In Defense of Elias Pettersson

I wanted to make this video in May, but opted to wait until summer when I saw so many people trashing Pettersson online after the Canucks were eliminated by the Oilers.
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[@ChimoWilson]

I do not watch a lot of Vancouver games, or even western games at all... but just looking at his stats, he's got 412 points in 407 games over 6 years (~68 points average per season) while playing injured at points, and is a career +56. That is an amazing start to his career, and he's still young (25) I'd love to have Elias on my team (Capitals)

[@JonathanTroth413]

Almost mentioned the Caps in my comment. Dude literally makes Strome(our 1C) look silly. The hate on EP is crazy.

[@xSG199x]

Yeah, Petey has been great minus the play in the playoffs but I would rather have him as our 2C. But yeah that’s playing for a Canadian team, it’s either all good or all bad no inbetween lol.

[@colinsellers1143]

His attitude is garbage

[@samslone9457]

Take him

[@kenyoung5943]

@colinsellers1143 how? What has he said that proves your point?

[@bobbokil3147]

61 year-old Pittsburgh Penguins fan here who has been going to hockey games since about 1970. Been lucky enough to see all the greats come through our town and 5 cups. Just want to say that if the Vancouver fans don’t want Elias Patterson, the Penguins will take take him Off your hands gladly! From the first time I saw him I was convinced that he is a special talent.

[@samslone9457]

Take him please but pay accordingly to what you think of him

[@bobbokil3147]

@@samslone9457 I'd pay him in line with any other point per game player makes. Maybe even an extra $1M per year to come to a team that is realistically in a partial rebuild.

[@sleocvreetly]

@@samslone9457 get out of vancouver

[@RLJ96]

Also worthy of note was last season, Mikhyev, Kuzmenko and Beauvillier spent time on Pettersson's wing in 2022-23 season. They all had good stretches playing on his wing and put up good numbers. Kuzmenko scored 39 goals, Mikheyev had 28 points in 46 games and Beauvillier went on quite of a tear when he got traded to Vancouver last season. They were all decent wingers which Pettersson were able to elevate their game while they play on his wing in the 2022-23. Pettersson's production also coincide with the drop in quality for his wingers. At the start of 2023-24 season, Kuzmenko & Mikheyev had decent starts. During the first month or two of the season, both players were able to produce playing on Pettersson's line. However, their production all of a suddent just dropped and the Canucks all of sudden start to run out of winger options at the top 6 level. Pettersson's production starts to drop when his wingers fell off a cliff with their play this season. Kuzmenko leading up to the trade to Calgary had became a negative asset on the Canucks. He was not scoring goals, he was also a liability defensively, so he was traded to Calgary as part of the Lindholm trade. Kuzmenko was not an asset given up by the Canucks, rather it is part of a cap dump to make the money work out. Mikheyev absolutely fell off a cliff since December of 2023. Mikheyev had 11 goals this season, 10 of them came in the span of October-December and he only scored 1 goal from January-April. I can't remember how many chances Mikheyev fail to convert in prime scoring areas in the second half of last season. It was straight up to the point where when I saw Mikheyev had a good scoring chance, I stop getting excited about it because I know it wouldn't go in. Lafferty also spent time on Pettersson's wing and his production also dropped dramatically after January. Hoglander was playing on Pettersson's wing after the All Star Game because of his good play in the bottom 6 lead to the promotion. Hoglander is a good player, but the Canucks were a better team when Hoglander plays on the 4th line. Hoglander makes the 4th line a much better line overall, and when he plays on that line, that 4th line is also a threat to score. Moving him up to Pettersson's line also downgraded the 4th line. As a result, during most of the second half, due to wingers drop in production, the Canucks downgraded both their 2nd and 4th line. It also coincide with the drop fo their record and drop in Pettersson's production. McDavid has Hyman/Draisaitl on his wing. MacKinnon has Rantenen. Matthews has Marner/Nylander. Pettersson this season, heading into the playoffs has to suffer through a rotation of Mikheyev, Lafferty, Hoglander and Linus Karlsson on his wing. People's argument was Pettersson should be able to elevate his wingers given since he is a $10 million+ caphit player. Yet, I am not sure even if you put McDavid between Lafferty and Mikheyev last season could've elevated their play that much. Mikheyev in particular, McDavid would never have gotten 100 assists if he is stuck out there with stone hands of his. The Canucks management group addressed this glaring hole this off-season by signing Debrusk and adding Sherwood, Heinen and Sprong to addressed the depth on the wing. I think this time, Pettersson would finally have top-6 NHL calibre winger on his line again.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

