What in the heck is wrong with Elias Pettersson?

[ManofSteel55]

Henrik Sedin WAS given 3rd line grinders to play with. The list is long: Trent Klatt, Jason King, Anson Carter.... before finally settling on Alex Burrows (who up until then was an undrafted journeyman who came up through the ECHL).

He turned all of them into 30 goal super studs. The problem was never the Sedins.

In all fairness to Anson Carter, he wasn't exactly a 3rd line grinder either. He had four 20 goal seasons before he was a Canuck. He had a couple of hard seasons where he bounced around the league in between his last 20 goal season and his resurgence in Vancouver, but the skill to be a top six player was there.

 

[Frank Drebin]

1) Weak on his skates
2) Weighs to little to be physically imposing
3) Appears to be mentally fragile.
4) Has a gimp wrist.
5) Gets frustrated when he isn't playing well.
6) No determination
7) Talks about winning, but doesn't know how to win (he may learn)
8) Wanting to be the man may be biting him in the ass with the increased exposure and scrutiny.


Some serious serious concerns amongst Canucks fans who aren't emotionally infatuated with him. He is a fantastic complimentary player but nowhere near a superstar. Should be in the 8M pay range.

9) alien head

 

[crowfish]

1) Weak on his skates
2) Weighs to little to be physically imposing
3) Appears to be mentally fragile.
4) Has a gimp wrist.
5) Gets frustrated when he isn't playing well.
6) No determination
7) Talks about winning, but doesn't know how to win (he may learn)
8) Wanting to be the man may be biting him in the ass with the increased exposure and scrutiny.


Some serious serious concerns amongst Canucks fans who aren't emotionally infatuated with him. He is a fantastic complimentary player but nowhere near a superstar. Should be in the 8M pay range.

Here is a list of every player in the salary cap era who is pt/game after playing at least 400 games.

"nowhere near a superstar"

The stats don't lie. You can list all of Pettersson's faults, but the fact is he is one of the best-producing forwards in salary cap era. I am guessing every other guy on this list is a superstar according to you lol, just not Pettersson.

 

[Bobby9]

Here is a list of every player in the salary cap era who is pt/game after playing at least 400 games.

"nowhere near a superstar"

The stats don't lie. You can list all of Pettersson's faults, but the fact is he is one of the best-producing forwards in salary cap era. I am guessing every other guy on this list is a superstar according to you lol, just not Pettersson.

Points tell a part of the story when it comes to grading a player.

A player than can elevate their game when the situation calls for it is never discussed. For 4-5 years around 2009-2012 every time we played the Hawks every Canucks fans butt holes would clench when Patty Kane stepped on the ice.

Not because he 'scored a lot of points' but because he had a killer instinct. He demanded the puck and wanted to be the guy to take the series over. That also is what makes a super star.

EP40 doesn't have that at all and no fan that is rationale gets the same feeling from him when hes on the ice.

McDavid, Kuch, Crosby, Patty Kane, Mack, Bergeron...They all have that level.

 

[Byron Bitz]

I am guessing math wasn’t your strongest class. I would love to hear your justification for how Marner’s 49 points in 54 games is somehow better than Pettersson’s 20 points in 21 games. This includes Pettersson playing injured this series for 2 points in 4 games.

What Petey did 5 years ago in the weird bubble playoffs is irrelevant. We are talking about the playoff performers they are now. In the 4 years since then he has 2 points in 4 games and is a -3. Marner also had a good playoff performance a while ago against Boston in 2018 and I don’t give him credit for that either because the reality is that now today they are both bad playoff performers but Petey is looking worse.

 

[nowhereman]

In all my years of watching the NHL, I've never seen such an enigma of a player (and this includes guys like Kovalev and Yashin). Any possible answer is also contradicted by something else.

You can blame linemates but I know what it looks like to have a wildly productive player saddled with lesser talent (see Crosby, Datsyuk and early OV). These linemates might have trouble finishing or keeping up but elite talent can usually find ways to bring out the best in them. And this excuse also doesn't pass the eye test, especially when he plays with some of the game's best on the PP.

You might blame a possible injury but he doesn't really seem to be labouring, as much as he seems timid, confused and/or uninterested. When guys like Yzerman, Forsberg and Bergeron famously played injured in the playoffs, they managed to fight through it and you could still see the desire to produce despite the pain. People will point to Pettersson's wrist but then you watch him unload one-timers in practise and think "where's that been?".

Confidence? Well, maybe. But there have been moments where he's seemed downright cocky in interviews. And scheduling impromptu boat chats with reporters in the summer, to give thinly-veiled demands to management to ensure a winner, doesn't scream "insecure". Is his give-a-shit meter broken? Who knows? During one of his previous cold streaks, many were wondering if he was purposely dogging it to get Benning fired. I felt like that was conspiracy theory-level to suggest but, then again, his play almost immediately saw an uptick when Bennning/Green were canned.

