It's been a slow start to the 2024-25 season for Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, who's in the first year of an eight-year contract that sees him earn $11.6 million annually. His $11.6 million salary is the fifth-highest cap hit in the National Hockey League.
Many have been wondering what's going on with Elias Pettersson, whether it's the pressure and weight of having such a big contract, but some are even suggesting that he could be playing through an injury, with several analytics showing decreases for the Swedish forward when compared to last year.
Regardless of what it is, the Vancouver Canucks are hopeful and confident that Elias Pettersson will be able to break out of this slump, hopefully sooner rather than later.
On Friday's edition of Donnie & Dhali, Rick Dhaliwal said that Elias Pettersson's agents J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson of CAA Sports aren't worried about their client amid his slow start to the new season. Given that their client, Elias Pettersson, got such a massive contract back in the spring, it's not hard to see why they're not concerned.
Through Vancouver's first nine games of the season, the 25-year-old has registered just four points (one goal, three assists), two penalty minutes and is a minus-three.
Vancouver Canucks fans want to see Elias Pettersson back at the top of his game, as he was during the 2022-23 season and at the start of last season. He needs the fans to have his back during this tough stretch and eventually, he'll break through and start producing plenty of offence for the Canucks, which will help in a big way as Vancouver sits 27th in the National Hockey League in 'Goals For' with 27.
POLL | ||
How concerned are you about Elias Pettersson's slow start to the season? | ||
Extremely concerned | 374 | 52.2 % |
Somewhat concerned | 247 | 34.4 % |
Not concerned at all | 96 | 13.4 % |
List of polls |