Some very in depth analysis. I'll also add that in the 2nd half, the Canucks spent most of February and some of March without Joshua in the lineup, breaking up The Life Line and taking away the scoring threat of the 3rd line. IMO the better option once Mikheyev's offence died would have been to promote Joshua and Garland to the Petterson line and move Mikheyev either to the press box or at least the 4th line where his offense graveyard ability could be used defensively to kill the other team's offense while limiting his chances to botch Canuck scoring chances. Heck, put prime Wayne Gretzky between Lafferty and Mikheyev and they probably drag the Great One down enough he fails to reach his record totals of 92 goals and 200+ points that season. I'd say that pairing would have tanked a good 10% of Gretzky's offense, and same goes for prime era Mario Lemieux, and probably closer to 15-20% of the offense of most other players. Conner would probably lose somewhere between 10-15% of his offense by that matching.

[@bronzeandsteel3344]

​@@Seriously_Unserious life line? Another nuckhead fan, I see

[@gobeethoth]

yeah, i remember when people were calling the sedin twins the sedin sisters. they were accused of being soft and inconsistent for the first 3-4 years. and now anyone who accused them of being less than awesome look like fools today. daniel and henrik are 2 of the best players to ever put on a canucks jersey. pettersson is still young and finding his way. he has all the talent. only a few details he needs to work on. patience peoples....

[@kimepp2216]

The Sedin's sucked, they got away with way too much holding and diving.

[@Dr_Kubrick]

@@kimepp2216 probably a Flames fan lol, enjoy the season

[@shinukara9899]

Saying this as a Flames fan here, but I don’t think that was much more than trash talk. During their time in the league only fools would deny that they were elite. The only time I remember seeing that as a serious accusation was during the SCF against Boston, but again, I think that is an unfortunate mix of Canucks trying not to give penalties (while the refs refused to call legit Bruin penalties) and a few cherry picked clips.

[@deepakm8324]

@@gobeethoth Sedins still get a lot of disrespect and get called sisters all the time. They were 2 of best players very consistent and amazing talent that took a lot of abuse and still produced. Only criticism I would have of them was there subpar playoffs performance at times

[@bob-rob]

Sedins dove so much. That whole team was a disgrace

[@TheChristopherlib]

89 points is pretty good man.

[@preslim84]

ya but who cares about regular season if he disappears in the playoffs

[@zacharyrotkvic6313]

@@preslim84gotta have a good regular season to even make the playoffs. To pretend the regular season doesn’t matter is a short sighted and silly mindset.

[@GizmoBeach]

@@preslim84 The same complaint falls in Marner’s lap and yet he’s scored more playoff points than Nylander. It takes an entire team to win come crunch time; not just one or two stars. Kyle Okposo was right there in Game 7 doing his part for Florida as much as Barkov etc.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

Not only that, but 89 points while duoed with Mikheyev to boot! Petty carried "No Goals" Ilya for the first half of the season, actually squeezing some goals out of him, before he got hurt and couldn't carry dead weight any more. I think his numbers would not have dropped as dramatically if they'd had one more good top 6 winger to go along with Hogs on his wing.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

@@preslim84 you obviously weren't watching or listening to The Hockey Guy. He disappeared ONE TIME in ONE playoff, because he was both hurt and saddled with a dead weight winger at the same time. 2020, he was lighting 'em up in the playoffs with OVER a point a game on a team that should never have made it as far as they did, and would not have were it not for Pettey's offence and the tag team goaltending of Markstrom and Demko.

[@Fjellis68]

Amaizing how 89 p on the season can be looked on at as a failure.

[@ryans413]

Playoffs

[@halloiamyou6450]

I didn't think Pettersson needed any defending, he seemed pretty damn good to me

[@Huskies2308]

Lol

[@gordm3527]

No. No. He is an emotional kid who doesn’t deserve 11 mil. Nobody cares about your emotions. Could have traded him to NJ in 2022 for the Hughes brothers.

[@kool9813]

I’m an oilers fan and have always thought they he was fine. 100 point player at best. 11mill ehhh depends on consistency but I never got the hate.

[@preslim84]

uhhhh were u not watching the playoffs and the 3 months leading up to it?

[@matthewsmith2237]

@@gordm3527 as someone who has watched a lot of pettersson interviews in my downtime I don’t think I have ever seen a person who was less “emotional” than petey. You petey haters are fascinating you just make stuff up to hate the dude.

