Elias Pettersson is doing a little bit of everything for the Canucks right now
Ryan Johnson and Manny Malhotra have been clear about what they want from Elias Pettersson this season: they don’t care about points.
But the points are nice.
“He’s really taking on that mentality of just being harder to play against,” said Malhotra after Saturday’s Vancouver Canucks win over the Calgary Flames. “Points aside this year, he’s done a much better job of just being heavier on pucks and coming out of puck battles and trying to be as physical as he can.”
Pettersson has been far more physical than anyone expected. He’s currently second in the NHL in hits behind only former teammate Kiefer Sherwood. Pettersson’s 19 hits include a massive open-ice hit on the Flames’ Zayne Parekh that led directly to a Canucks goal.
Elias Pettersson rocks Zayne Parekh with an open ice hit. The Canucks go the other way and score.
3-1 Vancouver.
š„: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/1Uy7wKrlAg
— Robert Munnich (@Robert_Munnich) October 4, 2026
“When one of your skilled players is willing to get physical and willing to throw those kinds of hits, it’s a great way of leading by example,” said Malhotra.
Pettersson has played tough minutes to start the season as well. He leads the Canucks in defensive zone starts at even strength, and is second behind only Filip Hronek when you include all situations.
At even strength, the Canucks have outscored their opponents 5-to-2 with Pettersson on the ice. In all situations, it’s 8-to-3.
“I’m just trying to play a hard game,” said Pettersson. “Trying to play fair and square, hard, and do whatever it takes to win.”
Whatever it takes includes details like faceoffs. So far this season, Pettersson has taken 80 faceoffs, more than any other player in the NHL. At 51.3 per cent, he’s not a dominant faceoff ace, but he’s more than holding his own, and he’s at 55.6 per cent in the defensive zone, where winning faceoffs can be crucial.
Along with the hit parade, Pettersson is currently tied for third in the NHL in scoring with two goals and six points through four games.
But point production is very much not the focus for Pettersson.
“I know from the past, if I start thinking about points, points are not going to come,” said Pettersson. “So, I’m just trying to play a good two-way game, and when there’s time to make a skill move or whatever, I’m going to try to do it, and when there’s not, I’m going to try to play the right way.”
At times in the past couple of seasons, Pettersson has clearly been in his head, putting pressure on himself to produce and getting frustrated when that production doesn’t come.
The lack of expectations from management has perhaps helped him get out of his head in that way, freeing him up to just get back to playing hockey.
Pettersson certainly looks more confident on the ice, even if he’s sometimes still too much of a pass-first player when he could be more selfish. That said, he’s also shooting the puck more often; he’s tied for second on the team in shots with seven.
That confidence with the puck shows in his willingness to control the puck in traffic and keep his feet moving while playing through contact, leading to three penalties drawn so far.
To recap, Pettersson is hitting, scoring, assisting, playing tough minutes, winning faceoffs, and drawing penalties.
Is it too early to declare that Pettersson is back?
Perhaps. But he’s showing legitimate signs of life early in the 2026-27 season.