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

[PuckMunchkin]

Its between the ears.

Probably started like last time with getting banged up then trying to play through something and then the confidence dwindled to go with teams playing more playoff style hockey which means he has to fight through more interference and puck battles and he just hasn't found his way through it yet. Might always be an issue for him given his slight stature but not to this degree i would hope/suspect

He's mercurial and the new contract has added pressure that he doesn't know how to deal with yet. Happened the last time too. People were quick to use the lack of training camp as an excuse but the reality is that it got into his head. Just because he's a few years older doesn't mean he's shaken all of his insecurities.

My 2C.

That is a fine theory but the problems started before the contract and he was our leading scorer in the bubble playoffs.

 

[sting101]

That is a fine theory but the problems started before the contract and he was our leading scorer in the bubble playoffs.

what's your theory?

 

[AzNightmare]

Looks like he needs every empty net goal he can get just to get goals.
His bank shot would have looked smooth if it had gone in... but that staring at the sky reaction afterward didn't look good.

 

[AzNightmare]

Petey was excellent last night. His usual strong defensive self but he shot the puck off the rush a couple times and also shot on the PP and it changed a ton for us. Also was an excellent screen on the goals and was physical. He's avoided shooting for a while but it was nice to see him let a few go yesterday.

haha, that one timer that went flying anywhere but close to the net. I think he heeled it or something.
Was just comical and unfortunate, considering the circumstances that we really want to see him back on track and that happens.

 

[andora]

I will be highly surprised if his number isn't retired. Well maybe not, being that I may not be around that long. I will be into my 80's by then.

Oh you are f***ing making it

 

[PuckMunchkin]

what's your theory?

I think it is part mental like you said, but the time line does not match the contract extension.

Few days ago when I checked, post all-star break, he had 14 5on5 points and Miller had 15.

The thing is. McKinnon is playing with Rantanen and Makar.

McDavid with Draisaitl.

EP40 plays with Höglander and Kuzmenko and Mikheyev and... Its not quite the same. Playing with superstars on your line does a pretty good job of hiding your off days or weeks.


Also. There is the fact that because he has a Scandinavian personality it seems that North American fans just hate the way he looks on the ice when he is frustrated. If he was doing Miller-esque leadership stick swings there would be far less hate, at least from certain posters, not saying you are one of them.

 

[F A N]

I think it is part mental like you said, but the time line does not match the contract extension.

Few days ago when I checked, post all-star break, he had 14 5on5 points and Miller had 15.

The thing is. McKinnon is playing with Rantanen and Makar.

McDavid with Draisaitl.

EP40 plays with Höglander and Kuzmenko and Mikheyev and... Its not quite the same. Playing with superstars on your line does a pretty good job of hiding your off days or weeks.


Also. There is the fact that because he has a Scandinavian personality it seems that North American fans just hate the way he looks on the ice when he is frustrated. If he was doing Miller-esque leadership stick swings there would be far less hate, at least from certain posters, not saying you are one of them.

Not disagreeing with you, but we've seen Petey in the past (before his late Travis Green collapse) where he would put up points and not really playing well. Which is a positive as only star players manage to do that.

But I think Petey needs to take the next step. He needs to develop some consistency and put together a Hart-worthy season.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Not disagreeing with you, but we've seen Petey in the past (before his late Travis Green collapse) where he would put up points and not really playing well. Which is a positive as only star players manage to do that.

But I think Petey needs to take the next step. He needs to develop some consistency and put together a Hart-worthy season.

I would like him to do that.

He does not need to do that to be worth his contract. IMO

 

[racerjoe]

I think it is part mental like you said, but the time line does not match the contract extension.

Few days ago when I checked, post all-star break, he had 14 5on5 points and Miller had 15.

The thing is. McKinnon is playing with Rantanen and Makar.

McDavid with Draisaitl.

EP40 plays with Höglander and Kuzmenko and Mikheyev and... Its not quite the same. Playing with superstars on your line does a pretty good job of hiding your off days or weeks.


