I've seen tons of players play injured for decades and I've never seen a player as Jekyll/Hyde with a minor niggle as Pettersson is. Mike Modano's year where he went bankrupt after his advisor stole all his money is about the only thing I can remember comparable to the way Pettersson has checked out. And he's done it twice.
Again, the excuses you're making for this player are ridiculous. This guy finished last season going 26 games without an ES goal while looking like his dog died. It was painful. He's making $11 million. Compete.
How do you define minor? Wrist tendon injury, knee tendon injury. How are these injuries minor? The former affects how you hold something , I am pretty sure that’s pretty f***ing important considering holding the stick and applying force to flex is a pretty big part of hockey. Never mind the fact he missed half a season with that injury and it took him like another half to fully recover. The latter affects, I don’t know, standing and generally applying downward force through the leg onto the surface. Seems like it would affect the ability to skate and also the ability to transfer force into the stick.
Seriously, how are those injuries minor? I never had tendinitis but I had a wrist injury and I couldn’t hold shit for like a year. It’s actually offensive to hear you say that’s just a minor thing. You have no f***ing clue how painful and helpless it is to f*** up a wrist.
Modano being broke ass would actually be pretty motivating. I am not sure how that has anything to do with Petey not performing when he has an injury that impacts his physically abilities.
Just saying compete makes no f***ing sense. Players at this level don’t become elite just by compete. The difference between McDavid/<insert elite player name> and like a plug is not f***ing compete, it’s physical gift. Elite players are better and can produce because they are physically superior. Guess what, certain injuries reduce that gap. It’s like when a player hits 35 and the performance drops off, it’s not because of compete, it’s because they are no longer physically better than the other players.
When a player has certain injuries than reduces their body’s ability to perform, that physical superiority goes away and no amount of compete can make up that difference, it’s silly to think that it can. If you are slower because you are injured then compete doesn’t make you faster. If your shot becomes a muffin or your aim is off because of an injury, compete doesn’t magically make up for that.