Players, coaches, and management on the Vancouver Canucks know they are always under a lot of pressure. After all, Vancouver is a hockey-crazed city and even the smallest piece of news surrounding the team is a big deal. Star players deal with the most pressure. The likes of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Roberto Luongo, Markus Naslund, and Pavel Bure dealt with it. Right now, the current crop of stars such as Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Elias Pettersson are dealing with it. Right now, it is Pettersson who has been dealing with the most pressure. However, he took a huge weight off his shoulders by scoring the first goal in the Canucks 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Could this be the start of a return to form for the Canucks star forward Elias Pettersson?
The Underwhelming Start for Canucks Star Forward Elias Pettersson
Pettersson had not played his best hockey since January 2024, and had not been standing out, unlike other players. The Swedish centre had not scored a 5-on-5 goal since March 19 against the Buffalo Sabres. It’s hard to believe, but it is true. Of course, he broke that slump on Saturday night.
He had a disappointing 2024 playoffs with just one goal and five assists through 13 games against the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers. It was revealed after the season that he had been dealing with tendonitis in his knee since January, which explained a lot. Prior to the game against the Penguins, Pettersson still had not hit the ground running. But could that game be the start of good things? Or is it something that happened a few days before?
The “Incident” With Miller at Practice
What had got people talking about Pettersson more is an apparent “scuffle” between him and Miller during Wednesday’s practice. Sure, this whole thing is nothing. But at the same time, it is something. These are the Canucks two star forwards.
It is not quite known what exactly caused the “incident.” However, CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650 on Friday morning that Pettersson and Miller have an apparent rift between them. The rift goes back to the days Travis Green was the team’s head coach.
Maybe Miller wanted to get Pettersson going or more focused or Pettersson said something Miller didn’t like. In sports, teammates don’t have to be friends as long as they cooperate and work together. Plus, incidents in practice happen.
For example, the St. Louis Blues had a huge fight in practice during the 2018-19 season when they were dead last in the NHL. Eventually, they would go on to win the Stanley Cup. Last season, Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland got into a similar incident at practice and were later inseparable on the third line.
Maybe the whole incident isn’t worth talking about. Miller was asked about the incident on Friday afternoon on Sportsnet 650. He was asked if it was worth talking about and he replied with a simple “no.” Maybe it lit a fire under Pettersson, because he and Miller were competing hard against each other during Friday’s practice. If the incident does get Pettersson putting up points consistently, maybe it is worth talking about.
J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson matched up in battle drill at #Canucks practice
(Sorry for bad quality) pic.twitter.com/4VWmmxnq3p
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) October 25, 2024
Pettersson Is Showing Improvements but Can He Get back to Form?
Despite the underwhelming start, it hasn’t been all bad for Pettersson. Prior to the Pittsburgh game, Pettersson has shown improvement which have resulted in wins for Vancouver. The 25-year-old assisted on Garland’s goal in the 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Moreover, Garland again scored via a Pettersson assist in the 6-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
What might have been missed in Elias Pettersson's performance on Tuesday night is that his line was hard-matched against Connor Bedard at 5-on-5 and handily won the match-up.
Pettersson had a 65.15 xGF% in his 5-on-5 minutes against Bedard and shots were 9-6 for the #Canucks.
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) October 23, 2024
He’s looked more engaged and has been getting more involved in puck battles and looks fine defensively. After all, Pettersson has shown he is an excellent defensive forward throughout his career. Sure, the little things are nice but Vancouver needed more from their $11.6 million player.
The criticism of Pettersson is valid. He’s the highest-paid player on the team and this is the first year of that eight-year deal. Pettersson simply hasn’t been playing like a star player. It is frustrating because when the Canucks were one of the worst teams in the NHL, Pettersson showed he wass world-class. But now, when the Canucks are good and when they need him the most, he has vanished.
It seems the pressure was really getting to Pettersson and had been a huge block for him mentally. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet spoke about the pressure getting to Pettersson and has told the Swedish centre to “block out the noise.” The only way for him to block out the noise is to play hockey and be the player everyone knows he is.
Elias Pettersson’s goal started the Canucks comeback against the Penguins. After going 2-0 down, Vancouver scored three goals in 65 second. Pettersson’s goal was a perfectly placed shot past Alex Nedeljkovic.
Pettersson didnt have to get all of that on his shot, the pass from Garland and placement by EP40 was that good. If he gets that shot rate back up and keeps moving his feet, he’s gonna be fine and make a lot of people look silly. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/SsSg7FvJSB
— Grady Sas (@GradySas) October 27, 2024
It’s still early in the 2024-25 season. The Canucks don’t have to go on a crazy run of good form with high shooting percentage like they did last year to compete for the Pacific Division title. However, they need to be consistent and that starts with Pettersson putting up point consistently. Hopefully, this is a new beginning for the Canucks star forward.
Main Photo Credit: Bob Frid – USA TODAY Sports
