With the 2025 NHL Draft and the opening of free agency fast approaching, the Vancouver Canucks will soon have to make their final decision on franchise forward Elias Pettersson, who scored just 45 points this season after racking up 191 in the previous two seasons combined.
It's a massive decision that looms large, especially with the uncertain fate of Canucks captain Quinn Hughes fast approaching.
Making a guest appearance on "Donnie & Dhali," Canucks legend and former team president Trevor Linden weighed in on Pettersson, who he helped draft, and his concerns about the Swede moving forward.
"The commitment that the team made to him, obviously significant. I mean, they are banking on this guy to be the player," Linden said of Pettersson. "I'm not sure exactly what goes on with Elias. Obviously I knew him, drafted him, spent some time with him the last year I was there. Clearly, he's really got to take ownership of where he's at and where he needs to be."
Questions have arisen time and time again regarding Pettersson's shift-to-shift commitment, taking games off, preparing himself as an athlete, and other things of that ilk. We've seen the levels Pettersson can hit on his best days, but the consistency has not been there for a reason.
"He needs to step up as a pro and deliver what's expected. He's capable, for sure, but there's times where he just looks disengaged and uninterested, and that's concerning," Linden added.
The 26-year-old Pettersson, who signed an eight-year, $92,8 million ($11.6 million AAV) contract with the Canucks on March 2, 2024, will see a full no-move clause kick in on July 1 ahead of the start of the 2025-26 season.
If the Canucks want to trade Pettersson, they'll have to do so before then, otherwise they will be stuck with him, his inconsistencies, and his warts, at that cap hit until 2032, when he'll be 33 years old.