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Vancouver Canucks coach Tocchet has thoughts on why Pettersson won't shoot the puck

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Feb 24 2025, 7:08 pm
Vancouver Canucks coach Tocchet has thoughts on why Pettersson won't shoot the puck
Rob Gray/Imagn Images

“What’s wrong with Elias Pettersson” feels like a question that has been haunting Vancouver Canucks fans for an eternity.

It’s been over a calendar year since we’ve seen him play at an elite level.

Is it all due to knee tendinitis? If so, why did he play at the 4 Nations Face-Off?

His summer training was affected by his knee, so is he just behind in conditioning?

Is it confidence?

Maybe it’s a combination of all of the above, but either way, this is bordering on bizarre. Pettersson looks nothing like the player that earned a $92.8 million contract, one that Canucks fans celebrated when he signed it nearly a year ago.

Now he’s the subject of trade rumours.

Pettersson picked up an assist on Jake DeBrusk’s goal in Vancouver’s 2-1 loss in Utah. But Pettersson also had 0 shots on goal that game.

It was the sixth straight game Pettersson failed to register more than one shot in a game. If you include his three games for Sweden at 4 Nations, it’s been nine straight games.

Pettersson is averaging 1.82 shots per game this season, which is a career-low for him. He had 2.52 shots per game last season and averaged 3.21 shots in 2022-23.

Whatever is the matter with Pettersson, it clearly has head coach Rick Tocchet perplexed.

“We’re struggling to score goals, but you gotta move your feet, you gotta change angles, you gotta hit the net,” Tocchet told reporters during his media scrum after the game in Utah. “I’d rather guys just take a little bit off it, hit the net and get people to the net. We’re double clutching and I think that’s a lack of confidence.”

Tocchet mentioned “double clutching” and “confidence” a pair of times during the media availability posted to social media by the Canucks. He didn’t mention Pettersson specifically in the video, but Tocchet’s comments after the cameras were turned off clarified things.

“We’ve talked about [Pettersson] has to move his feet, and can’t double clutch,” Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. “I think he’s waiting for something. I don’t know if it’s a lack of confidence in his shot, but as soon as he has room, he’s got to take it and… just got to blast it. I’d rather him just rip a puck right now.”

The preference for passing was most evident during the last minute of the game in Utah when Pettersson received a pass from Filip Chytil with room in the high slot. The 26-year-old’s first instinct was to pass the puck back to Chytil, but that option was taken away by a diving Utah player.

Pettersson then came to a full stop, double clutched, and had a weak wrist shot deflect wide of the net.

“Six-on-five there at the end, it’s the same thing, waiting,” Tocchet added in his chat with MacIntyre. “If he just takes three or four strides… I don’t know if it’s a mental block right now, all year, but he’s got to move his feet.”

The Canucks attempted 51 shots in Utah, but only 15 were actually on net. They had 20 shots blocked, and 16 others missed the net.

It was the third time this season the Canucks failed to register more than 15 shots in a game. To put that in perspective, in the previous four seasons, Vancouver registered 15 or fewer shots in a game just once.

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