Player Discussion Elias Pettersson - Please, Be Civil

[geebster]

Thought he had a pretty damn good game today in a frustrating loss.

 

[Lenny Levino]

Thought he had a pretty damn good game today in a frustrating loss.

First half of the game was bad, but things turned around after the goal.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Yeah, needs to be better on the dot but he was probably the best forward tonight. Too bad he and Miller didn't connect on that one chance late.

 

[Tinhorn1]

im not sure what thread it was posted in now, but it was about a week ago. he didnt use the words walking on egg shells, but he said one time petey was ignoring him one day and when he confronted him about it, petey said "oh you dont like being ignored?". or something along those lines. he then said he had learned that he has to be careful with petey to not hurt his feelings

It was a lighthearted, teasing interview from a few years back, in which Hughes talked about what great friends they were. Gimme a break.

 

[F A N]

Last year was the one season in his career that he consistently played defense hard and was accountable and was an all round stud for this team. I honestly was surprised how great a leader he became after having spent years producing but just losing focus on defense regularly or making lazy plays.

He has absolutely given up on assignments, been lazy on line changes, not listened to coaches instructions on who to cover late in games (Tocchet has given several examples of saying what he told them to do, and its clear Miller didnt do it or cover who he was told to), etc etc. That is all giving up on your teammates mid game. If you are someone who dishes it out and has a high bar for your teammates you HAVE to meet that same bar yourself. Otherwise its not going to end well and people wont want to listen to you.

He absolutely was in a different headspace last year and through last years playoffs and was a big reason we were any good (plus Demko and of course the biggest reason being Quinn). That doesnt mean hes such a leader right now. It doesnt mean he hasnt averaged a play every other game (to be generous to him) where he quits on the play and doesnt cover his guy. Tocchet has called him out several times for it, it isnt new information, its been going on for a while now. Mentally checking out IS quitting on your team, especially when they need you. Pettersson for all his problems doesnt do that defensively.

I think you make fair points. I just don't consider that giving up on his teammates. He still produced offensively (most of the time). I agree that calling out teammates while not meeting the same bar is not a good thing. Poor habits do need to be corrected and I think with Miller even fans saw that he was frustrated with himself so it's not like he's walking around high and mighty while calling out teammates at least that's not what has been reported. At the end of the day it's being accountable. It's not like Tocchet is giving Miller a free pass. It's not like when criticized Miller defended himself instead of taking responsibility (at least publicly). As for your Petey comparison, I mean if you were Petey and Miller's teammate do you care more about how is more engaged defensively or who is more engaged offensively?

Of course over time you learn your teammates' habits. From what I've read, it sounded like teammates learned to ignore Miller when he's mad at his teammates as he doesn't really mean it. But I'm not in the room so I don't know. If it has gotten to a point where it's too much for his teammates to deal with and he refuses to or can't change then I can see a trade being warranted. But again, this is such a rare thing to happen.

Should we trade him if he wants to stay? I dont think so, he can still return to that guy and his trade value wont even be great if he doesnt get more consistent (nor does trading him now give you any benefits you wouldnt have trading in the offseason). I think you have to ride it out.

Is there no way for the alleged locker room issues to resolve? Have a heart to heart and learn to play with each other because it gives the team the best chance at winning a Cup? It's not like Miller is an unpopular teammate and Petey is an exceptional player (when he's at his best).

 

[PuckMunchkin]

This is the same guy that for years want the team to prove to him they are worthy of him

Just to make something clear.
This is absolutely your own interpretation of the situation and his motives. Not anything factual.