Maybe we'll never really know? All I can say is that it is incredibly confounding and frustrating. He has so much talent and could be a top 5 player in the league. Hoping he can turn it around soon or the Canucks are racing to a red light this playoffs.

 

[Rowlet]

You dont know how much Marner will get on his next deal. All we know is that Petersson’s new deal has him making a few mil more than Marner despite being a worse regular season and playoff performer.

That's neat, but Pettersson gets paid less, and has the same number of points as Marner.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

What Petey did 5 years ago in the weird bubble playoffs is irrelevant. We are talking about the playoff performers they are now. In the 4 years since then he has 2 points in 4 games and is a -3. Marner also had a good playoff performance a while ago against Boston in 2018 and I don’t give him credit for that either because the reality is that now today they are both bad playoff performers but Petey is looking worse.

Lol so you’re just throwing away all of the available data because it doesn’t support your argument. Petey is injured right now, terrible time to judge his performance. You are making a bad faith argument and wasting everyone’s time.

 

[JPeeper]

Guy is like 114 lbs, he's probably injured. Showing him in the dressing room next to Miller without their shirts on was like a dad bringing his highschool son going out to the beach. Pettersson is a rail.

 

[Grifter3511]

6’2 176 has got to be the skinniest modern day nhl player ever. Even Gaudreau is listed at 5’9 160 but he’s probably more like 5’7-8. Even if Peterssson is only 6’1 he should weigh at least 185.

Henrik Sedin is listed as 6'2, 183 lbs. Pretty minimal difference, especially when you take in age difference.

 

[Grifter3511]

3rd line grinders (notice the S that I used). plural. Plural = 2

Do you seriously think my argument was that no playmakers have ever played with 1 3rd line player on their line? Use your brain before wasting my time replying.

And Henrik played with Daniel for all but 20 games during his Hart season. His other linemate Burrows was a 30-goal scorer... (not a 30 point scorer).

And let's not act like the Sedins turned Burrows into a legit 1st liner. Playing with 2 Sedins (not 1) Burrows had a career high 67 points. His next best seasons were 52, 51 and 48.

Those don't scream 1st line numbers. So the whole, 'Henrik Sedin turned Burrows into a legit 1st liner' is inaccurate and revisionist. If 2 Sedins can't make a 3rd liner into a legit 1st line player, what hope does one Pettersson have of turning two 3rd liners into legit 1st liners.

 

[I am toxic]

Points tell a part of the story when it comes to grading a player.

A player than can elevate their game when the situation calls for it is never discussed. For 4-5 years around 2009-2012 every time we played the Hawks every Canucks fans butt holes would clench when Patty Kane stepped on the ice.

Not because he 'scored a lot of points' but because he had a killer instinct. He demanded the puck and wanted to be the guy to take the series over. That also is what makes a super star.

EP40 doesn't have that at all and no fan that is rationale gets the same feeling from him when hes on the ice.

McDavid, Kuch, Crosby, Patty Kane, Mack, Bergeron...They all have that level.

EP40 is going to take over game 5 and eliminate Nashville

You heard it here first

As usual

PS it's called Hockey's Future. I am so disgusted* by all these hindsight based posts about what we already know, what gutless cowardice

*who am I kidding, and whom and whose too - nothing disgusts me. Well, except for one thing but you'll have to pm me for that, it's too disgusting to post without getting banned

 

[Fraser28]

It cannot be misinterpreted if you use common sense.



I'd argue you do not know puck.

Pettersson has provided nothing of value whatsoever. You might be the only person in the world (including Pettersson) who thinks he has been any good.

 

[Three On Zero]

Like I have been saying, he’s been playing injured. Also acknowledged that Hughes has been playing through injuries.

Pettersson, Hughes, Boeser, Hronek, Demko and DeSmith all with various degrees of injury

 

[yeaher]

"I don't think he is 100%."

"I know he is injured."

Wouldn't you just originally saying "he's injured and I know it", as opposed to "I think."

 

[CanadienShark]

It cannot be misinterpreted if you use common sense.



I'd argue you do not know puck.

Ah, I guess you're smarter than everyone else. Got it. Your understanding of English is pretty weak considering how smart you are.

 

[Fatass]

He's looked like a completely different player this season. Despite his point totals, he looks completely pedestrian; almost like something is severely wrong with him mentally.

The injury excuse has come and gone, and now it really doesn't make any sense why an 100+ point capable centre is so bad.

Any theories? Thoughts? Does he need a sports psychologist?

"Alien" is a fitting nickname for this guy, considering he's an extraterrestrial anomaly at this point.

Playing with an injury?

 

[crowfish]

Ah, I guess you're smarter than everyone else. Got it. Your understanding of English is pretty weak considering how smart you are.

I guess you are one of those super-literal people who cannot understand the spirit or context of a sentence and can only read the words. Sorry for not spelling out the obvious intention of my post.

