Canucks’ Elias Pettersson says he “feels good”, shuts down injury speculation

With the Vancouver Canucks down in Seattle getting set to face the Kraken, TSN’s Farhan Lalji tweeted out the following quote from forward Elias Pettersson:

“I know you guys are fishing. I heard guys are speculating. But no, I feel good.”

Many have speculated recently that Pettersson is playing through an injury, as head coach Rick Tocchet told media earlier in the year that the centre being “banged up” was the reason Pettersson missed practice back on October 18th.

After starting the season on an absolute tear that saw him leading the league in points for a good portion of November, Pettersson hasn’t looked like himself as of late.

With just one goal and three assists through his last seven games, Pettersson looks sluggish, off balance, and unlike the dominant two-way force we saw last season and to open up this campaign. It’s worth mentioning that Pettersson’s linemates — Andrei Kuzmenko in particular — haven’t been very good as of late, so maybe the line juggling Tocchet has planned for tonight will help Pettersson get going. Per Farhan Lalji, Tocchet added after today’s morning skate that he feels Pettersson and his line have been “too perimeter” and that individually, Pettersson needs to move his feet more and play more in the middle of the ice.

It’s important to note that this wouldn’t be the first time Pettersson denied playing through injury publicly, only to admit to it later down the line. When his wrist was hurt before, he denied it for months — even amid credible media reports — assuring everyone his wrist was fine. Just a few months later, he admitted he was playing through a wrist injury.

Now, this could certainly be the case here as well — multiple reports of an injury from folks like Patrick Johnston and Rick Dhaliwal suggest it is — and you can’t really blame Pettersson if it is the case. After all, putting a target on your back isn’t typically wise as a National Hockey League player, and telling opposing teams you’re not at 100% typically isn’t a strategy you want to employ in this league.

No matter the case, Pettersson’s comments today leave him with no choice but to improve his play, and maybe that’s exactly what he wants. Read our full pregame “Scenes from Morning Skate” courtesy of Jeff Paterson by clicking here!