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A lot of the Vancouver Canucks' success depends on the form of Elias Pettersson for the upcoming season. The 2024-25 season was a disaster one for the Swedish forward, with a dip in production on the ice and off-field public fall-out with J.T. Miller, which led to Miller's trade and put a big vacuum in their top six.
Pettersson's 45 points in 69 matches were almost half of the 89 points in 82 games he amassed in the 2023-24 season. His breakthrough was two years back, when he produced 102 points. Now about to start the second year of his eight-year, $92.8 million contract, Pettersson is expected to lead the Vancouver attack as its top centre.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, at the GM's meeting in Detroit, reflected upon the conversation he has had with the Swede over the summer.
“He was very much turning the page and moving forward,” Allvin said. “He’s excited. He made a trip over here (in May) to meet with Adam and a couple of other players and he wants to take his game to another level.
As per Allvin, Pettersson has made the needed changes to his game and is prepared to take on the team's responsibility.
“I think every player learns what they need to do to be successful in the league,” Allvin added. “They tweak the way they do things in order to get better. Being a pro athlete today, you can’t just do the same things over and over.
"You want to find ways to get better and I think that’s the same thing with Elias, too. I think he has matured. I think he takes ownership (for his play) and he’s very excited to come back and compete with the guys.”
Pettersson, earlier in the off-season, revealed that he had put on some weight and became stronger, changing his training routine to adapt to the physical nature of the NHL. Back in Vancouver, he is expected to feature in the Canucks' mini camp in Abbotsford this week.
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