Will this Year Finally be THE Year? Vancouver Canucks 2011-12 Season Preview

Remember this time last year? The Canucks were Stanley Cup favourites. They were picked by many to not just contend for the Stanley Cup, but to win it. And they came pretty darn close. The Canucks had a dream season in 2010-11, save for four games in the Stanley Cup Final. They were the best team in the regular season, had the best power play, scored the most goals and had the lowest goals against. The Canucks had just two significant losses in the offseason (Christian Ehrhoff and Raffi Torres), yet the pundits don’t seem to like their chances nearly as much this season. The TSN Power Rankings has the Canucks ranked fifth. It seems like a lot of people don’t think the Canucks can make it back to the Stanley Cup Final, and I think they’re wrong. Of course, winning the Stanley Cup is a tall order. A lot needs to go right, and you need some luck along the way. The Canucks certainly had their fair share of luck last season, and they’ll need a bit more this year. But luck aside, the Ca...