- Elias Pettersson says he wants to get back to the player he was before two down years
- The Canucks center had 51 points last season after a 102-point campaign in 2022-23
- Read below for his full comments from Vancouver’s charity golf tournament
Elias Pettersson is not pretending the last two years went fine.
The Canucks center met with reporters Monday at the team’s annual Jake Milford charity golf tournament in Surrey, B.C., and he was asked what he wants out of the 2026-27 season.
“I just want to get back to myself. I haven’t been that the last two years, but it’s in the past. I’m coming in with a fresh mind, and I’m excited to play hockey again.”
Here’s Pettersson on trying to find his old game:
The gap he is talking about is enormous. He scored 39 goals and finished with 102 points in 2022-23, then signed an eight-year, $92.8 million extension in March 2024 that carries an $11.6 million cap hit.
Since then he has 96 points in 138 games, with 15 goals in each of the past two seasons. His 51 points still led Vancouver last year, and he set a franchise record for blocked shots by a forward along the way.
Everything around him has changed too. Daniel and Henrik Sedin came in as co-presidents of hockey operations, Ryan Johnson took over as general manager, and Manny Malhotra runs the bench now.
Johnson has said he wants to give Pettersson an environment where he does not feel he has to be anything other than himself, per Daily Hive. Pettersson was asked what that message meant to him.
“It means a lot. RJ’s someone I’ve known for a long time. He’s always been a good guy for me. It’s been good talking about the future, and what he wants to see from me.”
Quinn Hughes is gone and a wave of young players is coming in, so the few veterans left carry the room. Brock Boeser said at the player media tour last week that his teammate looks like he is in a much better headspace.
He talked about what the veterans owe a young room.
“Me and Brock and Demmer have been here the longest, so it’s up to us to set the standard of work.”
Catch the full availability, which also included Boeser and Filip Hronek:
Hronek said Monday that he does not want to run away from the rebuild, which lines up with what he said about his eight-year commitment to Vancouver last month.
Nobody at the golf course put a number on the season. Pettersson explained how he thinks this group should measure itself.
“Wins or losses, I think where we are, we’re just gonna try and stack the days, get better every day, and we’ll see where it takes us. Yes, we’re a young team but I think if you do good things, good things can happen.”
Canucks camp opens Thursday in Penticton, B.C.
