"He's fine": Canucks coach Tocchet says Pettersson not playing with injury
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet had a very straightforward answer today when asked if superstar centre Elias Pettersson is fighting through an injury.
“No, he’s fine,” the head coach stated to the media today as the team prepares to take on the Seattle Kraken.
“Play a little quicker. More possession hockey. Holding onto the pucks more. I think it’s a little tweak here and there. It’s an 82 game schedule, you’ve got to go through these things.”
🗣 Head Coach Rick Tocchet on mixing the lineup for tonight’s game.@theprovince | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/ejFzkjmBav
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 24, 2023
Pettersson himself also denied any injury issues, saying, “No, I feel good” when asked if he was dealing with any “wear down,” according to TSN’s Farhan Lalji.
EP40 asked if there had been any level of “wear down” through the first 20 games, “I know you guys are fishing. I heard guys are speculating. But no, I feel good”
Tocchet feels he needs to move his feet more & play in the middle of the ice. Says line is “too perimeter” #Canucks— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) November 24, 2023
There has been a lot of speculation that Pettersson is fighting through a nagging health problem. Part of that is due to the fact that he has just one goal and three assists in his last seven games, but there are other signs too.
The Swedish forward has missed two practices this year. The first came back in mid-October when Tocchet admitted that the centreman was “a little bit banged up.” The second was on November 1, when the coach said Pettersson was dealing with “a minor injury,” according to Rink Wide‘s Jeff Patterson.
#Canucks Tocchet says maintenance day for 35 & 40. But also noted that Pettersson has been playing through something minor. Just felt no need for him to practice today
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 1, 2023
However, there was no admittance of any injury issues when asked directly today from the head coach. Instead, Tocchet pointed towards other on-ice issues that he believes could be behind Pettersson’s slump.
“I think it’s a chemistry thing right now, and we’ve got to reset that chemistry. When you have a talented player like Petey, you want to get him the puck, and you want to go through the middle. Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, all the greats, Sidney Crosby, all the great players, you give the puck with an extra second, they’re going to make a play.”
The chemistry on Pettersson’s line today is surely going to be different, as one of his usual wingers will not be playing. Andrei Kuzmenko will be a healthy scratch, and thus, the Swedish forward will get the chance to play with at least one new winger.
The puck drops at 7 pm PT for this battle between two Pacific Division teams. They last played on November 18, when the Kraken won 4-3.