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I Watched This Game: Canucks' Elias Pettersson might actually be back

Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner
|
Oct 30 2026, 8:45 am
I Watched This Game: Canucks' Elias Pettersson might actually be back
Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images

There has been one recurring question early in the Vancouver Canucks’ season: Is Elias Pettersson back?

On Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, Pettersson may have answered that question.

The much-maligned centre is coming off two thoroughly mediocre seasons, but has jumped out to a strong start this season. He leads the Canucks in scoring while also doing a little bit of everything for his team: throwing hits, taking faceoffs, blocking shots, killing penalties, etc.

But is he back?

“Back” is a tricky word. As pointed out by The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, certain elements of Pettersson’s game haven’t returned to where he was at his peak. He’s still not skating at the same speed as before, he’s not as effective in transition, and he’s not creating as many shooting opportunities for himself at even strength.

Does he need to be doing all of those things to be “back” or are we looking at this the wrong way?

The truth is, Pettersson might never be the same player he once was. None of us are who we used to be, just like you can never step in the same river twice. The continuing identity of a person is not found in sameness; people change.

Whatever caused Pettersson to lose a step in his skating could mean he never regains that step. He may never be as good in transition as he once was, or as dangerous a goalscorer at even strength.

After all, he’s about to turn 28, which is getting to be old by NHL standards. The truth is, most NHL players reach their peak around the ages of 22 to 25, then decline from there. There are lots of outliers and exceptions, but it’s entirely likely that Pettersson is already past his prime.

But plenty of players past their prime still find ways to be effective, productive players. They might have to reinvent parts of their game or find new ways to contribute, but elite players find a way.

Maybe this is Pettersson’s version of “back.” He’s a smart, two-way forward who contributes in a myriad of small ways, while also producing some consistent offence.

And sometimes he does something really cool, as he did against the Sharks.

Midway through the first period, one of Pettersson’s passes got picked off, and he immediately worked to get the puck back. Surrounded by three Sharks, Pettersson dragged the puck around one stick on the backhand, pulling it back towards his right skate.

He then kicked the puck behind his own left skate up to his stick. It was, in technical terms, rad as hell.

It was a sublime piece of skill, but also a smart and effective way to keep possession inside the offensive zone. That it immediately turned into a goal was just the cherry on top.

Petey doing his dekes is a positive indicator of backness.

But the best sign was how much Pettersson tilted the ice at even strength.

According to Natural Stat Trick, when Pettersson was on the ice at even strength, shot attempts were 19-to-8 for the Canucks; scoring chances were 13-to-3; shots on goal were 10-to-3. That’s about as dominant as you can get.

Pettersson might never be who he used to be, but if he can continue to put up points, do cool things, and tilt puck possession as he did on Thursday night in San Jose, yeah, I’m thinking he’s back.

That’s how I saw it when I watched this game.

offside i watched this game

“Leevi was outstanding again”

  • Apart from a few minutes in the third period, this was the Canucks’ most complete effort of the season. They controlled possession for the vast majority of the game and took a (dreaded) two-goal lead into the third period. But there’s a reason why teams talk about a 60-minute effort; a 57-minute effort won’t do.
  • Puck recovery was the key to the Canucks’ opening goal, as they repeatedly won races and battles to grab rebounds and keep the play alive in the offensive zone. The most visible was obviously Pettersson’s dangle at the blue line, getting into open space to throw a puck to the net, where Drew O’Connor jumped on the rebound to deposit both the puck and himself into the net.

  • Equally as important, but less spectacular, was Jamie Oleksiak’s solid hit on Mason Marchment. Recognizing that the Sharks had five men deep in their own zone, so there was no threat behind him, Penny’s brother stepped up on Marchment to flatten him to the ice and keep the play alive in the offensive zone.
  • While the Canucks were the better team in the first period, Leevi Meriläinen still had to come up with some big saves. He robbed Michael Misa on a breakaway, made a desperation save on Ivar Stenberg, and, in the final seconds, got his toe on a Kiefer Sherwood deke to the backhand after Filip Chytil coughed up the puck.

  • “Leevi was outstanding again,” said Malhotra. “He made some really critical saves for us in key moments that kept it two-nothing for quite some time.”

