The Vancouver Canucks Elias Pettersson knew he would be representing Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in early December. He almost certainly knew well before then but wasn’t one of the original group named. Given how his 2023-24 season ended, that made sense – but it had to sting a little.
Canucks Want Elias Pettersson to Show More
Vancouver pressed Pettersson to agree to a contract before last year’s trade deadline because they wanted certainty. Well, they got what they wanted, sort of. They know how much money Pettersson will cost and for how many years. But they aren’t entirely sure which version of Pettersson will be playing the contract out.
The second half of Pettersson’s season wasn’t going great. While his defence was still there, he seemed less confident in leading the attack. Fans had grown accustomed to seeing him dazzle opponents into near-immobility, and that was gone. Or at least greatly diminished.
The two weeks leading up to his signing were particularly rough. The team went 1-5-1 and Pettersson had just three points. After he signed was a far better run: the Canucks went 5-1-1 with Pettersson scoring four goals and seven points. It was a temporary boost in a bumpy stretch, but still a successful year overall. For the team, at least. For Pettersson, it was average.
He finished the year above a point-per-game with 39 goals and 89 points. But just one goal and five assists in 13 playoff games was a weak showing for their scoring star. The Canucks gave Elias Pettersson STAR money, and they wanted Elias Pettersson the STAR. He would have to be productive right away to justify his $11.6 million cap hit starting the 2024-25 season.
He hasn’t been that so far.
4 Nations 4 Now
By now the living telenovela that is the Vancouver Canucks has played out. One of their scoring stars was moved and is playing up a villain role at the 4 Nations tournament. All eyes have now turned to the one left behind. Pettersson, already having a down year, responded with zero goals and two assists in five games.
It’s not as bad as it sounds. Remove the loss against the Dallas Stars played just hours after the trade, and the team went 3-0-1. That included an important win against Colorado and an always-crowd-pleasing one against Toronto. It also drops Pettersson’s contributions to a single assist, though, which is exactly as bad as it sounds.
The current hope is that Pettersson will relax now that he’s removed from the city. While it’s not exactly a vacation, the tournament is a complete change from the Vancouver pressure cooker. He gets to play with some of the best players on the planet in a relatively low-stakes series. As coach Rick Tocchet put it, “I just want him to have fun.”
After two games, Pettersson hasn’t been lighting the lamp. Sweden has scored six times in two games, both overtime losses. Pettersson hasn’t appeared on the scoresheet yet. In his first two games, he played 16:32 against Canada and 14:10 against Finland.
That’s quite a bit below his 19 minutes with the Canucks, but Pettersson has somewhat more competition for ice time with Team Sweden than he does in Vancouver.
Back From Break for Breakthrough
It could be that this break – successful tournament results or not – will shake Pettersson from his scoring doldrums. He might come back and suddenly climb to the point-per-game pace that his talent says should be his floor. Getting somewhere around 30 points between now and the playoffs would ease a lot of tension among Canucks fans. A good playoff performance would do it, too.
Unfortunately, it’s never that simple. As the saying goes, there is no switch a player can hit. That’s why coaches like to stress good habits from Day One of training camp. No one plays every game perfectly, so on those down days, they hope habit and muscle memory take over. Eventually, the player will find his groove again and get back on track.
We – fans watching the game – won’t know when it happens. That’s the hard part.
The Canucks, and Pettersson himself, have seen bursts of great play. There have been moments and flashes and even games where he’s been his old self. None of them have led to consistently great play yet. The truth is that it might not happen this season. Having a two-week break from routine is great and all, but that comes after half a year of, well, average play.
While Pettersson isn’t Vancouver’s most important player, he is by far their best forward. For the team to succeed they need him at his best, and that might not happen this season.
Can the Canucks Trade Elias Pettersson?
The team does not want to trade Pettersson. The reason is simple enough: they won’t get that level of talent back. Unless they get ridiculously lucky – Quinn Hughes at seventh overall lucky – then they won’t draft it. They sure won’t convince a team to trade it to them. This leaves keeping Pettersson or going with lesser talent and hoping the mix is right.
There was talk of either Pettersson or J.T. Miller being traded, with a slim chance of both going. Now that Miller is gone, Pettersson has been taken off the trade block per Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson. That doesn’t mean a trade can’t happen, but Vancouver’s not actively seeking one out. At least for now.
That’s where things get tricky. His no-move clause happens on July 1st, the same day a $10 million bonus is due him. If he’s moved before that day, the acquiring team will owe the cash. If the Canucks wait, they will not only pay but have their options limited by Pettersson’s interest.
A no-move can be worked around, as players don’t usually want to stay where they’re unwanted, but it is limiting. And he could just say no outright. No one likes to pack, after all.
More important is if Pettersson’s performance doesn’t get back to expectations before the season ends. He’s on pace for the worst production of his career and that might continue. If so, any trade the team makes will be at a far-diminished return. Paying $11.6 million for seven years of a solid defensive centre who can put up some points is modern Loui Eriksson numbers.
You can imagine the lack of enthusiasm around the league.
They Can But Shouldn’t
A much better choice is to hang on to their star into the new season. The odds of a 26-year-old, 100-point centre suddenly forgetting how to score is minuscule. Yes, his no-move clause kicks in, so the Canucks and Pettersson will need to work together on a deal. That’s fine. If he starts the 2025-26 season that badly, he probably won’t have many qualms about a new start elsewhere.
It is harder to move players during the season, sure. Most teams have filled their roster spaces and have little cap room left in October or November. But if they think Pettersson can find his form, there will be buyers. And right now is mid-season, so how much worse will the offers be then compared to now?
It’s not hard to see a deal moving Pettersson out of town sometime between now and July 1st, no matter how he performs. Even if he personally does great, if the team drops out of a playoff spot it could still happen. But unless the return is something that knocks management’s socks off, it just doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Main Photo Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
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