Last season couldn't have gone much better for the Vancouver Canucks. They were the best team in the NHL, handily winning the President's Trophy. They made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and went to game seven with the Boston Bruins. However, they just couldn't get that one last win, and as such it was the Bruins who got to hoist the Cup. It would be difficult for the Canucks to replicate what they did last season. Indeed, that seems quite unlikely.
In part, this is becasue the roster is going to be different. Christian Ehrhoff is gone, having taken a big deal to go to Buffalo. Raffi Torres will be gone as well. Perhaps most concerningly, Ryan Kesler, who was outstanding last season, is still dealing with a hip injury that will likely cause him to miss the beginning of the regular season. Mason Raymond will also miss about a month of the regular season. These are all reasons to think the Canucks might not be able to put together another season as good as the last one.
That being said, it's not like Vancouver didn't make additions to their team as well. They brought in Marco Sturm and Owen Nolan to try and add some offensive depth. Plus, Alex Edler is healthy and will hopefully be able to put together a full season for them. Oh, also this team is still pretty loaded. Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin are still leading the offense. Alex Burrows and Mikael Samuelsson are there, and eventually Kesler and Raymond will be joining them. Even without Ehrhoff, the defense is one of the better groups in the league. Lastly, they still have Roberto Luongo who is still a great goalie. They also have Cory Schneider available if they every want to pull the trigger on a trade for the playoffs.
Vancouver isn't quite as talented as they were last season, and they likely won't have as good of a season as the last one. That being said, they are far and away the best team in their division, and are pretty much a lock to win it. They will contend for the best record in the West, and they are a Stanley Cup contender once again. Maybe this time, despite not being quite as good, they'll manage to win it all.
Last team up: Minnesota Wild
Next team up: Anaheim Ducks
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