Canucks: Let’s talk about Elias Pettersson

Let’s not try and sugarcoat anything; it’s been a miserable start to the Vancouver Canucks’ season. It was all sunshine and rainbows in the first period of opening night; the team scored four goals, both powerplay units capitalized, and all of the Canucks’ big-name players (Quinn Hughes, JT Miller, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson) found the scoresheet.

We all know what happened after that.

Now, with an 0-1-2 record, there is more than just one area of concern for this start. But nobody has a spotlight shining directly on them by the fanbase more than Elias Pettersson, and they aren’t wrong to do so.

It’s been a rough start for the freshly signed Pettersson. He signed an eight-year, $92.8 million contract extension that pays him $11.6 million annually – the fifth highest-paid player across the entire National Hockey League this season. The Swede has just one assist – a secondary assist on the powerplay in the opening period of the season – through three games and a minus-one rating.

Last season was still a strong one for the 2017 NHL draft’s fifth overall pick, with 34 goals and 89 points and a plus-20 rating. But it was somewhat more of a tale of three seasons for Pettersson.

The first season went up until Christmas time. Here, Pettersson played 35 games, scoring 13 goals and 44 points. He looked strong during this time, as he was able to produce these numbers while playing alongside the likes of Ilya Mikheyev, Sam Lafferty, Nils Höglander and an underperforming Andrei Kuzmenko.

The second season lasted a month and a half, from after Christmas until February 15. During this time, the Lotto Line was reunited for their seven-game Eastern road trip, during which Pettersson alone scored eight goals and 13 points. He rode the hot hand until the All-Star break and acquired Elias Lindholm to help support Pettersson’s wing – we all know how that worked.

The third season lasted the rest of the year and just so happened to start the game after Dakota Joshua was injured. In the final 26 games of the year, Pettersson scored six goals and 17 points. Which isn’t terrible, but only two goals and nine of those points came at 5-on-5.

The struggles continued in the playoffs, where when they needed him most, he failed to step up, tallying one goal and six points in 13 games – only three points came at 5-on-5. At season’s end, Pettersson stated he had been dealing with a knee injury since January, which would explain his slow-ish end of the year.

Unfortunately, that troubled play has trickled into Pettersson’s game this season. He doesn’t look the same. He lacks that burst and instinct to challenge his opponents one-on-one with his dekes that he’s done so effortlessly in the past. His shot was one of the most deceptive things for the goaltenders to track due to its speed. Where has that been? He still plays the half-wall on the powerplay, but his one-timer option is no longer being utilized. He’s not performing up to his new $11.6 million contract.

So what’s going on?

Well, here’s why you shouldn’t panic.

It’s three games into the season. And it’s not like Pettersson has always been a hot starter out the gates. He’s produced the last two seasons, but in 2019-20, he posted one point through three games, one point through six games in 2020-21 and two points through four games in 2021-22. Also, Pettersson has 58 points in his NHL career in the month of October, which is tied with March for the lowest point total of any full month (excluding April).

Also, let’s not try to compare training camp and preseason chemistry to the regular season. It’s a different game in the preseason due to the level of competition. Pettersson and DeBrusk looked great in the preseason, especially in the game against the Calgary Flames in the Abbotsford Centre, where the two connected on a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal in overtime. And who was their other linemate for all but one of those games? Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who, was always bound for a stint in Abbotsford.

So, where’s the time to develop chemistry with a new line? Surely, to start the year, they’ll give Pettersson some familiarity on one side of his line with Höglander or Garland, right? Nope. Pettersson starts opening night, centring a line with DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong.

Well, that hasn’t worked out, as Sprong was made a healthy scratch just two games into the season. Who was his replacement? Another newcomer, Danton Heinen, who had zero playing experience with Pettersson. And when head coach Rick Tocchet needed to change up the top six, he even took DeBrusk away from Pettersson.

Tocchet loves his duos, that much we know. But while Joshua remains out of the lineup, why not put Garland, the team’s best forward to this point of the season, with DeBrusk and Pettersson to hopefully kickstart their chemistry? You shouldn’t need a $4.95 million player to kickstart your $11.6 million player, but it realistically gives him the best shot of hitting his stride.

Now, this author doesn’t exactly know if this has anything to do with it. But is this new transition system Tocchet’s implementing hurting Pettersson’s style of play? Rush chances have never really been a part of Petterson’s game. He hasn’t finished in the top five Canucks in 5-on-5 rush attempts over the last five seasons and has just 20 total over that span – finishing with one total rush attempt in two of those seasons.

So not only does he have new teammates to gel with, but a new offensive system is being implentent, one that isn’t necessarily what he’s accustomed to.

For the most part, Pettersson seems like a quiet but caring guy. He’s always great at interacting with the fan base at events and on social media, and he’s active in the community. But last year, when he struggled during the playoffs, he learned those fans can take a turn, especially in a Canadian market.

There was heavy scrutiny around him for his playoff performance. And instead of having an offseason refresh and looking forward to starting the first year of his eight-year deal in Vancouver, he had to sulk in the negativity of returning to the place that just gave him a hard time. Pile that on top of the added pressure of his $11.6 million contract, and you’ve likely got a high-strung player, anxious to prove he’s worth his big-boy contract.

Once known for his powerful one-timer, we haven’t really seen Pettersson utilize it so far this season. Granted, it’s been three games, and he’s only registered five shots on goal. But he is shooting. He still has 12 shot attempts but just hasn’t had success finding the net.

The worries of his shot sprouted during the playoff run when he really wasn’t shooting. He had eight shots through six games of the series against the Nashville Predators and 14 shots in seven games in the Edmonton Oilers series.

Many believed he was dealing with an injury just by the look of his body language after his shots. There was speculation that it was a lingering wrist injury he suffered in March of 2021 that held him out for the remainder of that season. However, this author doesn’t believe that’s the case.

Here is Pettersson’s shooting speed data with data provided by NHL Edge.

23-24 top speed – 97.67 MPH | 15 shots between 90-100 MPH (92nd percentile)

22-23 top speed – 95.78 MPH | 24 shots between 90-100 MPH (94th percentile)

21-22 top speed – 96.15 MPH | 17 shots between 90-100 MPH (92nd percentile)

These numbers prove that Pettersson still ranks among the elite in shot speed across the entire NHL. Now, let’s just see him use it a bit more. Twelve shot attempts through three games is good, but for how talented his shot is, we’d like to see that number doubled.

No doubt, Pettersson needs to step up in a big way if this team is going to improve on last season. He still has all the tools in his toolbox that proved he could be a 100+ point player in this league and worth the $11.6 million he commanded last season. Maybe he just needs a few games to get used to new teammates, new systems and all.

The element’s on, and the burner’s getting hot; it’s time for Pettersson to show up.