Sedins speak on Elias Pettersson and his future with Vancouver Canucks
Culture was a theme at Rogers Arena on Thursday, as Henrik and Daniel Sedin were introduced as new co-presidents of the Vancouver Canucks, with Ryan Johnson as their pick as GM.
The hockey ops trio will lead the Canucks into a new era, as they try to fix the failings of the past.
“We gotta show up every day and lead by example,” said Henrik. “Culture is huge. You cannot win without it. That’s impossible. You cannot be sustainable without it… The culture piece is our main thing to fall back on.
“And that’s starting with us.”
A big question the new Canucks management team will have to answer this offseason is whether this culture can exist with Elias Pettersson.
Pettersson’s on-ice struggles are well documented. And while his career trajectory has been different from the Sedins’, in many ways, they know what he’s going through.
But don’t think that earns him pity points from the twins.
“We’ve been through this, as players, exactly what he’s been through,” Daniel said. “You’re going to have some really good seasons, you’re going to have some tougher seasons.
“What we found after a long career, looking back, is that the best seasons we had, we were well prepared… That is everything you can control, is how hard you work in the summer. Mentally ready to go when training camp hits. So I think that’s the one message to him, is preparation.”
The new Canucks bosses (Rob Williams/Daily Hive)
This isn’t the first time Pettersson has been told he needs to prepare better in the offseason. Will the 27-year-old finally hear the same message from new voices?
“There’s certain things that need to be in place for us to be able to win on a consistent basis,” said Henrik. “That means your best players need to be the best leaders. They gotta come in every day and lead the right way. And that’s what we’re going to ask for this team moving forward.”
Henrik wasn’t speaking specifically about Pettersson in that answer, but he might as well have been. Pettersson is their highest-paid and most talented player. He also seems to have lost the passion for coming to the rink.
Johnson was asked specifically if he’s looking to trade Pettersson this offseason. While he understandably didn’t provide a straightforward answer to that question, Johnson appeared to have a strategy for rehabilitating Pettersson’s game.
“I want to wipe away all the expectations and all that may exist in him,” said Johnson. “Just like the rest of our hockey club, not just our players, but our staff, we’re asking them to come September the most prepared that they can be.
“And for our players, that’s going to be physically and mentally ready to make a decision… I’m looking forward to talking to him and just letting him know that that’s what’s important to me out of the gates… I’m going to challenge these guys to be as good as teammates that they can for each other.”
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