It's been a concerning start to the season for Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson
The Vancouver Canucks are going nowhere this season without Elias Pettersson.
Given the team’s lack of firepower and paper-thin depth at centre, that’s an obvious statement.
And that’s why the first three games have been alarming with regard to the 26-year-old’s play on the ice.
The spotlight was on Pettersson coming into this season, and for good reason. He’s the team’s highest-paid player and is coming off the most difficult season of his career, which saw him score just 15 goals and 30 assists in 64 games.
Pettersson seemed poised for a bounce-back season.
The vibes were high and the noise had quieted. He put in the work this summer, adding 13 pounds of muscle.
But through three games, it’s been more of the same for EP40.
Pettersson has just three shots on goal, and only one of them came at even strength. He tallied an assist on opening night, but otherwise #40 has been left off the score sheet.
He looks nothing like the player that we came to know during the majority of his first six seasons in the league.
That doesn’t mean Pettersson isn’t trying. I’m sure he is.
He ranks first among Canucks forwards in blocked shots (5) and fourth in hits (6). He has the best expected goals-for percentage (68.26 per cent) on the team. And he has been on the ice for just one goal against at even strength, so he’s not hurting the team.
But the bar can’t be that low.
Pettersson is paid to be a superstar. He scored 191 points over a two-year span not long ago.
He should not only be more noticeable on the ice; he should also be far more dangerous.
When asked if he needs more from his top players post-game on Monday, head coach Adam Foote wasn’t ready to entertain the idea.
“It’s early in the season. We’re in game three. We’re not gonna get into that,” Foote said.
Jake DeBrusk, on the other hand, was sounding the alarm.
“It’s three games in, but it’s frustrating,” DeBrusk said post-game. “I’ve got to be a threat out there. I feel like I haven’t really been a part of anything. And that’s my fault. I have to be better on that. I can’t allow that to happen anymore.”
DeBrusk was talking about himself, but he could have been speaking about his whole line, which included Pettersson and Brock Boeser, until the trio was broken up against the St. Louis Blues.
Now, as Foote noted, it is still early. Clearly, there’s lots of time to turn things around.
But with regard to Pettersson, this isn’t a blip. It’s been a year and a half since we’ve seen him play at an acceptable level by his high standards.
It’ll be interesting to monitor Pettersson on the team’s upcoming road trip, which sees the Canucks play five games in eight days, beginning Thursday in Dallas.
Can Foote find a line that works with Pettersson in the middle?
Pettersson is averaging just 15:58 of ice time (sixth-most among Canucks forwards). Can they get more out of Pettersson by finding a way to get him onto the ice more often?
Until then, it’s going to feel like Groundhog Day for Canucks fans.