[@thephlophers]

That he needs defending is funny, he really does get the short end of the stick a bit. He had a pretty middling season and still ended with almost 90 points.

[@owenshoe]

@@thephlophers exactly, last year was seen as a "middling" season for him and he put up 89 points playing two-way hockey. do you know how good of a player you have to be to have 89 points seen as middling? he had a tough playoffs but the "playoff choker like marner" takes are crazy to me, especially since he was one of our best players during the bubble run. one bad playoffs doesn't make a player, even guys like malkin, ovechkin and datsyuk have had shit playoff runs

[@nottheguy4328]

Honestly feel like this is why a Canadian team will have more difficulty winning a cup. Marner and Petterson having an extremely vocal 20% of the fanbase trying to chase them out of town when they're literally the best player on their teams.

[@TalesFromPlanetEarth]

Miller is arguably the better player, at least right now.

[@remimk]

Barely tho. And petterson is way younger. When petterson has a poor season and Miller has a great one, they're equal. Or Miller slightly better.

[@seanworre1l]

Thank you for this video. I hate how recency bias has affected people’s view of Pettersson. Canucks fans act like he didn’t average over a point per game this season after SINGLE HANDEDLY CARRYING THE TEAM ON HIS BACK LAST YEAR

[@ukrainian.g.o.a.t.566]

Last year that was all Miller. Don't take that away from him.

[@seanworre1l]

@@ukrainian.g.o.a.t.566I’m talking about 22-23 buddy

[@matsinilsson9578]

@@ukrainian.g.o.a.t.566 Enough. Miller's production has been boosted playing on the first line (lets not even talk about Boeser) when in reality he is a worldclass second liner. Petterson is on a whole different level talent wise and you cannot drive a Ferrari (Petterson) like you drive a Fiat (a thuggish 2-3 liner). This is all coaching and an injury: Tocchet may not be good for Elias and that is a huge problem. They will be stuck in 2nd round in play offs for a long time if they don't fix this.

[@kenainsworth5034]

@@matsinilsson9578 Miller is the kind of player you need to win a Stanley Cup, Pettersen is not.

[@matsinilsson9578]

@@kenainsworth5034 They did not win. Miller was playing at his absolute best (i.e. as an elite 2nd liner while boosting his stats on the first line). Did not help. Vanouver will NEVER win without getting Pettersson up to Forsberg's level, which he is capable of, but maybe not under Tocchet. Let's hope the GM and the assistant/helper coachers take care of Pettersson instead. Otherwise they are effed.

[@Dr_Kubrick]

This "He can't perform in the playoffs" narrative is so much recency bias. He was injured this most recent playoffs and played through it. The Marner comparisons are a joke tbh. If he struggles again next year then I'll eat my words but it feels like a really catchy thing to say. Same thing with nEeD a pLaYeR LiKe tKaChUk tO WiN. We have that, his name is JT Miller.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

Not only that but he was also handicapped all season with Ilya "where offense goes to die" Mikheyev all season as his duo mate. Early season, when he was healthy, he could carry that goals tombstone on his back and still produce like Pettey. But add in a bum knee, and he could no longer carry the can't score goals guy on his back. That's not a failing of Pettersson, as he has no control over personnel, that was a failing of Alvain, who took full responsibility for that, and strengthened the depth of the lineup, while not cutting into our core players and key depth players. Now, the Canucks have gone from 3 legit top 6 wingers to at least 5 or 6, plus to legit top 6 centres and now Tocchett's got options. If a guy's injured, hurt or slumping, he can move him to the press box or drop him down to a 4th line role with limited ice time and promote another guy to that top 6 role and keep the top of the roster strong at all times.

[@neeltheother2342]

the marner comparisons are just simply leaf fans projecting, and therefore should be ignored

[@vancitycanucks]

He was a beast in the past playoffs and in any other major competition. He was injured. Let's get over it.

[@Xdot15]

Marner shouldn't even be getting hated as much as he is, he's literally their best playoff performer stat wise, meanwhile Tavares is Huberdau but worse and Mathews dissapears every playoffs, Leaf fans are so delusional its hilarious

[@halfcabmelanchol]

@@Xdot15 I thought Nylander was.

[@WhatDothLife]

The pressure that people put on these guys, especially Petey, is insane. The dude is a Star! He doesn't always have to put up the points to be effective. I love how his overall game has evolved. His +/-, PPG, PPP, GWG and Faceoff % have never been better. I look forward to see how far he can go.

