The Canucks' Enigma Named Elias Pettersson
There is something going on with Elias Pettersson this season. I don't know exactly what it is. I'm not sure anybody does. But if you've watched the Vancouver Canucks through the first four games, you can see it. Pettersson looks different.
Pettersson’s game has more jump than I've seen in the past two seasons.
That jump hasn't been there consistently for the past couple of seasons. He looks quicker. He looks more engaged. He is attacking a little more. And maybe most encouraging of all, his shot looks like his shot again.
Pettersson has two goals and four assists through four games, but I'm less interested in the six points than I am in how he is getting them. He looks like he's having fun. And that might be the most important part of this whole thing.
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Pettersson admits it; he’s enjoying playing again.
Pettersson told Thomas Drance of The Athletic, “I'm having a lot of fun,” when asked about it after the Canucks' win over Calgary. He also said something else that caught my attention. “I’m just trying to get back to playing my hockey and doing what I do best.”
There it is. We don't know why Pettersson hasn't looked like himself for stretches over the past two seasons. Maybe it was confidence. Maybe it was physical. Maybe it was the pressure that comes with being one of the faces of the franchise. Maybe it was a combination of things.
And maybe we're asking the wrong question. Perhaps the real question isn't, “What's wrong with Elias Pettersson?” Maybe it's, “What does Elias Pettersson look like when he's enjoying playing hockey again?” Because there is no question this guy has the skill.
We've seen it. We've seen the 102-point season. We've seen the 30-goal seasons. We've seen him make plays most NHL players simply can't.
The enigma has never been whether Pettersson can play.
It's been trying to figure out why sometimes it seems so difficult for him to consistently show us the player we know is in there. I'm not ready to declare that he's “back.” Four games is four games. Hockey has a funny way of reminding us how quickly things can change. But I am willing to say this: This looks like the Elias Pettersson that Canucks fans came to appreciate.
And for Canucks fans, that's a perfect place to start. Maybe we don't need to understand everything about him. Maybe we just need to enjoy watching him have fun again.