VANCOUVER -- There they were in the inbox: Jimmy Shapiro's Stanley Cup and conference predictions, calling the Penguins the favourites at 8-1, followed by the Rangers, Canucks, Kings and Flyers.

Talk about a brave man. Either that or he's straight up out of his mind.

The only way to look at this forthcoming season is that it consists of any number of variables, many of which clearly favour teams in the Eastern Conference simply based on their minimal travel compared to what is staring western teams in the face.

But when it comes to the Canucks and the variables that come into play in assessing their chances, to look merely at all the traditional ingredients -- such as schedule, roster and coaching -- ignores one crucial, absolutely unknown factor: Officiating.

What will it be like this year?

Will it be in the same space as it was down the stretch last season, when clutch-and-grab was back in favour? That was followed by the first two rounds of the playoffs, an environment that was downright dangerous for any and all participants, such was the level of violence permitted.

Or will the meeting that general manager Mike Gillis and a host of other concerned parties within the league attended in the summer matter, as many of them thought it would when it finished. It is presumed that whatever directions were passed along to the officials at their early September training camp, aimed at making speed and skill add somewhat to the entertainment value of the game, might result in a change in direction -- at least early in the season.

Right now, nobody has the slightest idea what it will be like, or if and when it will change. Will new standards, even if successfully implemented at the outset of the season, ever stand a chance down the stretch or during the playoffs, when referees traditionally become determined to "let the players decide the outcome" and throw away their whistles?

The players have no idea what to expect.

"We haven't been told anything yet and I don't know if the team has anything planned," said Daniel Sedin, when asked if he anticipated any instruction about what might be new to start the season. "It seems to start off fine and then gradually, they let more and more go. It has always been like that. As we've said before, it's the only league I know of where the rules change during the season."

If the players have no idea what to expect, what chance does anyone else? And we mention this because it is so crucial to the chances of the Canucks and any other team like Detroit or Pittsburgh that relies on skill players coming through, rather than on crash, bang and great goaltending.

Let's be clear here: This assumes the Canucks are going to be good on the power play. If they are going to function the way they did in the second half of last season, there's no point in even having a discussion about this team's chances of doing anything other than flaming out. It's a closed book. There's no point in even discussing the officiating, because if it's going to be like the 2011 Stanley Cup final -- where nothing happened when they had the man advantage -- it's over anyway.

The idea of winning games 2-1, which spawned the ludicrous acquisition of Sami Pahlsson last season, is absurd when you have the Sedin twins in your lineup. They either produce goals and assists -- and that's most likely to happen on the power play -- or they're of no use to you. It's that simple. Pretending otherwise is fantasy and to hear them give in to the mentality that they're not worried about whether or not they score as long as the team wins is terrifying. They're too good for that. If they can't produce, you're better off with a couple of million-dollar bangers, period.

Everybody, including this author, expects them to be just as dynamite as they were in the past. No reason to suspect otherwise really, other than that little hiccup at the end of the regular season last year.

But when the games really count, will the officials give them that chance? Will they give Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Sidney Crosby or any number of other entertaining players in the game the freedom to show what they can do?

At this point, nobody has the slightest idea.