Elias Pettersson is getting a different kind of attention from the Vancouver Canucks front office this summer, and the language matters.
Speaking to Kevin Woodley of NHL.com, the Canucks general manager laid out exactly what's on his mind heading into camp.
"What I'm stressing with Pettersson is I want to give him an environment that supports him, that allows him to be himself," he said of their offseason talks.
"And not feel that he's got to be anything other than himself."
"I want to help him just in creating a space where I know he wakes up excited to come into the arena every day."
That kind of language rarely comes from a front office talking about a player who's thriving. It sounds like someone describing a player who needs rebuilding from the inside out.
Pettersson posted 51 points last season, with 15 goals and 36 assists over 74 games, but finished at a brutal minus-30 as Vancouver finished 25-49-8, dead last in the league.
GM Ryan Johnson on Elias Pettersson: "What I'm stressing with (Pettersson) is I want to give him an environment that supports him, that allows him to be himself and not feel that he's got to be anything other than himself," Johnson said of their offseason conversations. "I want to help him just in creating a space where I know he wakes up excited to come into the arena every day." per Kevin Woodley,
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Canucks GM says the quiet part out loud about Elias Pettersson
You don't talk about "waking up excited" for a player who's already thriving. That kind of phrase gets reserved for someone who's been through the wringer.
Pettersson carries an $11,600,000 cap hit, the kind of number that makes patience expensive but also non-negotiable.
Manny Malhotra takes over as head coach this season, walking into a locker room still carrying scar tissue from last year's collapse.
Think of it like a car that's been in an accident. The frame still runs, but every part needs to be checked before anyone trusts it at speed again.
Vancouver isn't just trying to get production back out of Pettersson. It's trying to get the version of him that wants to be there.
That's a harder problem to solve than any line combination or power play tweak.
Whether it works shows up in games, not press releases. Camp will be the first real test of whether any of this talk translates onto the ice this fall.
Does Elias Pettersson need a fresh start away from Vancouver instead of a support system there?
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