Elias Pettersson needs to be better if the Vancouver Canucks have any aspirations of challenging for a Stanley Cup sometime soon.
He knows that, and the Canucks know that.
Pettersson, 26, had what was easily the worst year of his career this past season. Fifteen goals, 30 assists, and 45 points in 64 games just was not good enough, especially given that Pettersson had 28 goals, 38 assists, and 66 points in 71 games in his first year in the NHL way back in 2018-19.
Now coming up on his 27th birthday, it is time for Pettersson to decide the player he wants to be for the Canucks.
"I think people understand, Elias wants to be a great player, right?" Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said at his exit interview Friday. "We're here to try to help him become that great player. I think he'll tell you this: his preparation has to get better. There's no secret. If you want to be a great player, you have to prepare. Almost an obsessive type of preparation.
"I think he got behind the 8-ball early, then the expectations come, and then there's a little bit of struggle with the team. He could never gain traction, right? We've talked about that. Move his feet, shoot the puck, change angles. And you know me, I'm an honest guy. He's got to practice better. Those things he's learning. Do I think he will do those things? I do. I really do."
Pettersson had been riding a six-game point streak prior to suffering what he described as an oblique injury against the New York Rangers on March 22, which prematurely ended his nightmare season.
From March 1 to that March 22 game, Pettersson managed to pick up four goals, six assists, and 10 points in 11 games. This is a much more respectable 75-point pace over a full 82-game season, which Pettersson has only played once.
Adding durability is another roadblock for the former 100-point-scorer.
Why is Pettersson icing his knee at 4 Nations if he isn't injured? pic.twitter.com/EaURDQCcgv
— Taj (@taj1944) February 20, 2025
"It’s what I need. Strength doesn’t come easy for me," Sportsnet's Brendan Batchelor quoted Pettersson as saying Friday. "I didn’t get the best genetics from my parents. Obviously, I was dealing with a knee injury last off-season, so it was hard to truly train last summer."
A new season in 2025-26 means a full offseason of recovery, no more J.T. Miller drama, and no more excuses for Pettersson. The Canucks have laid it all out for him.