[@heatherbenard3971]

Thank you so much for speaking out about Pettersson. The criticism towards him has been way too much. I agree his play did drop in the second half and during the playoffs but he is part of the future of this team. And I believe he will prove it as time goes on.

[@shawnreems493]

Pettersson getting 89 points while playing with 3rd and 4th line wingers in todays NHL is unreal!

[@viperswhip]

He hasn't played well with Boeser, he only plays well when Miller and Boeser are on his wings, but those guys play well without Pettersson and can carry another player with them. That's why he doesn't get to play with them, they don't need him, he needs them, maybe Debrusk will help but he has to prove that. Even Garland can drive his own line.

[@shawnreems493]

@@viperswhip Uh what? he didn't play with them because having 2 lines that can put up points gives you more wins out of the year then having 1 scoring line. The 1 PP is literally Boeser, Pettersson and Miller. So yea they do play really well together. Petty didn't have 1 winger that had more then 20 goals and he was feeding them empty nets and countless breakaways and the bums couldnt finish.

[@PetrusAndersson1992]

the guy had 10 goals and 19 points in 13 playoff games to win the equivalent of Conn Smythe in the SHL as a 19 year old rookie. he averaged above a point per game in the bubble playoffs, and after one (as I would assume for Elias) very frustrating playoffs with no run support from his linemates and playing with a hurt knee for months, taking no practices or games off, and people still rant on about "not a playoff performer" and "he is not elite". just you watch.

[@SFLET-up9ll]

The AHL is NOT the NHL nice try.

[@PetrusAndersson1992]

@@randombutrelevant okay so you want more recent stats? how about that he has 191 points in the last 2 regular seasons. yeah, sounds like a total bust right there. never accomplished anything

[@Merlin_From_Shrek_3]

I'm excited to see what he can do when healthy and not worried about contracts

[@Seriously_Unserious]

and with 2 good winger to play with. IMO he carried the dead weight of Mikheyev for as long as he could, until his knee gave out and he needed 2 good wingers to help him out while he was playing hurt. But he had only one good winger, Nils Hoglander.

[@christhornycroft3686]

If 89 points is a down year, I'll take it. For all those people who want to get rid of him, who replaces those 89 points? And from what I remember, he dominated in the bubble, so he can certainly play in the playoffs. Everyone gets injured and goes into slumps. But it seems like if you come from certain countries and don't hit everything that moves, you're under a lot more scrutiny. Again, I challenge anyone to find another player who can replace those 89 points at the Canucks could realistically get.

[@ryans413]

I think his playoff showing is what makes it bad

[@vancitycanucks]

Petey is a beast. Will be amazing next year and years to come.

[@JragoRahder]

Love how you let the numbers tell the story. I have always appreciated that about THG. Go Canucks!

[@mil2172]

Bro had one bad playoffs coming off injury. I'd be critical if this was a common occurance (example Marner) but I'm willing to give him another shot.

[@bozo8603]

I've been telling people ever since this narrative appeared that they're gonna be quiet as crickets when his number is being hung up in those rafters as the leading scorer in franchise history. The Sedins got off to reasonably slow starts in their careers. Each Sedin only had a single 100 point season and Petey already has one at age 25. We have multiple all-time Canucks playing for us right now. Boeser is tied with Burrows in all-time Canucks scoring and will pass guys like Kesler, Horvat, and Bertuzzi next season. Pettersson is going to blow past 10th all time next season and he's not going to stop short of anybody but the Sedins in the worst case scenario. That's not even to say anything about Hughes or Miller. We better enjoy these players while we have them.

[@vipeholmskolan6052]

EP40 is legit.

[@omfg322]

Think everyone forgets that his line mates were not good either. Mikheyev was also snake bitten since december and if he finished half the opportunities given to him by petterson, he would have had 100 points easily. Hoglander was fine but first year in a top 6 role and his first playoff and lafferty was not a good winger.

[@chrisdavey9522]

Thank u. 100 percent agree about petey.. But u know our rabid fan base.

[@timw4369]

hes a very motivated player. I can see him coming out this year like a new player. I think he could be very big overall next year I believe he is movtivated hence why we havent heard a peep from him all summer.

[@shaunchappell784]

As a former Canucks fan, I will confidently say he is one of the most talented forwards in the league and one of the most talented forwards the Canucks have ever had. I wish them luck.

[@atpyro7920]

beat the sound and the view counter, how quaint

[@bartsanders1553]

They ol' 0 views 13 likes?

