MONTREAL – There is a path to peace for Elias Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks.
“Put pucks in the net and win games,” he said.
Pettersson was speaking Sunday about what he needs to do better, but if he achieves those goals it would certainly quiet the noise and diffuse the tension around the struggling star and his team.
After missing four games with an upper-body injury, Pettersson practised with the Canucks Sunday in Montreal and is expected to be a game-time decision when Vancouver opens a critical five-game road trip against the Canadiens.
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It was his first practice and media availability since general manager Patrik Allvin told Sportsnet last week in a year-end interview that Pettersson needs to understand that things only get harder in the NHL and that the 26-year-old centre hasn’t “really accomplished anything” yet despite signing a $92.8-million contract extension with the Canucks last season.
In a short one-on-one interview Sunday, Pettersson said he was not upset by Allvin’s comments.
“I know I can do better,” Pettersson said. “I will be the first one to say it, and I never think things will get easier.
“I haven't had the start (to the season) that I wanted to. At the end of the day, I have expectations from the club, and obviously, I haven't met them yet. But, I mean, it doesn't matter what people say. I know what I can do, and that's what I'm focussing on doing.”
Pettersson was injured in the Canucks’ final pre-Christmas game after scoring twice in a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
The goals ended a six-game pointless streak for the NHL’s fifth-highest-paid player, and gave Pettersson 10 goals and 18 assists in 34 games this season. Since signing the biggest contract in franchise history last March 2 – after the Canucks pressed Pettersson to make a long-term commitment ahead of the NHL trade deadline – the Swede has produced just 16 goals and 48 points in 67 games, including last season’s playoffs.
Allvin also said in last week’s interview that “anything is possible” when it comes to trades, and Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that the Canucks are “definitely looking at the market” on both Pettersson and teammate J.T. Miller.
Pettersson has heard a lot of things during his six-and-a-half seasons in Vancouver. But unlike Miller, rarely has he been at the epicentre of trade conjecture.
“I'm aware of it, I've heard it,” Pettersson told us. “But then it's like, can I control it? No. So that's where I'm at. I'm trying not to think about it. But I'm sure it will go away if I play better and if we win.”
Does he want to remain with the Canucks?
“Yeah, of course,” he said. “That's why I signed here. Of course.”
The Canucks have survived a Netflix season of drama through 38 games, missing each of their top six players for multiple games at a time. Vancouver is 18-12-8 and still clinging to the Western Conference’s final wildcard playoff spot, although the team has lost touch in the standings with Pacific Division rivals Edmonton, Los Angeles and Vegas.
On this road trip, the Canucks face formidable teams in Washington, Carolina, Toronto and Winnipeg. And even the Canadiens are not the pushovers they were, having won seven of their last nine games and just back from their own five-game, coast-to-coast (almost) road trip that included victories in Florida, Tampa, Vegas and Colorado.
If Pettersson doesn’t play tonight, he’s expected to return to the lineup in Washington on Wednesday. Star defenceman Quinn Hughes also practised Sunday and is day to day, and injured goalie Thatcher Demko is on the trip, although Kevin Lankinen is expected to start tonight for the Canucks.
“I'm always trying to be the best player I can be every game,” Pettersson said. “Some games are going to be better than others (but) every day is a new day and now that I'm back playing, I'm excited.
“I'm trying to not live in the past. Obviously, I wish I had played a lot better. I wished I played a lot of games better. But I've tried to learn to not play too much in the past and just try to focus on what I can do better. What's happened in the past and my play doesn't matter; I'm just trying to look forward to what's ahead.”
The Canucks announced Monday morning that winger Dakota Joshua has been placed on injured reserve, and top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki recalled from the American Hockey League.
After missing the first month of the season due to testicular cancer, Joshua was injured in Friday’s 3-0 loss at home against Nashville when teammate Teddy Blueger knocked Predator Roman Josi into Joshua’s legs from behind.
During a five-game callup in November, Lekkerimaki scored once. The 20-year-old winger has 12 goals in 21 games for the Abbotsford Canucks this season.
Key Canuck defenceman Filip Hronek is expected to miss another 3-4 weeks with a suspected shoulder injury sustained in November.
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