Why upcoming season could be a crucial tipping point for Pettersson, Canucks

VANCOUVER – Unable to agree this summer on a long-term contract extension, the most important thing that Elias Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks have in common is that both sides desperately want to win. 

The team’s success or failure this season could influence Pettersson’s decision about re-signing when he becomes a restricted free agent in 2024. 

But this 82-game assessment is two-sided: the Canucks want to see Pettersson’s sparkling individual talent and achievements translate into Vancouver’s first appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs since the Swedish centre’s sophomore season, in 2019-20. 

Since then, the Canucks collapsed during a COVID-shortened season and disappointed through two years of extreme upheaval, which included three head coaches, a change in general managers, a completely rebuilt hockey operations department amid the most sweeping regime change in Vancouver this century, and enough off-ice drama to script an Emmy-winning soap opera. 

Canucks centre J.T. Miller aptly described the first half of last season, before Rick Tocchet replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach, as a “sh-- show.” 

Pettersson told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman during an interview Tuesday in Stockholm that he is in no rush to sign an extension. After two seasons of tumult and the losing that came with it, Pettersson wants to focus on this season and see how it plays out for the Canucks before the 24-year-old commits to spending the prime of his career on the West Coast.

“He told me, ‘I want to focus on my game, I want to focus on the Vancouver Canucks being better,” agent Pat Brisson told Sportsnet.ca. “You know, there's been a lot of changes lately, and I think we all owe it to ourselves to just, you know, go in and do the best we can. 

“There's a lot more media attention in Canada, right? And you don't want it to become a distraction. The main focus will be for him to perform, and hopefully him and the team will be in a better place this year. It's more that than anything else. And to evaluate ... both sides can evaluate, (and) let's all sit down at the end of the year and explore where we're at.” 

Brisson emphasized that Pettersson becomes only a restricted free agent next summer when his current three-year bridge deal expires, and that unrestricted free agency won’t arrive for at least another year beyond that. 

He said Pettersson’s fierce commitment to winning and getting better personally is reflected in his summer training. 

Last off-season, Pettersson refined his skating stride, becoming more centred over his skates, less upright and more efficient. This summer, Brisson said, the centre has elevated his conditioning and nutrition while continuing to get stronger. 

This push for self-improvement comes after Pettersson’s breakthrough 102-point season saw him finish seventh in Selke Trophy balloting and collect a couple of Hart Trophy votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. 

“He wants to be up there with (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl,” Brock Boeser, Pettersson’s friend and teammate, said during the Canucks’ final road trip in April. “He's showing the type of season he can have, but I wouldn't put it past him to have an even better season. I think (his ceiling) goes higher, for sure. I don't even know how high it could be. 

“He just wants to win. Us guys that have been here for a while are sick of losing and want to make the playoffs. He's really driven to make the playoffs and be on a winning team. He wants to be this guy on a winning team.” 

Pettersson told Sportsnet during the same trip: “I just want to play (in the) playoffs, and battle in the playoffs in Vancouver. I've heard stories how the town gets crazy during playoff time, so I want to experience that. Of course, I'm happy the way I've been taking steps this year, but I would rather be in the playoffs.” 

The Edmonton Oilers’ McDavid is Exhibit A that simply being the best player on the planet does not guarantee team success. It takes more than one or two or five players. But it’s also incumbent on great players to elevate those around them, and nearly every truly elite player from each generation has won a Stanley Cup. 

The Canucks have missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons and have not played a post-season game in Vancouver since 2015. This isn’t Pettersson’s fault. But he and defenceman Quinn Hughes and goalie Thatcher Demko are the Canucks most empowered and capable of lifting the team. 

General manager Patrik Allvin, as with previous GM Jim Benning, has talked about the need for Vancouver’s young star players to measure themselves only by team success. 

In July, Allvin strengthened the Canucks defence by parlaying the buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson into free-agent blue-liners Ian Cole and Carson Soucy, and bolstered centre-ice depth and penalty killing by signing Pius Suter and Teddy Blueger. Allvin also acquired top-pairing defenceman Filip Hronek in March. 

Beginning with next month’s training camp in Victoria, this will be Tocchet’s first full season in charge. 

Brisson said Pettersson is excited about the changes the organization has made. 

The agent for Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Anze Kopitar, among many other NHL stars, Brisson is excited about the changes he sees in Pettersson. 

“I'm so impressed with his summer,” he said. “I've talked to him probably four or five times about the consistency of his off-ice program and his dedication ... like his nutrition and all that, and I'm seeing growth and growth and growth. 

“What I've seen compared to the last few summers -- not that he didn't do anything -- but he's growing. I know he's going to be stronger and probably a little heavier and more impactful because he thinks the game right. His puck battles the last two years have increased; he's been way better. Now adding more strength (in the lower body), he's going to be able to separate a little better and be even stronger in his puck battles. 

“I'm telling you, I see what he's been doing off ice this summer and I'm excited. I'm excited to see another step forward.”