He seems like a very "on/off" motivation type of player, where he either feels a particular sort of challenge and drive to relentlessly devote himself to something, or has total burnout where he has no interest in that thing at all. He's extremely talented, but I dont know if hes as single-minded about hockey as someone like McDavid, who is totally exceptional in how much theyve committed their entire self and identity to hockey.
I think he also needs to get used to being the highest paid guy on the team. I'm sure that causes a pretty big psychological weight to be on his shoulders now, and his decline in play is essentially 100% correlated to how much in the foreground his contract has been (negotiations + actually having it signed, has been very forward and public about how much he didn't want to think about it and put off signing it). At some point, he's just going to have to get used to it and ignore how much he's getting paid. Being anxious about living up to that number or feeling guilty for not doing so will just make him spiral further.
In 2 responses Svencouver absolutely nails what i've been trying to relay to Canuck fans for months....well said
His first career struggle came after his 7 million contract when expectations changed.
Petterssons game is predicated on superior skill anticipation and smarts. If he's not activating quickly and wavering in fitness desire or confidence it all comes apart. And some is playing with nagging physical issues.
Some players are so engaged physically every game that when they are off they can manufacture productive games. Even lower level players find those effort levels to maintain jobs. Pettersson currently is just not physically or mentally built to be that kind of player.
Mentally he can get to the point where his physicality wont matter much. We are discussing a player who has a career average above PPG and say what you want about the bubble playoffs but after 3 rounds he didn't look scared unconfident and sluggish to make plays. 18pts in 17 games
I think he really cares (his insecurities are guarded by a wall that he puts up and his failures devolve to periods and games where he beats himself up and goes internal) He's like a amateur golfer that lets a few bad holes get into his head and then melts down for a tourney before he re sets himself. Last year the build up and then stress of massively changed expectations by the team plus his contract messed him up.
I imagine getting raspberries from teammates about 90million and making so much more than Hughes and Miller could have been awkward especially when a few games became months and Hughes is now looking him off on PPs and the coach fans and managers are left trying to tip toe around his melt down. The NHL is a tough league especially if you show weakness.
Bottom line he needs a sports psychologist and to just play his own game and be able to filter out the noise. External and internal. Experience/maturity more resolve and getting stronger should help him find the consistency he needs to get his mojo back.
Piling on him is gonna be fun to quote later.