Like the last number of seasons, Vancouver Canucks fans seem to be overwhelmingly cautiously optimistic about the club’s upcoming 2023-24 campaign.

For years, the Canucks have been chasing the playoff bar and for years, they’ve come up short, oftentimes in somewhat gruelling fashion. And once again, the team appears poised for a wild card or third-seed Pacific Division finish at best.

According to the oddsmakers, they’re most likely to finish on the outside of the NHL playoff picture once again. Our friends at Betway have released their lines for the upcoming season, and the one that we’re breaking down today is the Regular Season Points Lines, which you can see for yourself here.

The “line” is what the oddsmakers deem as the over or under mark for any given bet. In this case, bettors can wager on if a team will come in higher or lower than the regular season point total that’s been set. One of these is the favourite, and the other is the “underdog” bet. You can see how the oddsmakers have set the NHL standings based on where they’ve put the line at for each team’s point total. Let’s look at the Pacific Division:

Edmonton Oilers 105.5 points
Vegas Golden Knights 103.5 points
LA Kings 101.5 points
Seattle Kraken 94.5 points
Calgary Flames 94.5 points
Vancouver Canucks 88.5 points
Anaheim Ducks 67.5 points
San Jose Sharks 66.5 points

As you can see, the oddsmakers feel it’s most likely for the Canucks to finish sixth in the Pacific and out of a playoff spot. In fact, the likeliest outcome according to Betway is that the Canucks finish with fewer than 88 points, as illustrated in their -140 odds to come in under the line compared to +100 for the over.

The Canucks haven’t been to the playoffs since 2020, and if not for a COVID-induced expanded playoff format, may not have even made the playoffs at all. The last playoff game the Canucks hosted at Rogers Arena took place way back in the 2014-15 season, which means if the Canucks don’t qualify for the playoffs this season, it will be ten years next year since Rogers Arena hosted a playoff game.