VANCOUVER — Those looking optimistically for an evolution in Elias Pettersson’s relationship with the public could point on Monday to his unsolicited declaration that he added “six kilos” to his lanky frame during summer training.
Always one of his most touchy subjects, Pettersson’s weight wouldn’t have been volunteered previously even if he were standing on you. Adding 13 pounds of lean bulk, especially if it has strengthened Pettersson’s lower body, represents a huge change figuratively for the 26-year-old Swedish centre.
It was good of him to reveal this during a polite media availability on Monday ahead of the Vancouver Canucks’ charity golf tournament at Northview in Surrey.
On the other hand, it took a halting cross-examination from a reporter before Pettersson confirmed that he was married over the summer — after he failed to mention that tidbit when asked for the “highlights” of his off-season.
“I did get married,” he conceded.
Well, wasn’t that one of the highlights?
“It was the highlight,” he finally said. “Best day of my life, so it was good.”
Pettersson, of course, was already married, wedded to the Canucks with the $92.8-million contract he signed 18 months ago that was buttressed by a full no-movement clause that activated on July 1.
So there are, potentially, seven more seasons of Pettersson in Vancouver, a time span equal to what he has already lived with the Canucks.
As Pettersson prepares for Season 8, still a young man but certainly no longer a young hockey player, we should all stop expecting anything resembling warm and fuzzy from him. He is intensely private, sometimes uncommunicative or even hostile, and always wary of making himself vulnerable by revealing anything of himself.
And that is fine. Honestly discussing how he feels would make him more relatable to the billions who do not play in the National Hockey League, but it is not an employment requisite.
What Pettersson needs to do is play well, be dependable for teammates, and find a way to lead the Canucks on the ice. He needs to — and even he would agree — play a lot better than he did during his injury- and drama-plagued 2024-25 season that saw the highest-paid Canuck finish with 15 goals and 45 points in 64 games.
“Obviously, I feel good,” he said Monday of his preparation. “It’s been a long summer, so I just tried to add some muscles and be ready to be myself again out there. And I feel confidence that I will. I had a long summer of training, so it’s been good.”
“Yeah, I mean, that’s in the past,” he said. “We can all learn from it. I’m just looking forward, excited for this year. Take it from there.”
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With J.T. Miller traded in January to the New York Rangers, two years and a day after Bo Horvat was sent to the Islanders, Pettersson can’t help but be a barometer for the Canucks’ season.
If he gets another 45 points, the team will almost certainly miss the playoffs again. But if Pettersson plays like a first-line centre, something close to the 102- or 89-point versions he was the previous two seasons, it exponentially increases the odds of the Canucks bouncing back if goalie Thatcher Demko stays healthy and the Quinn Hughes-led defence, upgraded by the Miller (Marcus Pettersson) and Horvat (Filip Hronek) trades, plays like one of the top five units in the NHL.
Just like last season, Pettersson’s play will tell us more than his mouth.
“Well, he’s competitive,” veteran defenceman Tyler Myers said. “When you’re around him every day, you can tell, just personally, he wasn’t happy with the way things went last year. And just being around him the last five or six years, he’s very competitive. So I know he’s coming in this year with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.
“He looks a lot different physically, even just this first week that we’ve been here. So I’m excited for him. Not even just for Petey, I think it’s important for everyone in the room to realize that everyone’s here for each other. And, you know, if one player needs to lean on another at any given time, we’re all there for each other. I’m excited for him. I’m excited for all the guys for… just the start this year.”
An underrated leader and part of the Canucks’ conscience, Myers agreed that this season is a fresh start for everyone who struggled last year with their own problems or the team’s or both.
New head coach Adam Foote devoted much of his summer to reaching out to his leadership group and empowering them to set standards for each other.
“Listen, it’s so simple,” Foote explained to us in July, “They’re going to take care of each other because if I have to do it, I’m sure they’re not going to be too happy with that. It’s a good group; they care about each other.”
Soon after he replaced Rick Tocchet, who left the Canucks as a free agent after the tumultuous season, Foote met Pettersson, Hughes and Demko in Detroit.
Pettersson wasn’t asked Monday about that extraordinary excursion in May.
“You know, there was a lot that went on the last 18 months,” Myers said. “In a way, for sure, you could look at it a little bit like a fresh start. I think it’s just important we keep growing the culture that we want to build here. What do we want our room to be like? What kind of team do we want to be on the ice and off?”
And who is going to lead them up front?
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