Pettersson on pace for seventh 100-point season in Canucks history

Elias Pettersson is on pace to go where few players have gone in the 53-year history of the Vancouver Canucks.

With three points, including the overtime game-winner in Monday’s wild 7-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens, Pettersson now has 32 points (12-20-32) in 26 games. That leads all Canucks this season and puts Pettersson in a tie for 11th in NHL scoring heading into Tuesday.

What a difference a year makes, as Pettersson had half as many points (13) through the first 26 games of last season.

He’s now on pace for career highs in goals (37), assists (63), and points (100).

Bo Horvat has drawn most of the attention for the season he’s having, given the Canucks captain is on pace for an eye-popping 63 goals. That would break Pavel Bure’s Canucks record for goals in a season, which has stood for nearly 30 years.

But Pettersson’s season is historically significant too.

If Pettersson can keep it up this pace, he’ll become the first Canucks player since Daniel Sedin in 2010-11 to eclipse the 100-point plateau.

There have been just six 100+ point seasons in Canucks history, led by Henrik Sedin, who had a franchise-record 112 points in 2009-10. Bure has two 100+ point seasons on his Canucks resume, with 110 in 1992-93 and 107 in 1993-94.

Alexander Mogilny scored 107 points in his first season with the Canucks in 1995-96, while Markus Naslund (104 points in 2002-03) and Daniel Sedin (104 points in 2010-11) are also part of the 100-point club.

Daniel Sedin was the last Canucks player to score 100+ points in a season, in 2010-11.

The 24-year-old is back to being Vancouver’s best player on a nightly basis, and he’s doing it while playing a complete game. Pettersson has become Vancouver’s best two-way centre and their best forward on the penalty kill as well.

As good as Pettersson has been, there’s room for him to be even more prolific offensively.

Pettersson is still without a power-play goal, though the threat of his one-timer is still clearly a concern for opposing teams. His nine power-play points rank fourth on the Canucks this season, behind J.T. Miller (14), Quinn Hughes (13), and Horvat (11).

Despite being their best player this season, Pettersson trails both Miller (21:03) and Horvat (21:00) in ice time, at 19:54 per game. That includes even strength, where Miller (15:31) and Horvat (15:16) are ahead of Pettersson at 14:19.

Pettersson has played the majority of the season with Ilya Mikheyev and Andrei Kuzmenko at five on five, though Brock Boeser has taken Kuzmenko’s spot on that line the last two games. That usage has suited him just fine, as he’s now tied with Leon Draisaitl for sixth in the NHL in even-strength points, with 22.

That puts Pettersson on pace to score 69 even-strength points this season — a number that only Henrik Sedin (83) and Mogilny (71) have bested in Canucks history.

What’s next for Pettersson? Perhaps it’ll be evolving into a leader.

“That’s how you become a leader,” Bruce Boudreau said of Pettersson’s play on Monday. “Leadership isn’t necessarily talking, it’s doing stuff on the ice, whether it’s blocking a shot at the big time, jumping in to help a guy, or just playing as hard as Petey has been playing. That’s leadership.”

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