Confirmed with Link: Pettersson Signs 8 Year Deal with the Vancouver Canucks, AAV $11.6M

[Another Empty Netter]

I really cant think of any injury that coudn't be made worse by playing through it.

bruises and stuff sure no prob

but anything structural or torn it'd be easy to make it more severe

 

[mriswith]

I don't know. That doesn't really add up though, If he was injured, you would have expected him to have sat the last game like all the other injured players.

Plus, this is the second time in his career he's had an multi-month period of time where he has played terribly the first one being a couple of years ago. And during the first time, his play was excused by many on account of an undisclosed injury but all the while the team and Petterson continued to deny that he had any injury.

Agreed that his even strength linemates are not very good. But Pettersson also looks bad on the powerplay where he plays with the teams best players.

If it's an injury with a 6-12 week recovery time frame or something like that then sitting the last game wouldn't make much of a difference. He doesn't move, shoot, or attack with the puck like he normally does. Watching him on the ice loosely reminds me of fat Boeser in previous years who just couldn't move his body in pace with his brain. I could be convinced that just the hesitance to attack is "lack of confidence" or some other enigmatic reason but not the rest, I'll be shocked if it comes out he's healthy.

With the other slump, there's enough context now in hindsight to automatically dismiss about 75% of it. I'm still not sure what to make of the remainder but I don't think its related to what we're seeing now.

I really cant think of any injury that coudn't be made worse by playing through it.

bruises and stuff sure no prob

but anything structural or torn it'd be easy to make it more severe

Hockey players are dumb when it comes to injuries and in general can't think past their desire to play the next game.

I always think of Henrik Sedin getting told he broke a bone in his finger and he can either wait a few weeks for it to heal or get the fingertip amputated and not have to miss any games, and he promptly tells them to chop it off.

But Mikheyev last season playing through his ACL tear for literally no reason at all last season works too.

 

[David71]

I bet it's probably a groin thing or sports hernia.

lets say this is the cause. and if they finish the series tommorow. a week of rest will help him imo. but will probably hold surgery If serious until after playoffs are over.

 

[Izzy Goodenough]

EP40 has a strange skating stance and almost stands straight up, making it easier to topple. Trevor Linden tells a story that when EP40 came into the league he lacked balance on his skates and could easily be knocked over. Linden decided to check out the camber/rocker angle on his skates and found his skates had an extreme camber. This gave EP40 a better ability to pivot but at the expense of stability. Linden suggested EP40 try a straighter/flatter camber and sure enough his balance and speed increased. It didn't correct his skating stance but seemed to give him more stability.

Observationally, it appears he may be back to his old camber.

 

[sting101]

Painful listening to and reading all these excuses. everybody is banged up

At least the core group here has pretty much all shown that they are unfazed by playoff hockey unlike the entitled group of whiny soft Leafs core

Pettersson cares he will figure it out. It's mental not physical other than the fact he's struggling with being worn down he's physically weak and overmatched in puck battles.

He's not gonna be able to change his stature overnight but he can get back to the cat and mouse quick strike transition game he excels at and recapture his confidence in his stick handling and shot.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Painful listening to and reading all these excuses. everybody is banged up

At least the core group here has pretty much all shown that they are unfazed by playoff hockey unlike the entitled group of whiny soft Leafs core

Pettersson cares he will figure it out. It's mental not physical other than the fact he's struggling with being worn down he's physically weak and overmatched in puck battles.

He's not gonna be able to change his stature overnight but he can get back to the cat and mouse quick strike transition game he excels at and recapture his confidence in his stick handling and shot.

I don’t know how you can confidently say his struggles aren’t physical because they certainly look physical. He’s barely shooting the puck despite having one of the best shots on the team. He’s struggled since like February, this is not a mental playoff issue.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

I don’t know how you can confidently say his struggles aren’t physical because they certainly look physical. He’s barely shooting the puck despite having one of the best shots on the team. He’s struggled since like February, this is not a mental playoff issue.

He's barely shot for the last FIVE YEARS. Outside of the bubble run, his clapper was really only an early rookie season thing. Ever since it's been a sporadic blip on the radar.

