Unfortunately, it’s looking like Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson has run into some bad luck this year, in more ways than one.
On Thursday, Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News reported that in 2023, Elias Pettersson was defrauded by a real estate agent in the purchase of a villa in Danderyd, a suburb of Stockholm. The news came via Swedish outlets Linnea Anderson with Hockey News Sweden and Leif Johansson with Sundsvalls Tidning, a local paper in Pettersson’s hometown of Sundsvall.
According to Johansson, the ordeal began two years ago when Pettersson placed a 10% down payment of 2.7 million kronor on the property, which is just under $240,000 USD. The total price of the property is 26 million kronor, making it worth an approximate $2.4 million USD.
The dream-home deal might have been too good to be true. The property apparently had many issues that were not disclosed to Pettersson at the time of purchase, including a possibly costly relocation or demolition of structures on the property due to the violation of building permit guidelines.
The seller and agent retaliated when Pettersson attempted to withdraw his purchase of the luxury home and underwent legal recourse, but the district courts ruled in favour of Pettersson, and he was able to walk away without consequence. What he wasn’t able to walk away with, however, was his down payment.
Despite the cancelled sale and the court ruling, Pettersson never received his down payment back from any of the parties involved. The deposit did not go to the seller either.
The broker in the deal has reportedly been charged with fraud and sentenced to six years in prison, after investigations revealed a pattern of defrauding buyers and pocketing their deposits. Pettersson’s case was not one of the cases tried in the sentencing, and at this time, it remains unclear if further legal action will be taken.
Pettersson’s father Torbjörn Pettersson spoke to Sundsvall Tidning about the legal battle, confirming that the property “had many flaws that needed to be fixed,” advising that “the money’s gone – just forget about it and move on.”
This unfortunate incident is yet another damper on a complicated week for the Canucks, in an even more complex year.
Pettersson scored a goal against the Buffalo Sabres at home on Tuesday, a bright spot in a demoralizing 3-2 loss. Pettersson has struggled to produce offensively since 2024’s All-Star break – nearly a full calendar year. After reaching a peak of 102 points in his 2022-2023 campaign and 82 last season, this year, he has just 11 goals and 19 assists in 40 games played thus far. His consistent offensive game has been sorely missed on a Canucks team struggling to score, or even create effective scoring chances.
The news comes as the Canucks are set to meet the Edmonton Oilers tonight, the first meeting of the divisional rivals since bedlam broke out in the closing seconds of their meeting last Saturday. The strife saw both Tyler Myers and Connor McDavid suspended for three games apiece, with the Canucks coming away with a 3-2 win.
As rumours and uncertainly swirl surrounding Pettersson and the Canucks ahead of the trade deadline, let’s hope matters in his home country are resolved for him quickly and with a positive outcome.
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