[@ukrainian.g.o.a.t.566]

Yeah I was 1st like and 1st view 😂

[@nickelliott1174]

He sucks! They should trade him to my team. 😂😂

[@richardferguson6893]

As a Canucks fan, I can guarantee that the randos will scream about how crap Petey is but then say he should return 2 1st rounders, a 2nd rounder and 3 blue chip prospects. It's exhausting to listen to

[@user-ji3il6ce2o]

Take him for nothing, getting 11.6 million of cap space is more valuable than having a soft player

[@20thCenturyManTrad]

Petterson's a good player with heart, playing injured is a gutsy thing to do, and full credit. Give Petterson a policeman (that has enough talent to play with him of course) and I think he'll have a bounce back from a pretty good season.

[@billhiebert2639]

This happens alot after younger players sign huge extensions like this, it's alot of pressure he well adjust and come back better and better for it I think next year

[@kj1914]

Love the shorsey reference haha great show. Petey probably needed a bit more time off middle of the season when they knew they had the playoffs in bag

[@timw4369]

he will be fine and motivated to be much better then last year. I expect a great year he has alot to prove.

[@kadel300]

I need hockey back!! :)

[@gordonmacdowell8117]

Getting DeBrusk means that the two top centres will each have a a scoring winger. For a while there, Pettersson was suffering the same fate as Kesler did, having nobody on the wings to work with offensively at an elite level. Hoglander was all right, but Mikheyev's stick was where plays went to die last season. DeBrusk also has a physical side to his game and has speed, which will be a relief to Pettersson who was often forced to do a lot of the heavy work on his line.

[@ryankrause618]

you can tell who didn't even bother watching the video by who's commenting "but the playoffs!!!1!"

[@ExplodingHaggis]

To be fair... the fanbase was going through peak Benning trauma when the "chance to win" comment came out. We weren't at our best, mentally, emotionally, and generally everywhere else.

[@bryanbest5113]

The nucks screw up their player development and treatment of injuries, at a rounding error of 100%. Peteys a stud, but a slight player. He needs to be healthy to dodge goons trying to take him out.

[@MSmith-cp1tz]

All year long Petey had inconsistent line mates. Garland, Mikheyev who only scored 11 goals all year, Kuzmenko showed up to training camp in beer league condition. He spent time with Beauvillier before he was traded. Despite all that he still managed 89 points. Miller and Boeser were together all year long. I hope Tocchet gives Petey a chance to develop chemistry with DeBrusk and just let them play together. Alvin has given Tocchet a lot of options for the 3rd linemate

[@mixalh77able]

This was petey first taste of playoff hockey. He's young n will learn, adjust n come ready next time.

[@thegourmetgolfer5544]

When it's all said and done, he's gonna have an incredible career. He's still so young and only getting better

[@chrisc5290]

People said the Nordiques / Avalanche couldn't win with Sakic until they did....

[@markbowler7170]

Petterson’s injury was good for the Canucks as they set up the depth they will need. They need the D depth and the Goal depth. They are inching closer.

[@oldhab7890]

Teams who extend players in their final year going into RFA status deserve to be taken to the cleaners. Given the salary cap expansion, Pettersson's cap hit will be okay. I think the only concern with Pettersson is that he is slight for an NHLer. Okay in the regular season but maybe an issue for playoff hockey. Shannon you are a wonderful fan. I'm glad we get to see a bit of your passion for your team.

[@wbj2000]

Injuries can absolutely impact performance. When he is healthy, he is a top end performer.

[@kayilledosrs1091]

im honestly not even sure petterson played that bad in the playoffs, hoglander petterson and mikhayev all seemed to be just a few inches away from a goal so many damn times. I have high hopes for the future....which is always risky as a canucks fan, but I like the hustle of this team!

[@TalesFromPlanetEarth]

Petey was disappointing after the all-star break, there is no denying that. But he wasn’t exactly put in a situation to succeed either. Coach and him didn’t see eye to eye on his knee injury, Mik was having one of the worst stretches offensively of his career, and Hogz still plays like a rookie defensively, requiring more back-checking from his line mates. Now Tocc has more forward options to play with Petey, and hopefully the knee thing has cleared up or at least can be better managed. I could see a strong season coming for Petey. But if he falls flat again in the playoffs, the fans will be rabid.

