Reporter delivers harsh truths on Pettersson: It's time to take the next step

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Cooper Godin
July 24, 2024 (6:24 PM)

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A Canucks reporter says that Elias Pettersson needs to be in the first line center role with the amount he's earning starting next season.

The second half of the 2023-24 season and Stanley Cup Playoffs weren't the best for Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. In his season-ending media availability, Pettersson shared that he had been dealing with a knee injury since January, which could have been the cause of his drop off in production during the post-season.

Pettersson has been able to recover from the injury back home in Sweden over the last couple of months and should be back to 100% by the time the Canucks return to game action, which is set to be in exactly two months - Tuesday, September 24th vs Seattle - their pre-season opener.

The Sundsvall, Sweden native will have his new contract kick in this coming season which will pay him $11.6 million annually. With his new contract signed and him becoming fully healed from his injury when training camp rolls around, the Canucks are hoping Pettersson can return to the player he was two years ago when he had 102 points during the 2022-23 campaign.

Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army was recently a guest on 'Sekeres and Price' and shared that the team needs to Elias Pettersson to be the team's number 1 centerman next season because they didn't give him $11.6 million per year for him to be in the 2C role.

"At some point, there has to be a transition here. They didn't dole out the $ to Pettersson to be a 2C...he's been a star in the league already...he's the type of guy you bank on." Paterson said.

Paterson is absolutely correct in what he said. When you hand out that much money to one player, they need to be playing in a first line or first pairing role, depending on the position, and needs to be producing offense. While Pettersson shared he was injured since January, he was still able to put up 89 points in 82 regular season games last year. Going into 2024-25 however, Pettersson needs to be that player he was two years ago and be a consistent 100-point guy in order for this contract to look good from an outside perspective. The team and Pettersson both believe that he can be a 100-point player for years to come.

Do you think Elias Pettersson will reach the 100-point plateau next season? Let us know what you think in the poll below!