 

[FissionFire]

Here is a list of every player in the salary cap era who is pt/game after playing at least 400 games.

"nowhere near a superstar"

The stats don't lie. You can list all of Pettersson's faults, but the fact is he is one of the best-producing forwards in salary cap era. I am guessing every other guy on this list is a superstar according to you lol, just not Pettersson.

View attachment 861834

I mean yeah but EP hasn’t hit his decline yet (hopefully) unlike a lot of the other names on that list. His PPG will go down too so it’s a coin flip whether he can stay above that 1.00 level

 

[crowfish]

I mean yeah but EP hasn’t hit his decline yet (hopefully) unlike a lot of the other names on that list. His PPG will go down too so it’s a coin flip whether he can stay above that 1.00 level

Yes but also his PPG also hasn't peaked yet. He is at 1.18 for the past 2 seasons. His decline is likely 7 or 8 years away so there will be time to build it up higher before it comes down.

 

[CanadienShark]

I guess you are one of those super-literal people who cannot understand the spirit or context of a sentence and can only read the words. Sorry for not spelling out the obvious intention of my post.

Again, multiple people interpreted your comment differently. But it's probably easier to just bury your head in the sand. Your grasp of English isn't great, but that's ok. You're trying.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

Once again a slumping/injured young superstar brings out the absolute dumbest takes.

He skates around on blades with a hard rubber puck and 5 hostile players at the highest level one can play at (the NHL).
Do we think it's possible he's hurt? Or do you think it's some puritanical bullshit of 'hurr durr he doesn't want it enough'.

This isn't a prospect who didn't work out, or a broken culture, or a guy like Nick Foligno (good player and leader) who randomly has a late career outlier season.

No, this is a superstar who is developing fairly linearly for the most part. Was killing it until February, and is now slumping because:

A: probably nursing an injury.
B: First real playoff experience
C: People go through slumps and struggle with confidence, it happens.
D: His linemates are decent NHLers but given the role he has, there is nobody else who can pick up the slack.
E: Perhaps feeling the pressure of making 8 figures on his next deal.

All of these things have happened to almost every superstar and will happen again.

So how do the resident brain surgeons of hfboards interpret the data?

"He was never actually good".
"He's too light and weak. He evidently isn't usually too light and weak when he's a selke caliber player scoring 100 points, but right now his lightness and weakness is shining through".

"He doesn't care".

"He got his contract and checked out".

Just unbridled ignorance.

 

[Shareefruck]

He plays with 30 point wingers. That has hurt his production, the low production has hurt his confidence, which has further hurt his production. I can't remember an example of a star playmaker who has been saddled with 30 point wingers. It would be like giving Nicklas Backstrom or Henrik Sedin 3rd line grinders to play with.

The problem is that those 30 point wingers have consistently looked better than him and have been relied upon to be the playdrivers on his lines.

On top of that, Henrik Sedin has played for a notable stretch with lesser linemates when Daniel was injured and looked excellent in carrying that line.

Pettersson took Hoglander and pretty much doubled his career high in goals.

Pettersson can improve his linemates just like Henrik Sedin. The problem is Pettersson doesn't have a Daniel Sedin on his other wing. He has Ilya Mikheyev.

And at Pettersson's age, Henrik was just about to set a career high of 75 points in 82 games.

Pettersson had zero to do with that. Hoglander was already on the same goal pace playing on the fourth line with nobodies before he got put on the Pettersson line. If anything, he's become a bit more inconsistent since.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

He plays with 30 point wingers. That has hurt his production, the low production has hurt his confidence, which has further hurt his production. I can't remember an example of a star playmaker who has been saddled with 30 point wingers. It would be like giving Nicklas Backstrom or Henrik Sedin 3rd line grinders to play with.

Artemi Panarin played with Ryan Strome and Dryden Hunt. He played with Colin Blackwell before that. And Fast before that.

 

[crowfish]

The problem is that those 30 point wingers have consistently looked better than him and have been relied upon to be the playdrivers on his lines.

On top of that, Henrik Sedin has played for a notable stretch with two 3rd line grinders (pretty comparable ones to Hoglander and Mikheyev) when Daniel was injured and looked excellent in carrying that line.

Complete BS take. Hoglander and Mikheyev are driving the play more than Pettersson? Nonsense. Henrik Sedin played about 19 games without Daniel that year, and he had Burrows (who had 67 points that season) on his line. That is literally the same amount of points as Hoglander and Mikheyev had combined this season. Hoglander and Mikheyev have been complete ghosts in the playoffs so far. The puck dies on their sticks every shift. Hoglander couldn't finish a dime set up from Pettersosn the other night. Btw, Your idea that Hoglander might be better off playing on the 4th line than with an 89 point playmaking center is quite funny. Pettersson's slump has brought out some of the dumbest takes.