 

[sting101]

I don’t know how you can confidently say his struggles aren’t physical because they certainly look physical. He’s barely shooting the puck despite having one of the best shots on the team. He’s struggled since like February, this is not a mental playoff issue.

FFS i've heard for over a month he's had a bad wrist yet is taking face offs.

He hasn't missed a game. He's killing penalties
They could have rested him before the playoffs.....it's bullshit he's banged up who cares so is everybody

And i did say they were physical. He's just not playing his game and is trying to work his way out of it by playing like someone and something he's not which is exposing his weaknesses.

NFL NHL nobody gets to the end of a season and is 100%. It's a marathon not a sprint

Look at Hughes last game with the ribs and double teams leaving Nyquist in his dust and keeping that play alive. Just gotta bury the excuses and play.

One answer needed to the question. Are you in? ....and it's not yes but....it's just yes or no

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

FFS i've heard for over a month he's had a bad wrist yet is taking face offs.

He hasn't missed a game. He's killing penalties
They could have rested him before the playoffs.....it's bullshit he's banged up who cares so is everybody

And i did say they were physical. He's just not playing his game and is trying to work his way out of it by playing like someone and something he's not which is exposing his weaknesses.

NFL NHL nobody gets to the end of a season and is 100%. It's a marathon not a sprint

Look at Hughes last game with the ribs and double teams leaving Nyquist in his dust and keeping that play alive. Just gotta bury the excuses and play.

One answer needed to the question. Are you in? ....and it's not yes but....it's just yes or no

You said “it’s mental not physical.”

I don’t think this all-or-nothing, black and white approach is very sensical here, seems to abandon all nuance. We’ve seen the impact that injuries can have on playoff warriors like Kesler in 2011.

 

[Another Empty Netter]

Ok this is dumb but if someone can recover in 24 hours from an injury they probably weren’t injured in the first place.

Not dissing anyone it just doesn’t make sense otherwise

 

[MS]

If he was injured he would have sat for Game 82. He's not injured.

This is exactly how he looked for the first half of 21-22 and he wasn't injured then, either.

 

[F A N]

I really cant think of any injury that coudn't be made worse by playing through it.

bruises and stuff sure no prob

but anything structural or torn it'd be easy to make it more severe

Not a doctor but I think the idea is that if surgery is required anyways there are injuries where there's little risk of making it worse by playing.

 

[sting101]

You said “it’s mental not physical.”

I don’t think this all-or-nothing, black and white approach is very sensical here, seems to abandon all nuance. We’ve seen the impact that injuries can have on playoff warriors like Kesler in 2011.

And followed that with...."other than the fact he's struggling with being worn down he's physically weak and overmatched in puck battles".

My point was his confidence or whatever this mental fog/block that persists has got him playing like someone he's not which is exasperating his ability to break out of it. The fact it's changed from track meet tactical hockey to a more physical 1v1 game obviously makes it tougher.

I get the feeling his new contract and the internal external expectations have just created a situation where everyone looks at this a little differently and most importantly/unfortunately that he's wearing the weight of it and just can't block it out and play.

He really just needs a bounce and to string some good shifts together to change how it's going on the ice. Mikhayev's hands of brick and inability to play heavy along the walls and net front isn't helping either. He's infecting him with stonehanditis.

Bottom line is he's an integral part of the PP and needs to shoot and be a little more aggressive in those situations and just play to his strengths and not get caught static.

 

[Hodgy]

If it's an injury with a 6-12 week recovery time frame or something like that then sitting the last game wouldn't make much of a difference. He doesn't move, shoot, or attack with the puck like he normally does. Watching him on the ice loosely reminds me of fat Boeser in previous years who just couldn't move his body in pace with his brain. I could be convinced that just the hesitance to attack is "lack of confidence" or some other enigmatic reason but not the rest, I'll be shocked if it comes out he's healthy.

With the other slump, there's enough context now in hindsight to automatically dismiss about 75% of it. I'm still not sure what to make of the remainder but I don't think its related to what we're seeing now.

He looks exactly like he did a couple of years ago. And two years ago, he snapped out of it mid-season.

