VANCOUVER — Elias Pettersson is starting this season with something more than just that new $92.8-million contract: clarity.
The 25-year-old Swede knows he’s going to be a Vancouver Canuck, and he knows he needs to be better than he was over the final 40 games last season.
It should help that the tendinitis in Pettersson’s knee, although not entirely gone, is considerably better than it was at the end of last season when the National Hockey League star’s first genuine Stanley Cup tournament ended with one goal in 13 playoffs games and the Canucks’ Game 7 loss against the Edmonton Oilers.
“I feel recharged,” Pettersson told Sportsnet on Wednesday in his first interview since returning to Vancouver. “Obviously, it was a lot of noise (last season), but it was expected. It took a long time to sign, and then I signed and signed a big dollar and was not performing as I wanted. But that’s behind me now and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.
“I still feel it (tendinitis) sometimes, but it feels good now — better than where we left off last season. We had to work around it in the off-season training, but, yeah, I feel good and I feel better on the ice. It gave us more time to work on conditioning and work on speed. Everything is fine.”
That wasn’t true last spring as Pettersson struggled through the final third of the regular season and playoffs before admitting at a year-end press conference that his knee had been bothering him since January.
He was fifth in NHL scoring on Feb. 15, with 28 goals and 72 points through 55 games, but managed only seven goals and 23 points in 40 regular-season and playoff games the rest of the way.
Interestingly, the collapse in scoring began as contract negotiations intensified ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Canuck management pressed Pettersson to commit long-term to the team, and the sides agreed on March 2 to an eight-year, $92.8-million extension. But Pettersson’s on-ice struggles continued.
When the season ended, Pettersson described his play over the final three months as “sh—” and admitted there had been a lot of “noise” during his contract season.
That noise softened only slightly over the summer, but is still very much there. Asked about Pettersson, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told Sportsnet during last weekend’s Young Stars tournament in Penticton that “maybe he took his foot off the gas a little bit” after the drama surrounding his contract.
“I definitely need him back to another level, which he’s capable of,” Allvin said. “We all know that. I think he’s extremely hungry to show that. You know, he’s a proud person and player, and I’m pretty sure that he has set his individual goal and mindset at a different level here. I think he’s really eager to come back and show everyone that he’s capable of playing consistently.”
And head coach Rick Tocchet told us: “Whether it’s my expectation or my relationship with Petey, he’s going to be a driving force for the way we do things. I need him right there with me. I expect in pressure games and stuff like that, he’s going to be there for the team and for his teammates and for himself. I expect that because I’ve seen it.”
Pettersson said Wednesday he hadn’t seen his coach’s comment, but concurred when it was relayed to him.
“I agree with what Toc said,” Pettersson said. “I mean, at the end of the day, we’re battling together against other teams. The teams that have each other’s back the best, I think, will go furthest. It’s small margins, but the closer the groups are, the better the teams are. When teams are led by, obviously, good coaches, but are also led by players keeping everyone honest, I think that’s the recipe for success.”
The observations by Pettersson’s coach and manager were not controversial.
Noise is going to have to be part of the landscape for the Canucks’ alternate captain who is starting his seventh year in Vancouver.
You can’t play here and be the third-highest paid player in the NHL this season ($14.5 million) and the fifth-highest by average cap hit ($11.6 million) and expect to hear birdsong and a babbling brook as white noise.
It’s part of the deal. Pettersson is being paid like a superstar and needs to play like one. That’s it.
Canuck captain and Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes, Vezina Trophy runner-up Thatcher Demko and 103-point centre J.T. Miller all plan to be even better this season. But none has the room to elevate his game from the second half of last season as much as Pettersson.
“There’s always expectation,” Pettersson said. “I’m the one who always puts the biggest expectation on myself, and that hasn’t changed. But at the end of the day, it comes down to: What can I do? I’ve been trying to prepare as best as possible and will try to be the best player I can be for every game. I’m just looking forward to this season and we’ll go from there.”
Training camp opens Thursday in Penticton.
