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The Vancouver Canucks season is about to start and projections are… well, they aren’t what they were before last season. The Canucks aren’t projected to make the playoffs this year according to oddsmakers, but that’s what a season where everything that could go wrong did will do to a team.
The individual projections on the team, however, are interesting to note. And while we don’t encourage throwing away your life savings on any sports teams (and especially the Vancouver Canucks), we took a look at who from the team might hit over and under on their points betting lines.
All odds from PlayNow Sports.
Quinn Hughes: 84.5 points
Let’s start with last year, when Hughes was absolutely phenomenal. He probably would have won the Norris Trophy had he played a full season. As it is, he was third in Norris voting and was 12th in Hart Trophy voting as the league MVP. And that’s for a team that didn’t make the playoffs. Hughes was the lifeblood of this team. And yes, he had to be. That responsibility will hopefully be lessened (though we wouldn’t necessarily count on it). Last year, Hughes had 76 points in 68 games. Sure, this accounts for him being healthy for an entire year, but he did miss less than 10 games each of the previous three years before last season.
Verdict: OVER
Elias Pettersson: 76.5 points
This line completely depends on if you believe in Married Alpha Petey or not. Two seasons ago this would have been an easy over. Now it’s a little more complicated, since he hasn’t seemed right for about a year and a half. Call us crazy, but someone has to score on this team, and from his encouraging preseason to hopes (prayers?) that he’s finally fully healthy and had a good offseason, we are ready to get hurt again. He’s different, Mom; he’s changed, I swear!
Verdict: OVER
Brock Boeser: 58.5 points
This is going to start getting repetitive, because if we believe the first two go over, then a rising tide raises all ships, right? In a pretty rough down year, Boeser had 50 points in 75 games. He can get there.
Verdict: OVER
Conor Garland: 53.5 points
The law of averages states that we have to start choosing some guys to go under. Garland is slated to play on the second line with Arshdeep Bains and Filip Chytil, at least to start. It probably won’t last, but that doesn’t really seem like a lucrative offensive situation. Garland also isn’t penciled in to play on the powerplay’s first unit.
Verdict: UNDER
Jake DeBrusk: 45.5 points
Debrusk is slated to play on the first unit PP and on the team’s first line with Boeser and Pettersson. He had 48 points in 82 games last year and the entire team should be at least a bit better. We think he can hit this.
Verdict: OVER
Filip Hronek: 44.5 points
He should collect a decent amount of points just playing beside Hughes and had 33 in 61 games last year. But he’s only been over this number once in his career and that was in 23-24 after he started the season red hot.
Verdict: UNDER
Filip Chytil: 39.5 points
If Chytil plays a full season, he has the skill to hit this. But as he’s not on the first powerplay and will be on the second line and always gets hurt… we’re going under. Hope he hits though. He’s certainly skilled enough to do it.
Verdict: UNDER
Evander Kane: 36.5 points
Another tough one. If Kane doesn’t get at least 37 points, his signing in the offseason will have to be considered a bust. But he’s coming off not playing the entire regular season last year and putting up 44 points in 77 games on the high-flying Oilers the year prior. He is playing on the first unit PP, at least to start, and he will undoubtedly have a few big games (and we could see a big start, too). But between the injury possibility and his prior scoring pace, we’re going to go under.
Verdict: UNDER
Kiefer Sherwood: 35.5 points
Sherwood having more points than Evander Kane would be something. He did it last year but that was in an elevated role due to multiple injuries. He’s slated to start the season on the fourth line.
Verdict: UNDER
Jonathan Lekkerimaki: 34.5 points
Lekkerimaki and his incredible shot are going to have to find their way to the first unit powerplay for him to hit this number. Can Kane stick on the first powerplay? Can Arshdeep Bains stick on the second line? We’re thinking “No” to both those questions and that will propel Lekkerimaki over this number.
Verdict: OVER
Meanwhile, the Canucks have 2-to-1 odds to make the playoffs this year. In an interesting Pacific Division, we think they end up just on the outside looking in.