As the Vancouver Canucks prepare to embark on their final five games of the season, it is looking increasingly likely that they will be without Elias Pettersson for those games.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on this weekend’s Hockey Night in Canada Saturday Headlines, Elias Pettersson may not return to the lineup at all this spring after he left the game against the New York Rangers on March 22nd with an upper-body injury. He has not appeared in a game since. The Swedish centre, along with his countryman and winger Nils Höglander, were both sent home from the team’s east coast road trip after their respective injuries. While Höglander drew back into the Canucks’ lineup on Sunday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, Pettersson has not yet been given a timeline to return. 
Friedman stated that “Pettersson has not given up hope on playing this year,” but according to an unnamed source, it is “unlikely” he will see any game action in the final stretch of the year. “Right now, at best, it’s fair to say that that is uncertain,” Friedman added, which is also a fitting way to describe Elias Pettersson’s 2024-2025 campaign at large.
Pettersson has struggled to stand out this season after signing an 8-year, $11.6 million-dollar AAV contract extension in March of last year. As it stands, Pettersson has played 64 games this season and racked up 45 points (15G 30A), which is a career low in seasons where he has played over 60 games. 
The forward’s injury came at a particularly inopportune time, as he was just beginning to return to a point-per-game calibre player. In the two weeks preceding his injury, Pettersson had 10 points (4G 6A) in 8 games. After the Rangers poured freezing cold water onto Pettersson’s hot streak, it’s difficult to determine just how much Pettersson’s game would have continued to improve in the last month of the NHL regular season. 
With the Canucks season set to come to a close on April 16th in yet another game against the Vegas Golden Knights, it’s yet to be determined if Elias Pettersson will be seen on the ice again until the fall.
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