’s coming off a tough season with the loss of his dad, and this year could be a huge season from him.

Vancouver also brought in Ilya Mikheyev on a four-year deal with a $4.75-million cap hit adding to their forward depth.

Is it enough to push the Canucks to the playoffs? They got the Bruce Boudreau bump last season bringing in him part way through the year and it would be no surprise to see that carry into this year.

The Pacific Division is wide open and ripe for the taking.

Are we betting on the Canucks to win the cup? We won’t be. The Canucks are still far from a team ready to make a push for Lord Stanley’s mug, but it wouldn’t shock me in the least to see them make the playoffs this year.