Is Canucks star Elias Pettersson nursing a minor injury?
There are several signs that point towards the possibility of Vancouver Canucks superstar Elias Pettersson battling through a minor injury right now.
This morning in San Jose, the Swedish forward made a brief appearance at practice where he talked to the training staff before heading back off the ice, according to Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy. He did not return.
Optional skate for #canucks in San Jose. Elias Pettersson made a brief appearance, talked to the trainers, and left the ice. pic.twitter.com/O7dxAX6wNJ
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) November 2, 2023
Later on, head coach Rick Tocchet also provided a potential clue when discussing his lineup for tonight’s game.
“Couple of game-time decisions,” Tocchet said to the media. Considering the fact that Pettersson was not a full participant in practice, it would make sense if he was one of those decisions.
There have been other signs that Pettersson has not been at 100% through the early part of this season. While he has yet to miss a game, he did miss a practice in the middle of October after a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
At the time, Tocchet called Pettersson’s absence “maintenance” but did admit that he was “banged up,” thus indicating he wasn’t fully healthy.
The left-handed forward did take a slap shot from teammate Tyler Myers to the midsection earlier this year, though he seemed relatively unaffected.
This has not been a banner night for Tyler Myers, who now has added "dropped a clap bomb on EP40" to his resume on the night: pic.twitter.com/1kDWkwnCwX
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) October 18, 2023
You wouldn’t be able to tell that Pettersson is dealing with a possible injury by watching him play. The 24-year-old has been on fire to start the season as he has 16 points through the first nine games. Last game, Pettersson scored his first-ever hat-trick at Rogers Arena.
The Canucks do not have a lot of depth down the middle. If Pettersson does miss a game, it’ll likely be new addition Pius Suter moving up into the top-six. Suter has not scored a point through nine games despite averaging about 15 minutes of ice time.
The puck drops for the Canucks game against the San Jose Sharks tonight at 7:30 pm PT at which point we will know more about Pettersson’s status.