And if he has an injury, what's the injury? He isn't shooting well, he isn't skating well and he isn't passing well. He's not even putting in a consistent effort at times (see the lackluster backcheck on the Nashville's open net attempt that went off the post). So, does he have wrist injury and a leg injury?

And plus, many players play through injuries, especially through the playoffs. This isn't something unique to Pettersson. Like, Hughes is clearly playing through an injury, but he's still finding a way to contribute.

At some point you need to apply Occam's razors and just accept that there is a reasonable chance that Pettersson is just a streaky player that plays really well when he's on but is also pretty bad when he's off.

I don’t know how you can confidently say his struggles aren’t physical because they certainly look physical. He’s barely shooting the puck despite having one of the best shots on the team. He’s struggled since like February, this is not a mental playoff issue.

Ya, but he's also not moving his feet, and he's not dangling players either. The list of things Pettersson isn't doing that he has done in the past is quite long and hard to attribute to just one injury.

IIRC, he's been taping his wrist a long time, including last year, so its hard to know if this means much.

EDIT: I should also say that I am a Pettersson fan, generally, although his recent play has been hard to watch.

 

[Regal]

He looks exactly like he did a couple of years ago. And two years ago, he snapped out of it mid-season.

And if he has an injury, what's the injury? He isn't shooting well, he isn't skating well and he isn't passing well. He's not even putting in a consistent effort at times (see the lackluster backcheck on the Nashville's open net attempt that went off the post). So, does he have wrist injury and a leg injury?

And plus, many players play through injuries, especially through the playoffs. This isn't something unique to Pettersson. Like, Hughes is clearly playing through an injury, but he's still finding a way to contribute.

At some point you need to apply Occam's razors and just accept that there is a reasonable chance that Pettersson is just a streaky player that plays really well when he's on but is also pretty bad when he's off.


Ya, but he's also not moving his feet, and he's not dangling players either. The list of things Pettersson isn't doing that he has done in the past is quite long and hard to attribute to just one injury.

IIRC, he's been taping his wrist a long time, including last year, so its hard to know if this means much.

A lot of upper leg injuries affect everything. If he’s having trouble in the hips/groin he wouldn’t be able to torque his upper body properly for shots, and can also affect how he’s handling and passing the puck.

 

[Hodgy]

A lot of upper leg injuries affect everything. If he’s having trouble in the hips/groin he wouldn’t be able to torque his upper body properly for shots, and can also affect how he’s handling and passing the puck.

Its hard to imagine he has such a debilitating injury, to his leg or hip, both the last half of this season, and the first half of the 2021-2022 season, but yet he played through it the whole time in each case....and that he healed fully mid-way through the 2021-2022 season (notwithstanding continuing to play) where he took off and was dominant. It also doesn't really explain his passing which also hasn't been as good as he is capable of.

EDIT: to add to this, if Pettersson has had such a debilitating injury since basically the trade deadline its hard to imagine that he wouldn't have been put on the IR and given a chance to heal given that the Canucks had all but locked up a playoff spot months ago.

 

[MS]

Its hard to imagine he has such a debilitating injury, to his leg or hip, both the last half of this season, and the first half of the 2021-2022 season, but yet he played through it the whole time in each case....and that he healed fully mid-way through the 2021-2022 season (notwithstanding continuing to play) where he took off and was dominant. It also doesn't really explain his passing which also hasn't been as good as he is capable of.

EDIT: to add to this, if Pettersson has had such a debilitating injury since basically the trade deadline its hard to imagine that he wouldn't have been put on the IR and given a chance to heal given that the Canucks had all but locked up a playoff spot months ago.

Yes, if this was the case surely they would have LTIR'ed him and given themselves much more flexibility at the deadline.

Also if he was hurt, we'd know about it. It's come out a couple times that Boeser was carrying a knock of some sort to close out the season. Same with Hronek. If their $11 million superstar player was taking all kinds of heat while playing hurt, the organization would let some stuff leak. Or it would have just come out organically.

 

[Regal]

Its hard to imagine he has such a debilitating injury, to his leg or hip, both the last half of this season, and the first half of the 2021-2022 season, but yet he played through it the whole time in each case....and that he healed fully mid-way through the 2021-2022 season (notwithstanding continuing to play) where he took off and was dominant. It also doesn't really explain his passing which also hasn't been as good as he is capable of.

