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Canucks: Rutherford once again urges Pettersson to put in more work this summer
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
Apr 18, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 18, 2026, 13:42 EDT
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Jim Rutherford pulled no punches on Friday when it came to re-igniting Elias Pettersson’s production to help the Vancouver Canucks through their rebuild. It wasn’t the first time the President of Hockey Operations has taken direct aim at the mercurial centre who has floundered offensively for more than two seasons now since signing an eight year/$92.6M contract extension. Through the years, Rutherford and other higher-ups in the Canucks front office have questioned Pettersson’s practice habits and off-season training routines. 
As Rutherford spoke to the assembled media at Rogers Arena, he was asked about Pettersson’s future with the organization. It was clear the club’s hockey boss wasn’t impressed with Pettersson’s 51-point season that included scoring in just one of the team’s final 36 games. 
“He’s been disappointing, obviously,” Rutherford said bluntly. “I think there’s a lot of good things he did. He tried to become a two-way player. He’s tried to do the things that it ultimately takes to win as a team. But his production has been down so much, it’s difficult. I believe that if he puts the work in in the summer, it’s the same as anything people do in life – preparation is the key to success – and I don’t believe he’s put enough preparation in at this point to be the player he needs to be.”
After career-best seasons of 102 and 89 points, Pettersson has dipped to 45 and 51 points in each of the past two seasons. He has scored 15 goals in each of the past two campaigns after registering a career high of 39 in 2022-23. While his shot totals rebounded slightly to 132 this season from just 109 a year ago, Pettersson is still remarkably off the pace that saw him produce 257 shots on goal three seasons ago.
With little support at centre behind him in the lineup this season, Pettersson’s five-on-five production dropped to just 10 goals and 21 points. He didn’t score a 5-on-5 goal after January 13th in Ottawa. The Canucks were outscored 52-30 with Pettersson on the ice this season, and the club controlled 46.9% of expected goals. 
Rutherford pledged support for Pettersson, who will turn 28 early in his ninth full NHL season, and believes that with the required dedication and offseason training, he can show signs of his old form once again. Rutherford also noted that Pettersson’s best scoring days may be behind him, but he thinks there are still plenty of ways he can be a key cog in the Canucks’ wheel as they integrate more young players into the mix. 
“I do feel confident that Petey has the ability that he can bounce back,” Rutherford stated. “And he doesn’t have to be a guy that gets 110 points. Even a point a game will be enough as this team grows and becomes a better team. It’ll be enough for this team to be successful, but he’s got to get to that, and he’s got to work at it.”
Of course, all of this comes against the backdrop of a new manager taking the reins after Friday’s dismissal of Patrik Allvin. And Rutherford acknowledged that Pettersson’s future and his fit on a rebuilding hockey club will certainly be a consideration for the new person in charge.
Perhaps the new GM will want to be patient to see how Pettersson reports to training camp in September or maybe in an effort to completely turn the page from a last page finish, the new hockey club will look to make waves on the trade front as early as this summer. It’s important to remember that Pettersson has full trade protection and will have control over the process if the club looks to move him.
“He’s young enough, he’s capable of doing it (improving) and if he does the things he’s told to do, he has a chance to succeed here,” Rutherford said of Pettersson. “But if he doesn’t, the GM is going to have to make a decision. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. You’re damned if you trade the guy because he could go and take off again. Or you could decide, no, he’s going to to do it here and he doesn’t. So it’s a very tough decision. 
“I’m sure that’s going to be a key point for the new guy that comes on board. He’s going to want to know ‘what’s going on with this guy?’ and he’s going to look into it and make that decision.”
So while the Canucks begin their search for the person who will be responsible for setting the course for the hockey club, they are also looking for Elias Pettersson to level up yet again. They’ve been down this road before. And you just have to wonder how many more times management can push the player to improve before it realizes it might just be time to turn the page.

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