Who will be on Pettersson's line for the Vancouver Canucks next season?
There are a lot of question marks surrounding Elias Pettersson heading into next season.
The Vancouver Canucks star is coming off the worst season of his career, with just 45 points (15-30-45) in 64 games, so that’s an obvious statement. And with the Canucks now so thin down the middle, they need the 26-year-old to bounce back more than ever.
Among the Pettersson believers is Jake DeBrusk.
“I think that Petey’s going to have a good offseason,” DeBrusk told Landon Ferraro and John Shannon on the 100% Canucks podcast.
“He’s going to come back in good shape. The skill’s there. His hands, his vision, and I don’t think you can teach those things. You can teach the other things. I have a lot of faith in him. I signed a seven-year deal to play with him. So I believe in him more than probably most.”
No other player on the Canucks roster played more with Pettersson than DeBrusk last season.
After a rotating cast of characters on his line in 2023-24, DeBrusk was supposed to be the reliable linemate Pettersson needed.
For a variety of well-documented reasons, it didn’t work out that way.
Pettersson and DeBrusk played 517:28 together, posting an expected goals-for percentage of 45.67. That’s a lower percentage than Pettersson had with Conor Garland (62.99), Nils Höglander (52.34), and Brock Boeser (46.89).
“When I first came in, I tried to be his best friend. Tried to get as close as I could to him, which I probably failed at cause I think he got a little annoyed at me at the end of the year,” DeBrusk said with a smile. “But he can’t get rid of me, yet.”
It remains to be seen who Pettersson will play with next season, but finding him a reliable running-mate will be of the utmost importance.
Boeser and Garland appear to be the frontrunners on right wing. DeBrusk seems like a good bet to line up on his left side, though Evander Kane or Höglander could also fill that role.
Kane is an interesting option. When the East Vancouver native is playing at the top of his game, he’s a physical power forward who creates space for his linemates and buries chances. But at 33 years old and coming off an injury-plagued season, is that too much to ask?
Höglander also needs to bounce back after a 25-point season. It’s a big year for the 24-year-old, who should get the opportunity to establish himself as a top-six winger.
But it’s clear from DeBrusk’s comments that he thinks he’s the man for the job.
“I think that’s one of the things I was most excited about, in coming to Vancouver, was a guy like Quinn, a guy like Petey. As a forward, as a left winger, I look at a lot of opportunity. I don’t think I necessarily did a good enough job for [Pettersson] last year… I don’t think when I was playing with him I gave him my best game either, in fairness. I think we were figuring each other out and it took some time.”
Needless to say, new head coach Adam Foote will have some options.