[@johnotron1able]

You are awesome. I agree with everything you've observed and I'm so happy petty is a canuck to 2032

[@calebkirby9109]

I love Petey, but I do have concerns about him consistently driving a line at 5v5. The greatest centers in the game make their linemates better. Petey has to prove that without guys named Miller and Boeser riding shotgun. Debrusk seems like a decent fit. Fingers crossed it works out.

[@kyleschaffrick3845]

Never doubted Petterson, I expect another great season from him this time continuing through to the playoffs.

[@gregbayers7214]

Pettersso. Is definitely a top player in the league and nay sayers need to actually watch him play

[@surfaceenvy5497]

As a Blues fan, 89 points is something I can only dream of

[@lukejaffray2518]

My problem with Petterson is that he is a 70-80 point player in an era where there are many players are scoring over 100 points a year… teams are paying 10 million dollars for at least 100 points and petterson is gonna eat up the cap cause the canucks don’t have a 100 point person

[@remimk]

I mean the first half of last season he had 64 points. So next season he should be able to get 100pts. Besides, a 2-1 win is better than a 5-6 loss, even tho players get tonnes of points

[@Seriously_Unserious]

I've been saying ever since it came out that EP40 was playing hurt that his injury + Mikheyev "The Death of Offense" = EP40 struggling. All other things being equal, but give him Hoglander and a 2nd winger who can score, and you'd have seen him not drop off nearly as much. First half, a healthy EP40 was able to carry Mikheyev on his shoulders and actually force Muffin Shots to score some goals and get some easy "Just give it to Pettey" assists, but add the knee injury and he can't carry Mikheyev "can't score goals to save his life" on a bum knee anymore. He needed 2 good wingers he didn't have to carry, and this season, Alvain's fixed that problem, making sure there's at least 5 or 6 good wingers, any 2 of which could be viable line mantes for Pettey and carry their own weight on his line.

[@rozzie101]

Petty will have a bounce back season

[@kango7112]

Pettersson is the best player on the Canucks roster, (yes better than Quinn Hughes), he’s capable of 50 goals and 120 points in a season. The people doubting him are foolish.

[@dustinjones1907]

He's probably capable of those numbers once in his career. He's extremely good, yes, but he's NOT better than hughes dude lol.

[@poejavelski148]

Better than Hughes is crazy 😂

[@poejavelski148]

He is not capable of 50G 120 points. You are a delusional Nucks fan.

[@justjohnny420]

A player barely above a point per game (in his career) is capable of 1.5 points per game in a season? Maybe if it he goes nuts having a career year but not very likely at all. He's not even canucks best forward nevermind player

[@Seriously_Unserious]

I agree. He just needs a pair of wingers who can carry their own weight and help elevate Pettey's greatness, rather then being liabilities he has to make up for with his talent. While it is true that great players will elevate mediocre players, there's only so much they can do to elevate God Awful players, and with 1 goal in his last 61 games, Ilya Mikheyev qualifies as God Awful.

[@sauceking3344]

I love this video, as a fellow big Petey fan thank you!

[@biglebowski3961]

Patterson is a very good player. What I find helpful these days is not knowing players salaries. It will only drive you crazy.

[@levidonaldgreen]

The Petey slander has gotten ridiculous we are BLESSED he's a Canuck :)

[@ctaylor8003]

Isn't happpening

[@matsinilsson9578]

For Pete's sake: You CANNOT drive a Ferrari like a Fiat! This is ALL coaching.

[@matsinilsson9578]

Miller's production has been boosted playing on the first line (lets not even talk about Boeser) when in reality he is a worldclass second liner. Petterson is on a whole different level talent wise and you cannot drive a Ferrari (Petterson) like you drive a Fiat (a thuggish 2-3 liner). This is all coaching and an injury: Tocchet may not be good for Elias and that is a huge problem. They will be stuck in 2nd round in play offs for a long time if they don't fix this.

[@matsinilsson9578]

@@randombutrelevant Here is the truth: YOU like Marchand, Tkachuck, and the dumb North-American way of playing. Even if it means being a pylon and steering elite hockey away the Datsyk and Lidstrom smart/real way of playing effective hockey. There is a midway and Elias Pettersson has the exact attitude that is needed. He HATES losing and will do everything it takes to win while staying reasonably within the rules. Do you know what the model is? It ain't bloody JT Miller, Marchand and Tkachuck (or Sedins for that matter), It is players like Peter Forsberg. The GOAT. And Pettersson can be all that. But perhaps not under the current coach. You cannot drive a developing Lambo like a KIA. Anyhow, dude, continue playing beer league hockey and I will take the trophies, meathead.