Also. There is the fact that because he has a Scandinavian personality it seems that North American fans just hate the way he looks on the ice when he is frustrated. If he was doing Miller-esque leadership stick swings there would be far less hate, at least from certain posters, not saying you are one of them.

I agree with everything except the bolded... we saw how that went for Miller last year, and all the hate he got, right after his big contract.

I think we just have a what have you done for me lately expectation, and need to understand that all players have slumps in a season, and like you said, with other players playing with high end talent it can be covered a bit better.

 

[Bobby9]

I think it is part mental like you said, but the time line does not match the contract extension.

Few days ago when I checked, post all-star break, he had 14 5on5 points and Miller had 15.

The thing is. McKinnon is playing with Rantanen and Makar.

McDavid with Draisaitl.

EP40 plays with Höglander and Kuzmenko and Mikheyev and... Its not quite the same. Playing with superstars on your line does a pretty good job of hiding your off days or weeks.


Also. There is the fact that because he has a Scandinavian personality it seems that North American fans just hate the way he looks on the ice when he is frustrated. If he was doing Miller-esque leadership stick swings there would be far less hate, at least from certain posters, not saying you are one of them.

If you make 11-12-13 M a year you have to be able to elevate the people on your line. Crosby has been doing that his entire career.

Miller also is signed for 4M less.

Sulking vs leading a team is important. I manage a large group of people. Id much rather have somebody angry at their performance vs sulk over their performance.

Lastly, you have to separate the importance of the points. A game vs Vegas and scoring matters more to me than putting up points against SJ when theyre an inferior opponent.

This year, JT Miller is a better and more important player than EP. Why wouldn't people want EP to play more like him?

 

[F A N]

He does not need to do that to be worth his contract. IMO

I have to disagree and it's a perception thing. If Petey was an overachiever and paid $8M a year that's fine. If we surround him with crap and he did his best to drag the team along with him that's fine. But there are expectations and championships matter. Petey is being paid like he's a top 5 player in the league. He should be capable of putting together a Hart trophy-calibre season.

It's actually rare for a top player to finish his career not having reached the Cup finals or agonizingly close to it. Like I would be shocked if Matthews or McDavid doesn't come close to reaching the Cup finals when their careers are done.

 

[LemonSauceD]

If you make 11-12-13 M a year you have to be able to elevate the people on your line. Crosby has been doing that his entire career.

Miller also is signed for 4M less.

Sulking vs leading a team is important. I manage a large group of people. Id much rather have somebody angry at their performance vs sulk over their performance.

Lastly, you have to separate the importance of the points. A game vs Vegas and scoring matters more to me than putting up points against SJ when theyre an inferior opponent.

This year, JT Miller is a better and more important player than EP. Why wouldn't people want EP to play more like him?

Curious c where were you last season when Kuzmenko, Beauvillier, Mikheyev all were pacing career years beside Petey?

And how many more points did Petey lead the team last season by?

If he plays like this next year, then I can agree with what you’re saying about Petey. His 105 point pace between December 2021 through January 2024 including top 5 in scoring for nearly the first 2 months ish gives him the benefit of the doubt.

I do agree in general he’s not elevating his linemates right now and is struggling to find any sort of consistency with anyone in the line up. He’s been hot trash since the all star break for the most part offensively but he’s still giving us some quality defensive work and is right next to Joshua as our best defensive forwards on the team.

It’s really a glass half full glass half empty thing here. I like to look at the positives, he’s still producing points and unlike other top earners in the league he plays with below average linemates, he’s got 116 hits and 68 blocks, has been engaged physically at many points throughout the season, and has generally been a reliable forward.

Matthews and Panarin (similar case to Petey this year) were all having down years last season. Panarin in particular was getting major flack for his no show playoff performances and his one dimensional play. This year he’s been a top 5 forward. Makar defensively is having his worst season and is still putting up points (albeit with a mega star Mackinnon on the ice with him) and has been getting major shit from Avs fans on their boards for his ineffectiveness without Mackinnon.

