(Best E Casino) - It's been a tale of two seasons for the Vancouver Canucks recently as the NHL's lone franchise in British Columbia has experienced the best and worst of times in a short span.

In 2006-07, the Canucks won the Northwest Division, set franchise records with 49 wins and 105 points, advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2003 and Alain Vigneault won the Jack Adams Trophy as the league's best head coach.

Last year, Vancouver dropped off 17 points and 10 wins and stumbled out of playoff contention with losses in seven of eight games to the end year. The negative turnaround resulted in the firing of general manager Dave Nonis and the risky hiring of former player agent Mike Gillis as his successor.

The good news is that Roberto Luongo, one of the best goaltenders in the world, will still be stationed between the pipes at General Motors Place. The bad news is that the same offensive issues that plagued the team last year will likely be a problem once again.

FORWARDS - It's a shame that the Sedin twins weren't quadruplets instead because that would be the best way for Vancouver to double it's offensive output from last season.

The Canucks were 23rd in the NHL with an average of 2.52 goals per game and the Sedins accounted for a huge portion of that.

Centerman Henrik Sedin, the playmaker of the duo, led the Canucks with 76 points (15 goals, 61 assists), while left wing Daniel, who is six minutes younger than his twin, led the team with 29 goals en route to a 74-point season.

When longtime Canucks captain Markus Naslund, who had 55 points in Vancouver last year, left to sign a free-agent deal with the New York Rangers in the offseason, Vancouver had a pair of 37-point producers as their next highest returning scorers.

Ryan Kesler, a 24-year-old centerman, posted 21 goals and 16 assists for his 37 points, while 27-year-old right winger Taylor Pyatt reversed the numbers with 16 tallies and 21 helpers.

Both players will be called upon to increase their production in 2008-09 as will centerman Pavol Demitra, who was signed as a free agent this offseason. Demitra had 54 points (15g, 39a) in 68 games last year with Minnesota for his lowest point total since recording 45 points in just 44 contests with St. Louis during the 2000-01 campaign.

To Vancouver's credit, it did offer free-agent center Mats Sundin a $10 million a season offer to play for the Canucks, but as of press time the former Maple Leaf is still mulling over whether or not he is going to retire or return for another season. Toronto, Montreal, the Rangers are also among the teams interested in the future Hall-of-Famer's services.

Another attempt by Gillis to boost Vancouver's offense was evident in the acquisition of big forward Steve Bernier from Buffalo in exchange for a pair of draft picks. The 23-year-old Bernier is a beast at 6-2 and 235 pounds and is coming off a season in which he had 32 points (16g, 16g) in 76 total games with San Jose and the Sabres.

The Canucks also added forward depth with offseason moves that brought centerman Ryan Johnson and right wing Kyle Wellwood to BC. Johnson tallied 18 points in 79 games with St. Louis in 2007-08 and Wellwood had 21 points in 59 contests for Toronto.

Along with Naslund, the Canucks also saw fan favorite Trevor Linden, who had just 12 points last year, retire after a 19-year NHL career that was primarily played in Vancouver.

DEFENSE - Playing in front of Luongo can make a defensemen look good, but that doesn't mean that the Canucks have a good defense.

The combination of an offense that doesn't score with a defense that doesn't excel at moving the puck is a dangerous one for an NHL team and that is the present situation in Vancouver.

Sami Salo led Canucks in scoring last season, posting 25 points on eight goals and 17 assists, while Mattias Ohlund, the franchise's all-time leader in goals by a defenseman, was a close second with 24 points (9g, 15a). Both players are well into their 30s and have lost speed.

Alexander Edler is a promising blueliner for the Canucks at just 22 years of age. As a rookie in 2007-08, the Swede posted eight goals and 12 assists while posting a solid plus-six rating. Expect the youngster to be given an expanded role this season.

At 6-1 and 205 pounds, Kevin Bieksa isn't the biggest of Vancouver's blueliners, but is the most physical. He led Canucks defensemen with 90 penalty minutes last season despite playing in just 34 games due to injury.

Willie Mitchell, Lukas Krajicek and Rob Davison will also compete for playing time in Vancouver's defensive rotation.

Also, in a tragic turn of events the Canucks lost a defensive prospect in May, when Luc Bourdon, a first-round pick in 2005, was killed in a motorcycle accident. Bourdon showed great promise in 2007-08, scoring two goals and posting a plus-seven rating while playing in 27 games.

GOALTENDING - Last year Luongo didn't have quite the season he did in 2006-07 -- his debut campaign with Vancouver -- but then again nobody on the Canucks did.

After setting a franchise record with 47 wins in his first year after he was traded from Florida, Luongo went 35-29-9 with a 2.38 goals against average and .917 save percentage in 2007-08. He did have one more shutout last year with six.

With four straight seasons of 70 games played or more, the 29-year-old Luongo is a workhorse with little need for a backup. However, Curtis Sanford will be back in the role this year after going 4-3-1 with a 2.83 GAA and .898 save percentage in 16 games (9 starts) during the 2007-08 campaign.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Canucks enter the 2008-09 campaign with many of the same issues that caused them to miss the playoffs last season. That being said, a goaltender like Luongo can make those problems disappear on a frequent basis. Unless a few skaters step up with career seasons, Vancouver is only going to make the postseason out of the extremely competitive Northwest Division with a superb season from their goaltender.