[@matsinilsson9578]

@@randombutrelevant I refer to my first two posts. Nonetheless: As a coach you would have a team of Marchands, Tkachucks and Millers only (because you like angry monkeys) and I would have a great mixture of Forsbergs, Petterssons, and Zetterbergs (because I like people who shut their damn mouths, lead by example, and are objectively number ones). Beer league for you in Canada. Olympic champ for me. Mic drop.

[@grimstudio_]

Really hoping he can get stronger on his skates this year I think a lot of the criticism came from the falling and softness in late season/playoffs. I think the knee injury can explain that, but just hope he can get stronger and put that behind him this year.

[@jakebishop7822]

I have been buying Elias Petterson stock from my friends

[@nathanspreitzer6738]

Bro released the manifesto

[@ThexSleepingDragon]

I think he had ez goals when everyone knew where to shoot, but in playoffs you need grit.

[@jonasgorea3823]

Also in defense his linemates weren’t good enough thus why Vancouver made it a priority this offseason. We can’t be talking about his playoff performance when he has only been in 2 and balled out in one of them 😂😂

[@CamBergy]

I am a big Pettersson fan. So much so, that as an Oilers fan would be willing to trade Draisaitl for him. He's just entering his prime and already plays really well defensively to go with his offensive prowess.

[@kanetyler4399]

So many teams would sacrifice several important players to get this guy. Doesn’t need defending.

[@mryellow864]

Every large fanbase loves to find a whipping boy. Vancouver is no different. I remember when Luongo went from messiah to whipping boy the moment he got his big pay day. It didn't matter how good he still was, if he was short of playing like prime Patrick Roy he was an over paid bum to Canuck fans. So many fans wanted him out thinking they were better off without him. Then they let him go and Vancouver went on to be terrible for many many many years. Canucks fans also said they would never win with Luongo and yet Luongo (though as a head office person not as a player) has a cup ring now while the Canucks are still looking for one. Go figure. Sports fans....hopelessly irrational.

[@andersbondensson2042]

They should have rested him last season. Even better, put him on LTIR till the play offs.😀

[@thatdudeconz]

Petey had 89 points with bottom 6 forwards on his wings. People need to chill out

[@CoolHandRobb]

You don't have to justify the affordability of most franchises at this point, I can remember when 50 bucks a ticket for playoff nosebleeds seemed expensive for a team that won the cup the following year. And then moving to another state almost a decade later and getting lower bowl tickets for less than nosebleeds go for my teams home games.

[@spinuck9180]

I’d love to see EP on the Sweden 4-Nations team but was worried how the extra wear and tear could affect him the remaining couple months of the season and playoffs if they make it.

[@mikedrndarski2707]

And fans don't understand why players don't want to play for certain teams. Shocking

[@normthompson923]

In 5 yr.s that cap hit will look much smaller especially if Petey stays over a point per game.Give him some protection and he will shine.

[@benjaminaxselholm]

I think Petey needs to put down his phone his issues are between the ears. Ive got 100% faith he ll come back to form hes been in multiple of these weird slumps but once he comes out of them hes fire.

[@lonelycake4114]

No chance van wins a cup with EP as their top player Rebuild now!

[@derekjsoutar]

He's gonna have a better year. Especially when it matters. Book it.

[@Peksisarvinen]

He gets criticized heavily, because he is not Canadian. Sidney Crosby has had multiple seasons in his career with similar totals, and terrible playoff performances. Does he ever get criticized? No, because he's Canadian. People just pull out the laughably stupid and horribly wrong "well he's good defensively" card, because again, he is Canadian, whereas Pettersson is Swedish, and therefore, worse by default. Facts don't matter. Performance doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is whether you were born in Canada (or at least USA) or not. It's the difference between "he chokes and can't produce" and "he just played a more responsible, defensive game".

[@pensfan_traders8734]

What years was Crosby bad lmao and more importantly what playoff series 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@coreymcewen8737]

If you have an 89 point season and it’s seen as a disappointing year, you are a great player.

[@alh466]

The injured players sat for Game 82 and Pettersson was not one of them. Tocchet was trying to motivate Pettersson to compete harder. This didn't seem to be a case of him trying to convince him to play harder through an injury. That’s silly.

[@tonykung8756]

Pety doesn't need to be defended, cuz his point totals are still above a point per game. If we're giving Pety a hard time because his point totals are down this past season, then we should also shame Matthew Tkachuk for having less point totals compared to the year before...

