This was a right that management generously gave to him. The Canucks held a club option and chose not to exercise it presumably in good faith as part of the process in negotiating an extension.
I think
@racerjoe has responded to this pretty well. It was a situation that involved Tocchet stepping in and he did. But he also did nothing. Petey sucked towards the end of last season and said he was hurt and Tocchet didn't think much of it. If he was hurt Tocchet should have rested him any chance he gets. If Tocchet thinks Petey is just being a baby he should have held him accountable and not play him like he was still the team's best forward. The same with this season. If Petey came to camp out of shape and he thinks it's because of work ethic reasons then again why is he playing him like he's still the team's best forward? Tocchet could have easily scratched him and gave Petey's explanation (which is Petey's knee injury prevented him from training properly and so he is a bit behind in his overall conditioning etc). I think when we talk about coaches holding players accountable it's rewarding players with ice time based on whether the player deserves it or not.