It could affect passing because, like with a shot, a lot of your power is generated in torquing your upper body, and if you can’t rotate your upper body as well as usual, your accuracy can be off as well. He’s also a guy who kind of needs to create space for his passing. He’s not a great pure passer like Henrik or a big body guy who can hold off defenders to make a pass. If he’s not creating space because his skating and shooting are off, that would hurt his passing ability.

I do agree that he likely doesn’t have a debilitating injury that affects all these things, but I do think he’s likely battling something and he seems like a guy who either struggles mentally when that happens and/or he needs to be at his best in all areas to be great and can’t seem to adjust his game as well as other stars.

 

[Hodgy]

Yes, if this was the case surely they would have LTIR'ed him and given themselves much more flexibility at the deadline.

Also if he was hurt, we'd know about it. It's come out a couple times that Boeser was carrying a knock of some sort to close out the season. Same with Hronek. If their $11 million superstar player was taking all kinds of heat while playing hurt, the organization would let some stuff leak. Or it would have just come out organically.

For sure. And again, if the injury is as bad as some posters on here are willing to believe, then I just can't imagine this management team not giving him a break back in February/March so that he could heal for the playoffs given that we were in like first place at the time, and again, the playoffs were basically a lock. To not do so would be gross mismanagement. And ya, you make a good point about the LTIR savings. And it also should be said that Pettersson hasn't been contributing a ton so its not like they would be missing their best player or anything.

It could affect passing because, like with a shot, a lot of your power is generated in torquing your upper body, and if you can’t rotate your upper body as well as usual, your accuracy can be off as well. He’s also a guy who kind of needs to create space for his passing. He’s not a great pure passer like Henrik or a big body guy who can hold off defenders to make a pass. If he’s not creating space because his skating and shooting are off, that would hurt his passing ability.

I do agree that he likely doesn’t have a debilitating injury that affects all these things, but I do think he’s likely battling something and he seems like a guy who either struggles mentally when that happens and/or he needs to be at his best in all areas to be great and can’t seem to adjust his game as well as other stars.

Has he been battling this injury for the last three plus months? Seems unlikely to me.

 

[Vector]

If he was injured he would have sat for Game 82. He's not injured.

This is exactly how he looked for the first half of 21-22 and he wasn't injured then, either.

It is possible he's injured but it's fairly minor. The Canucks didn't have the cap space to call anyone else up for game 82 and used all of their regular scratches to accommodate the others resting.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

My money is on him hurting his wrist signing his new contract.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Yes, if this was the case surely they would have LTIR'ed him and given themselves much more flexibility at the deadline.

Also if he was hurt, we'd know about it. It's come out a couple times that Boeser was carrying a knock of some sort to close out the season. Same with Hronek. If their $11 million superstar player was taking all kinds of heat while playing hurt, the organization would let some stuff leak. Or it would have just come out organically.

This team played Mikheyev through a serious injury despite not being particularly close to making the playoffs. I don’t know if common sense and logic can apply if a player chooses to play through an injury.

 

[F A N]

Painful listening to and reading all these excuses. everybody is banged up

At least the core group here has pretty much all shown that they are unfazed by playoff hockey unlike the entitled group of whiny soft Leafs core

Pettersson cares he will figure it out. It's mental not physical other than the fact he's struggling with being worn down he's physically weak and overmatched in puck battles.

He's not gonna be able to change his stature overnight but he can get back to the cat and mouse quick strike transition game he excels at and recapture his confidence in his stick handling and shot.

I don't think Petey is physically weak and overmatched in puck battles. Like not anymore. But that's not his game anyways.

 

[nucks88]

If only he had a winning team to play for.

 

[Bobby9]

He was skating fine lastnight. His groin isnt injured.

Its his ego and feewings that are injured. Move this player as soon as as far away from this team before his new contract kicks in.

Like I said he will be bought out during this contract within the first 5 years. Management couldn't just wait to see him during the playoffs could they?

A gutless 8M dollar complimentary player getting paid 11.6..Major mistake.