On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal tackled the ongoing struggles of the Vancouver Canucks’ top players, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, and the ripple effects on the team’s performance.

Through 30 games, Pettersson and Miller have combined for just four five-on-five goals — three from Pettersson and one from Miller. For two players expected to drive the team’s success, this lack of production is alarming.

“Both have looked off this season,” Harm remarked, starting with Pettersson’s lack of impact. “We thought Pettersson was turning a corner, but he’s pointless in his last five games. I’m still waiting for his skating to get back to where it usually is.

“We know he has a clunky stride, mechanically, he’s not a pretty skater, but there was a clip surfacing on social media the other day of his OT winner against St. Louis a couple of seasons ago where he just carves them up, and you wonder when we get that version of Elias Pettersson back.

“This is where you can look at the NHL Edge data and see his speed bursts above 20 miles-per-hour are down compared to where they usually are. Not to make excuses by any means, but I still wonder about the knee tendonitis he was dealing with last season and how significantly that’s impacting his skating ability.

“I just don’t see any dynamic puck-carrying ability from him. We know he’s not a [Nathan] MacKinnon or [Connor] McDavid-level flashy player — his impact is more subtle, about IQ, timing, and playmaking. But when he’s at his best, you’d still see sparks of creativity beating guys one-on-one. He just looks flat on way too many occasions this season.”

Quads pointed out that Pettersson excelled in a tougher matchup role when J.T. Miller was sidelined, putting up 15 points in 10 games alongside Quinn Hughes.

“Does J.T. Miller need the softer matchups?” Quads asked. “Use Pettersson as the matchup centre, put him out with Hughes, and that’s how you take down teams instead of Miller on the matchup line. The bigger question of this scenario comes from the fact you can’t clone Brock Boeser, so who would Petey play with on this matchup line?”

Harm pushed back, suggesting the timing wasn’t right. “I’d consider it if Pettersson was clicking, but it’s hard to say he deserves matchup minutes when he hasn’t scored in five games.

“He’s not out with Hughes as much right now, which is a fair point, but that also means he’s not going up against the other team’s top line and should have a matchup advantage anyway.”

Another point of contention was the Canucks’ decision to split up Miller and Pettersson on the power play, moving Pettersson to the second unit.

“It’s enough at this point,” Quads said. “The power play was split up again and it makes no sense. I’m not sure if the coaching staff was trying to send a message, but Conor Garland can’t finish right now. I know he’s there more for the zone entry and puck retrieval, but you’re overthinking it if you don’t have your five best players on the power play.”

Harm expanded on Garland’s limitations in that role. “With Garland on the left half-wall, he’s just not a shooting threat. Penalty killers can cheat towards Hughes, and in effect, it becomes four-on-four, especially with Garland’s confidence being low, having not scored in six games.

“You’ve got an opportunity to have both Pettersson and Miller on the half-walls — it’s worked in the past — and you’ve got to put your most skilled guys on the ice.”

Despite structural adjustments, the guys emphasized that the top players themselves need to execute better.

“I will add this: even if you get both guys on the top unit, the execution on the part of the players needs to be so much better,” Harm noted. “Last night against Vegas, they were flubbing elementary plays when they had easy opportunities.

“They’ve been sloppy and messing up plays that players of this calibre should not be screwing up in a five-on-four situation.”

You can watch the full segment below: