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Elias Pettersson found 10 more points, but is still looking for that missing piece: Year in Review
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Lachlan Irvine
May 7, 2026, 11:00 EDTUpdated: May 7, 2026, 03:28 EDT
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This is probably the player review you’ve been waiting for most.
No one epitomized the Vancouver Canucks’ struggles this season more than Elias Pettersson. The man who started as the face of the franchise, briefly gave up that label to Quinn Hughes, and regained it after the former’s trade to the Minnesota Wild, has dealt with a hell of a lot.
Entering the second year of his massive eight-year deal, EP40 had the most pressure of any Canuck heading into 2025-26, and those expectations proved to be far too much to handle. Freed from being teammates with J.T. Miller and the drama that pairing had caused, Pettersson was supposed to be reborn in a better situation.
While he did improve on his career-low 45 points from the season prior, he mustered the same number of goals (15) and six additional assists in 10 more games. Not exactly a case of proving the doubters wrong for a player used to cracking the 90-point mark.
The Canucks flew as Pettersson did. A season that at least began with expectations of competitive hockey had early warning signs before going completely off the rails. As Pettersson was mired in the worst scoring drought of his career during the second half of the season, the Canucks completely crashed into the basement of the NHL standings.

Elias Pettersson’s season

Pettersson’s entire season of goal scoring came in bunches. Petey got his first goal of the season in Game 6 against the Washington Capitals, kicking off a run of three goals and six points over his next five games. He wouldn’t score again for another nine games until scoring in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, once again beginning a short burst of four goals in four games.
Then, from January 13th all the way until mid-March, Pettersson went 20 games without a goal, finally snapping it with a two-goal performance against the Florida Panthers. That relief was also nested in some history, as he became the tenth Canuck to reach 200 career goals with the franchise. It would also be the last time he scored for the rest of the season.
But whenever you were thinking about giving up on him completely, he’d show a flash of his former superstar self, like on this goal against the San Jose Sharks.
His time at the Olympics with Team Sweden wasn’t a picnic either. While he scored a pair of goals over at Milano Cortina, he struggled to stay in the good graces of Sweden head coach Sam Hallam as the Swedes were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Team USA.
By the time the Canucks got to the end of the season, it was clear that it was more than just a physical issue. His own lack of confidence factored in, as he looked off shooting opportunities and didn’t call his own number in key moments like he once had. The change from Rick Tocchet to Adam Foote behind the bench did nothing to improve his confidence or that of management’s, and his name once again spent a large chunk of season’s end floating in trade rumours.

What it all means

With the Canucks’ lack of centre depth all season long, Pettersson’s struggles were exacerbated. His team simply could not afford for him to have a night off, so when he did, the Canucks didn’t have the players down the middle to make up the scoring difference.
What once seemed like an out-of-character one-off season in 2024-25 has now become a two-year extended concern. There is a real worry that this is just the player Elias Pettersson is now: an above-average middle-six centre, with injuries earlier in his career limiting his ceiling.
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t consider the personal hardships Pettersson and his wife, Katelyn, have experienced away from the rink this year. Anyone can imagine how hard it is to focus on your job when you’re dealing with tragedy, and it puts into perspective that hockey struggles are temporary, minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of life.
But even still, despite all the public complaints and “Mr. $11.6 million” labels, Pettersson was still the Canucks’ best forward. He had 10 more assists than his next-closest counterpart, Brock Boeser, and he remains an underrated defensive centre, putting his body on the line to block shots and break up passing plays. There’s no denying that, despite how one might feel about him, the raw talent is still there in Pettersson’s core.
And the 27-year-old knows it. In a recent interview with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Pettersson said as much, as well as noting that the team needs to improve in all sorts of avenues. 
“As players, we need to be better,” Pettersson said. “Front office needs to be better, all of us need to be better as a whole organization. It won’t come overnight, but if we do the right things over time, good things will happen, I believe.”
For everyone’s sake, you hope Elias Pettersson is right. And you hope he’ll put these struggles in the rearview mirror for good in 2026-27.
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