Elite players not named Kucherov and McDavid generally have these types of up and down seasons. I’m not worried at all and I think Pettersson will turn up for the playoffs.

 

[RobertKron]

Aw man, you mean Pettersson isn't a Crosby-level player?

 

[Bobby9]

He’s an absolute bum on the ice right now. Been garbage the last 15 games. Total no show.

Trading him this summer before his contract kicks in is priority number 1.

 

[arttk]

He’s an absolute bum on the ice right now. Been garbage the last 15 games. Total no show.

Trading him this summer before his contract kicks in is priority number 1.

Well at least we have you on record for being an absolute idiot

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I have to disagree and it's a perception thing. If Petey was an overachiever and paid $8M a year that's fine. If we surround him with crap and he did his best to drag the team along with him that's fine. But there are expectations and championships matter. Petey is being paid like he's a top 5 player in the league. He should be capable of putting together a Hart trophy-calibre season.

It's actually rare for a top player to finish his career not having reached the Cup finals or agonizingly close to it. Like I would be shocked if Matthews or McDavid doesn't come close to reaching the Cup finals when their careers are done.

We have to give him better line mates for that to ever be realistic.

 

[crowfish]

He’s an absolute bum on the ice right now. Been garbage the last 15 games. Total no show.

Trading him this summer before his contract kicks in is priority number 1.

As a fan who suffered through the era of our top draft picks being guys like Mason Raymond, Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder etc

I am going to have to disagree with you and say that priority number 1 is abso-f***ing-lutly not to trade the best forward we've drafted since Pavel Bure.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

As a fan who suffered through the era of our top draft picks being guys like Mason Raymond, Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder etc

I am going to have to disagree with you and say that priority number 1 is abso-f***ing-lutly not to trade the best forward we've drafted since Pavel Bure.

Pretty sure you are replying to a performance artist.

 

[mriswith]

4 ES points behind Miller during the best year of Miller's career. Better analytics than Miller too, and depending what you look at it's a huge gap.

Doing it all with a revolving door of middle sixers while being compared to guys who have Rantanen/Makar/Marner/Point stapled to them.

The fact that he can put up a 90 point season like this and yet everyone who watches him knows his ceiling is way higher than what he's showing and has come to expect way more out of him is proof enough of his worth.

I have to disagree and it's a perception thing. If Petey was an overachiever and paid $8M a year that's fine. If we surround him with crap and he did his best to drag the team along with him that's fine. But there are expectations and championships matter. Petey is being paid like he's a top 5 player in the league. He should be capable of putting together a Hart trophy-calibre season.

He was getting Hart chatter in his sophomore year and you're comparing him to guys who have Rantanen/Marner/Point stapled to them. Put the lotto line together for a year and deploy Hughes every time they touch the ice and he'll get that Hart, if Hughes doesn't take it from him.

I said over and over again the last couple years that Hughes would never have left the Makar/Fox norris conversation if he'd had Tanev/Toews/Cernak as a partner instead of the waiver bait #6's he was stuck with and had to adapt to playing with.

Pettersson is more mercurial and more frequently injured than Hughes but is dealing with the same issue where the best winger on his line for most of the season was Mikheyev.

Also. There is the fact that because he has a Scandinavian personality it seems that North American fans just hate the way he looks on the ice when he is frustrated. If he was doing Miller-esque leadership stick swings there would be far less hate, at least from certain posters, not saying you are one of them.

Agreed but it's also the Boeser issue of playstyle. Both play a high IQ game heavily reliant on reads, anticipation and smart passing. A lot of the good flies over people's heads when watching them whereas Miller's power forward style is impossible to ignore. And when a read or anticipation is slightly off it looks visually uglier than other types of errors.

It's something I've been noticing for awhile and it stems from how years ago I simply could not understand how on earth some people could have watched Pettersson's sophomore season and somehow concluded that Miller was better that year.

