Canucks a popular Stanley Cup bet after busy offseason!

Vancouver’s odds to win the Stanley Cup are 46.00 at PlayNow.com.

The Vancouver Canucks carried out their plan to be aggressive this offseason, in attempt to build a team that could make it back to the playoffs after a disappointing 2020-21 campaign.

Now hockey fans in B.C. will have to wait and watch to see if those efforts culminate in a playoff berth next spring.

The Canucks opened training camp with odds of 46.00 to win the Stanley Cup, which is almost two-thirds of the way down the board – a sizable long shot to win it all. They remain, however, a popular bet to win what would be the franchise’s first championship in its history.

As of Wednesday, about 22.5% of money wagered on the Stanley Cup outright market was on Vancouver to win the Stanley Cup for the 2021-22 season. Only the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators have longer odds to win the Stanley Cup out of all the Canadian teams in the NHL.

The Canucks certainly didn’t sit back this offseason, a sign that they feel they need to make the playoffs this year. They made a blockbuster deal in July, acquiring veteran defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland from Arizona in exchange for Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, Loui Eriksson and a trio of draft picks, including a 2021 first-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick.

The Canucks also signed defenceman Tucker Poolman and acquired forward Jason Dickinson from Dallas. The addition of Dickinson gives the Canucks a versatile forward that can play up and down the forward group and provide some offence when needed.

But after such a busy offseason, the pressure to make playoffs is palpable in Vancouver.

With training camp underway, beginning today, the odds at PlayNow.com for the Canucks to make the playoffs are 2.25 for Yes, and 1.65 to not make the playoffs. Meanwhile, their point total has been set at Over/Under 89.5 points, at odds of 1.86 at PlayNow.com.

Individually, defenceman Quinn Hughes currently has the sixth best odds to win the Norris Trophy – currently 15.00 at PlayNow.com.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche currently have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup, at odds of 6.00 at PlayNow.com. That is followed by the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, at odds of 8.00, Vegas Golden Knights at odds of 8.00 and Toronto Maple Leafs at odds of 9.00.

The Maple Leafs have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup among all Canadian teams, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 – on top of losing in the Qualifying Round in the summer of 2020 when the NHL had to delay the conclusion of its 2019-20 season due to the pandemic.

The NHL starts its regular season on Oct. 12.

The Canucks are scheduled to open their season on the road, against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 13.

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