Liam Öhgren is firing his laser

  • The second period wasn’t quite as good as the first, partly because the Canucks struggled with the long change a couple of times. Poor Tom Willander got stuck on the ice for over three minutes at one point because his forwards repeatedly failed to get the puck in deep so he could get to the bench. He nearly fell over in exhaustion when he finally got off the ice and was sucking wind like a pack-a-day smoker.
  • The Canucks’ young players took a couple of undisciplined penalties in the second period. Zeev Buium got rattled by Ty Dellandrea and cross-checked him away from the puck, while Liam Öhgren was careless with his stick in the offensive zone and tripped Adam Gaudette. Only the Florida Panthers have been shorthanded more than the Canucks this season, and youthful inexperience is part of the reason why.
  • Öhgren seemed motivated to make up for his mistake as soon as he got out of the penalty box. He took a pass from Filip Hronek to gain the offensive zone, then smartly cut behind Marco Rossi, who took a defenceman with him. That left Öhgren with plenty of room to charge and fire his laser, sending a shot heavier than Oganesson past Yaroslav Askarov.

  • Unfortunately, moving a defenceman out of Öhgren’s way was about the extent of Rossi’s positive contributions to this game. It’s starting to get concerning how little impact he has had so far this season. He’s playing minimal minutes, which doesn’t help, but he also hasn’t done much to earn more minutes.

“We didn’t manage the puck well enough in key areas”

  • Three minutes cost the Canucks the game. The Sharks poured on the pressure early, but the Canucks were able to break up their possessions and get clears to relieve that pressure. Then yet another undisciplined penalty from a young player, this time Jonathan Lekkerimäki, gave the Sharks one more power play.
  • The Canucks’ penalty kill was effective most of the night, but the penalties were tempting fate. And fate is very susceptible to temptation.
  • The trouble on the penalty kill is that Victor Mancini and Jamie Oleksiak unintentionally swapped sides when Mancini came across to block a pass. When Mancini moved out to take away Will Smith’s shooting lane, his angle was all wrong, possibly because he was on the unfamiliar left side.

  • The defenceman is supposed to take away the far post on the penalty kill, leaving the goaltender to worry about the short side. Instead, Mancini was lined up with the near post, leaving the far side of the net wide open.
  • “The PK didn’t get the shot block we needed, didn’t get a clear when it was on our stick,” said Manny Malhotra. “So, it comes down to the same thing, the attention to details and the execution of those details in key moments.”
  • Then the Sharks scored two goals in 11 seconds to take the lead. It was the worst 11 in Canucks history since Mark Messier.
  • It started with the Canucks losing their coverage on a faceoff in the defensive zone. Defenceman Elias Pettersson rushed a clearing attempt off the draw, then was too slow getting back to the front of the net to cover Smith, who was wide open to finish off a pass from Macklin Celebrini.

  • Pettersson wasn’t the only one who messed up, though. Rossi didn’t tie up Smith on the faceoff, meaning Pettersson was immediately under pressure. Pettersson the forward hesitated before getting out to the point, giving Michael Kesselring too much time to send the puck towards the net. There’s enough blame to go around.
  • “One of the biggest problems with our group is just the lack of details or the attention to details in key moments,” said Malhotra. “Faceoff details once again plague us. Costly.”
  • The shift after the goal was disastrous. The Sharks won the draw and went on the attack. As Marchment came up the left wing, Tom Willander chose to tie up Kiefer Sherwood as he went to the net instead of closing the gap on Marchment. With the back pressure from Rossi a second too slow, Marchment was able to pick his spot on Meriläinen.

  •  “I don’t think we did the same thing we did in the first two periods,” said O’Connor. “Maybe we backed off a little too much or didn’t manage the puck well enough in key areas and they have a lot of skilled players that are going to capitalize on those opportunities.”
  • Perhaps the most encouraging part of the third period is that Filip Chytil took a massive hit from Darnell Nurse and, after a bit of wincing on the bench, came right back onto the ice. It was the first significant contact of the season for Chytil, and he survived it without injury.
  • The Canucks pushed hard for the tying goal with the net empty, and even went 6-on-4 when Kesselring crosschecked Jake DeBrusk, but they spent a little too much time standing still and passing the puck and not enough time shooting. That’s only exciting when you have a Mexican soccer announcer commentating the action.
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