The Vancouver Canucks have a rather promising core of players in place. A foundation led by defenseman Quinn Hughes and forward Elias Pettersson is one most teams would envy. Unfortunately, the Canucks just haven't had much success with this foundation.

Take last season, for example. Vancouver got off to a horrible start, and eventually fired head coach Bruce Boudreau in a rather questionable manner. His replacement, Rick Tocchet, did lead the team on a 20-12-4 run down the stretch. It wasn't enough to get them into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But it did leave some hope for this upcoming season.

And this upcoming season is finally here. The Canucks begin their 2023-24 campaign on October 11. It's the first game of a home-and-home series with the Edmonton Oilers. Vancouver hosts Edmonton next Wednesday before heading to Edmonton next Saturday. Before that happens, here are three bold predictions for the Vancouver Canucks for the upcoming season.

Brock Boeser bounces back

The Canucks rewarded Brock Boeser with a three-year, $19.95 million contract after the 2021-22 season. He was coming off his second-straight 23-goal season. And it marked his fourth season with at least 20 goals over the last six seasons.

The initial return on investment was not great. In fact, trade rumors surrounded the 26-year-old Canucks forward as the entire league wheeled and dealt. He even had permission from Vancouver to seek a trade to his hometown Minnesota Wild ahead of March's trade deadline.

Boeser scored just 18 goals in 2022-23, finding the back of the net at the second-worst pace of his career. He did set a career-high for assists with 37. But the Canucks are paying him for goals, and they need more of that in 2023-24.

In 2023-24, Boeser should provide the needed goal-scoring punch. He will score at his usual rate, around 23-29 goals. And who knows, maybe the 26-year-old will surpass the 30-goal mark and truly boost Vancouver's push for playoff hockey in 2024.

Elias Petterson flirts with 130

On the other side of the coin, Elias Petterson enjoyed quite the breakout season. He scored 39 goals and 102 points for the Canucks, establishing himself as a first-line point producer. The 24-year-old certainly wants to build upon that performance in 2023-24. And he should have no issue doing that.

For all the struggles J.T. Miller had at the beginning of last season, he finished quite strong. He ended the season with 32 goals and 82 points. And I've already covered how I believe Boeser will find his shooting stick once again. Both of them will play with Petterson on the top power-play unit. And they could even find time with him on the first line.

Those two, plus Hughes and under-the-radar players like Filip Hronek, will contribute to Pettersson's production in 2023-24. The Swedish star should once again surpass the 100-point mark, or at least come close to it. However, I expect him to have no issue eclipsing it. And he could even come close to reaching 130 points this upcoming season.

Quinn Hughes wins the Norris

Quinn Hughes is a star, there is no denying that. His talent has been on display since he scored 53 points in his first full season in the NHL. And let's not forget his incredible performance in the 2019-20 playoffs when he scored two goals and 16 points in 17 games as a rookie.

However, Hughes has always been more of an offensive-oriented player. He is fine defensively, but most of his value lies in his elite offensive production. That said, this is an area he can certainly improve upon. And if he does, the rest of the NHL needs to look out.

Hughes may be a dark horse for the Norris Trophy, but he should be an established contender. Personally, I believe he should be one of the frontrunners. This season will see Hughes emerge as a true superstar, and he'll be recognized as the best defenseman in the NHL at the end of the season.