[@nicholaslouie7590]

Pettersson going to have over 100 points this coming season.

We all hope that you are correct, Shannon.

[@sharkhaos_probably]

Pettersson vs. Celebrini in five years will be absolute cinema

[@jayh9117]

Is that a gary bettman picture at the back?

[@ryans413]

Yes

[@Wugpot19]

Pettersson is for sure having more 100 point seasons

[@johnburns9634]

Coach, I broke my back four years ago. Ok, but can you play? Yeah. 😂

[@Merlin_From_Shrek_3]

Maybe have a nice stern talk to him when he gets injured next time to take SOME rest? That would be great mkay? Thanks peter

[@fisarne3000]

@@Merlin_From_Shrek_3 Look Petey I'm gonna have to ask you to rest on Saturday. And oh, while we're ok it, I'm gonna have to make that sunday too mkay? Grrreat, thanks Petey.

[@erikrutherford8202]

I very much felt a Patterson played the best in his rookie year!

[@TylerMorganShow]

Peterson has nice hands but his skating at 11.6$ is suspect

[@filthydegenerate6528]

Petey is a Beauty. Dosent deserve the criticism he gets

[@jordanb7789]

He couldn't hit the net in the playoffs

[@mattgardiner744]

I like how this is titled like an early modern scientific treatise

[@boxvango9021]

You're right to defend him. The Petey haters went off inappropriately. You're also right about a lot of Canucks fans. Recency bias has really entered the lexicon as of late. Thanks for sticking up for the 👽 Folks should listen to what THG says. It's not like he just came down with the last load of rain. And thanks for your excellent content and I hope you're having a great holiday!

[@DanielC__]

Pettersson would be the #1 Center on most teams. He doesnt need any defending and shouldn't be criticized for his play. The Canucks are lucky to have him and he'll be their Number 1 for quite a few seasons.

[@PNP96-l1n]

I would want Elias Petterson in my top 6 for any of the teams I root for!

[@iiihaterandoms9402]

I kinda would like to see one of these for Mitch Marner. (If you believe the hate is too much too)

[@irwinrommel2099]

Swap EP40 to McDavid with EP40s linemates. McDavid would struggle to produce too. Peteys problem was Kuzy/Mich/lafferty and breaking up the life line and removing hog from his great role on the 4th line.

[@alcion8423]

I think EP40 was better under Boudreau than Tocchet. Its just that everyone else is better under Tocchet than Boudreau.

[@JonathanTroth413]

Over a PPG, +20, over 15% Shot Percentage, 50% FO, 1.5 HPG almost a block per game, 50 TK with only 30 GV... Dude is a stud. Haters gonna hate. 😂😂😂

[@Dariusknight]

The problem lies in that the Canucks window is very small, I'd argue, almost as small as Edmonton thanks to the mismanagement that taken place in previous years. I have no problems with Petey getting his contract... but the problem lies in that they either need to win a Cup in the next year or so or start retooling because Miller isn't going to defy Father Time and put up 100+ points every year. I'd also argue that the diminishing ice time and eventual trading away of Kuzmenko (and the stone hands of Mikey) were also huge factors in Petey's offense drying up in the second half of the season. It's hard to score when you have no one that can hit the net with any regularity or can retrieve pucks to get it to you in positions to be able to make plays with them.

[@ryans413]

What id say Canucks window is smaller then Edmontons who’s closer right now not the Canucks

[@Dariusknight]

@@ryans413 If the Oilers don't win the Cup this year, there window closes because Draisaitl is due for a massive raise on his contract and that will make Edmonton less likely to improve the team around McDavid and Draisaitl and they'll have to retool and build a newer core around the two of them.

[@ryans413]

@@Dariusknight I’m pretty sure Leon is going to sign here soon so that won’t be an issue. The auditions the Oilers added puts them way over the top of anything the Canucks did. Oilers defence is still a question and adding Bowman is bad I didn’t like that but the oilers are still way ahead of the Canucks it’s not even an argument.

[@Dariusknight]

@@ryans413 Ahead on paper, yes, but your defense is suspect and your goaltending even more so. You might be right, but again, Drai is going to want (and get) close to McDavid money and if you don't win the Cup this year, it'll be very hard to get back to it when you have to let go some of your talent that was overachieving relative to their contracts and want big raises. Bouchard's contract is coming, and he's your #1 D and if Nurse is making 9 mil (which is the worst contract on your team by far), Bouchard's not going to want to be paid less than that.