The Pettersson hater extraordinaire docbenton helped me figure it out when he posted about how Pettersson has "no discernable skills" while also admitting that he was puzzled by Pettersson's "midas touch" where everything he did inexplicably led to points despite the aforementioned lack of skills.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Agreed but it's also the Boeser issue of playstyle. Both play a high IQ game heavily reliant on reads, anticipation and smart passing. A lot of the good flies over people's heads when watching them whereas Miller's power forward style is impossible to ignore. And when a read or anticipation is slightly off it looks visually uglier than other types of errors.

It's something I've been noticing for awhile and it stems from how years ago I simply could not understand how on earth some people could have watched Pettersson's sophomore season and somehow concluded that Miller was better that year.

The Pettersson hater extraordinaire docbenton helped me figure it out when he posted about how Pettersson has "no discernable skills" while also admitting that he was puzzled by Pettersson's "midas touch" where everything he did inexplicably led to points despite the aforementioned lack of skills.

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Pretty sure you are replying to a performance artist.

is it who I think it is? I put them on ignore ages ago lmfao.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

is it who I think it is? I put them on ignore ages ago lmfao.

Very likely

 

[ultra7k]

Agreed but it's also the Boeser issue of playstyle. Both play a high IQ game heavily reliant on reads, anticipation and smart passing. A lot of the good flies over people's heads when watching them whereas Miller's power forward style is impossible to ignore. And when a read or anticipation is slightly off it looks visually uglier than other types of errors.

You would think people in this market would be more apt to pick up on this type of play, y'know, with the Sedins having played here for a decade and a half. But then again, these were probably the same crowd that wanted to trade them for the flavour of the week.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Well at least we have you on record for being an absolute idiot

Yeah I thought he’d be reasonable to talk to at least.. guess not

 

[sandwichbird2023]

Curious c where were you last season when Kuzmenko, Beauvillier, Mikheyev all were pacing career years beside Petey?

And how many more points did Petey lead the team last season by?

If he plays like this next year, then I can agree with what you’re saying about Petey. His 105 point pace between December 2021 through January 2024 including top 5 in scoring for nearly the first 2 months ish gives him the benefit of the doubt.

I do agree in general he’s not elevating his linemates right now and is struggling to find any sort of consistency with anyone in the line up. He’s been hot trash since the all star break for the most part offensively but he’s still giving us some quality defensive work and is right next to Joshua as our best defensive forwards on the team.

It’s really a glass half full glass half empty thing here. I like to look at the positives, he’s still producing points and unlike other top earners in the league he plays with below average linemates, he’s got 116 hits and 68 blocks, has been engaged physically at many points throughout the season, and has generally been a reliable forward.

Matthews and Panarin (similar case to Petey this year) were all having down years last season. Panarin in particular was getting major flack for his no show playoff performances and his one dimensional play. This year he’s been a top 5 forward. Makar defensively is having his worst season and is still putting up points (albeit with a mega star Mackinnon on the ice with him) and has been getting major shit from Avs fans on their boards for his ineffectiveness without Mackinnon.

Elite players not named Kucherov and McDavid generally have these types of up and down seasons. I’m not worried at all and I think Pettersson will turn up for the playoffs.

Yea, even elite players go through ups and downs throughout the season and their careers, Petey's "struggles" is a little more frequent than I like but in the grand scheme of things its nothing special or unique. Only the generational players stays at a consistent level year in year out (although, even Ovi had a couple "down" seasons).

However, any players paid as a top 10 players will have elevated expectations, it just comes with the pay. I don't have too much gripes with EP's production this season as he is still out-producing his current contract, but starting next season, he will get less of a leash from me. You know he is capable of being a top 5 forwards, he has shown that he can put it together for extended stretches. He just have to avoid these extended cold streaks that he can get on once in awhile. Petey's linemates might not be ideal but he still have Hughes on the backend, and JTM/Boeser on the PP and occasional line mates, that is much more than what other guys (like Pasta and Panarin) has to work with. Heck, even Matthews had less (Domi and Bertuzzi) recently than what Petey got right now (Boeser and Hog). Petey was able to score 100+ with a rookie Kuzmenko and an injured Mikheyev last season, I'm sure he can produce at that level again with Hoglander and Boeser/Garland/whoever.