The Elias Pettersson speculation has become a leading industry in Vancouver in recent weeks. The Canucks star has had a disappointing season by any measure, though he’s not the only one. Frustration has only increased with the team’s mediocre results, and Pettersson has become a lightning rod for it.
Elias Pettersson Speculation a Constant
First things first, the media agencies are supposed to cover the news. Just like anywhere else, when a public figure is underperforming, there is going to be questions. Sports have the added complication of fans being very aware of who is doing what, or not doing what, as the case may be for Pettersson.
Any place that has a fervent base of followers will have a high demand for explanations when things go wrong. And since sports aren’t exactly a cryptic profession, there will be a lot of people who believe they have answers. It’s one thing to answer to your boss, it’s an entirely other thing to answer to two million of them.
When it comes to Elias Pettersson, the speculation is part of the gig. There’s no question that he is the most talented forward on the Canucks. After half a season of internal conflict leading to a major change, he is possibly the most important player they have. And that means attention is turned to him and him alone.
So, yes, reporters are going to ask him about his game when it has seemingly fallen off a cliff. And he can be snippy about it if he wants to be. Both those things are true. But he has to understand that while he’s been thinking about his game non-stop, he hasn’t actually been asked about it all that often. It just feels like it. And sorry, mate, but that comes with the job.
Break Broke Habits
It took a few games after the J.T. Miller trade, but the Canucks looked like they were getting back on track. In the week before the 4 Nations break, they went 3-0-1 and tightened their play to accommodate for lower scoring. They weren’t as much fun to watch, sure, but outscored their opponents 9-5 in four games. All without their best player, Quinn Hughes.
Between the relief of the expected trade finally happening and a three-game win streak, Vancouver went into the break in a generally optimistic mood. Not just the team, but the city and their fans. Head coach Rick Tocchet hoped Pettersson would “have some fun” at the tournament. He’d be well away from the city and playing with skilled players in essentially meaningless games.
For whatever reason, the opposite happened. Pettersson finished the three-game tournament with two shots on net as his total offensive contribution. By the time Sweden was playing for pride against the United States, with only eleven forwards dressed, Pettersson had less than ten minutes of ice time.
There are reasons why he could have played so little. Of course, the flu hit a couple dressing rooms in Boston, but even so. More was hoped for, and much more was expected when Pettersson was selected for the team.
Elias Pettersson Speculation and Hesitation
Talk about his being sick is reasonable enough. But it isn’t enough to justify his mediocre play of late. There has been talk of tendonitis irritating him last season, and possible injuries happening this one. Again, both of those could be reason enough for lowered statistics and production not reaching his talent level.
It’s not just injuries. It’s not just an illness. Anyone can see him glide rather than stride when he’s moving up the ice, so something is going on there. But it’s not enough to keep him off the ice, obviously, so that’s not the cardinal issue. The eagerness that he normally has to drive play, to control the puck, to carry the game on his stick? All those are missing.
Soreness isn’t why a player second-guesses their shots. Feeling ill doesn’t stop them from trying to thread a pass. Pettersson has lost his confidence, and that’s keeping him from trying to be who he is.
What to do About It
This is not a lack of effort. A player can put in double shifts in the weight room, though they shouldn’t during the season. He can spend extra time after practice working on his shots or tip-ins or faceoffs. That might help, but the only test that matters is what happens with an opposing team on the ice.
Pettersson wasn’t bad in either of the weekend’s games against Utah or Vegas. It’s that he was absent. Canucks fans used to lean forward when he got the puck. Now they lean back with a critical eye, looking for clues that the player they used to know had returned.
The worst part in all the Elias Pettersson speculation is that there isn’t much to be done about it. Confidence can’t be forced to appear or else acting wouldn’t be a profession. He is a star because what he can do is unlike what other players can do. He didn’t suddenly lose his talent in some Space Jam aliens moment. But he has to try doing it before it will come back to him.
Trading Pettersson away before the deadline should be a non-starter. A team that is ready to win won’t hand over anything like the equivalent in talent before a playoff run. And getting draft picks back, even unprotected ones, doesn’t help the Canucks this year. Teams need to balance cap space, too, and not many teams can do that.
Trading him in the offseason would be easier, but still not easy. His no-trade clause is a false deadline, as most teams can work around that if the player is willing. And not many players want to stay on a team that doesn’t want them. Changing Elias Pettersson’s performance speculation to trade speculation gives people something else to talk about, but that’s all it does.
Let’s Do It
The best option is likely the same advice you got from your mom about the scab on your knee, leave it alone. This doesn’t mean ignoring the team or not looking to improve results. But another four games, three of which are on the road, aren’t going to give you any new information.
What if Pettersson continues with his hesitant play? What, like he has for the past year? Then he’s in the same spot he was before the J.T. Miller trade and maybe that wasn’t enough of a change. Or maybe he starts the next season fully prepared right at Day One. Or maybe he bounces back in the next 20 games and the team walks to the playoffs.
So what if Pettersson suddenly snaps back into shape and picks up eight points in four games? Then maybe he’ll be back for the rest of the season. Or maybe it’s a bump because he has two great games against Anaheim. Or another team offers a vast fortune and the Canucks trade him anyway.
The point is, four games isn’t enough time to make a decision that hasn’t already been made. There is nothing he can do on the ice over the next ten days that will create a sudden epiphany.
In the meantime we should, to follow a wise man’s words, just have some fun.
Main Photo: Bob Frid – Imagn Images
The post Enough Elias Pettersson Speculation appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.