The psychology of Elias Pettersson

Posted on by

If you could ask any Canucks fan, if you could make one change to the team, what would it be?  

And then specify you mean on the ice, when they say they would change the owner. 

The answer is Elias Pettersson.  

Move him, dump him, buy him out. It’s all in the same tune. 

And yea, it has been bad. On March 2nd, 2024, Pettersson signed the biggest contract in Canucks history. An 8-year extension at 11.6 million a year. He was supposed to the top line elite center, but his play on the ice looks more like a top end third line guy. 

You know the rest of the story, almost by heart at this point. 

Its now that you need to realize that this is more than about hockey. Pettersson is a guy who needs to have his confidence, and will shatter like glass without it. The reports of JT Miller being extremely hard and extremely frustrated with Pettersson has probably been weighing on him. Pettersson isn’t the guy who can sluff harsh words off his back. He sits in them, stewing and marinating.  

Another thing that doesn’t get remembered enough is that in the last year, Pettersson and his wife have had not one, but two miscarriages. Could you ever imagine what that would be like to go through? 

In addition to this the Canucks are not a very good team. And it’s worse than finishing last in the standings. For years now there has been reports spilling out of many players that the team lacks culture and has a country club like mentality. 

Finally, there’s the “fans” who continue to throw shade at him. And I don’t mean criticize his on ice performance. I mean the people that spew foul and acidic toxic language that doesn’t help to fix anything and is completely unnecessary. And Pettersson see’s all of it. It probably whispers in his ear during a game. It’s no wonder why he’s been deactivating most of his social media. 

Whether its on the ice or in his personal life, things ain’t going very well right now for Petey. In all likelihood, a trade might spark him back to his old self. The man desperately needs a change of environment. Unfortunately, that big shiny contract acts more like an anchor at this time. No team will likely take the full thing on without retention.  

The only option the Canucks have in hopes of moving him, is rebuilding his value, and that actually could start with the fans.  

I mentioned earlier that Pettersson requires his confidence to be at his best. 

If he feels like he has full support of the fanbase (just forget about his contract), he might take his first steps to being in a better headspace. This means no more heinis comments, booing, or referring to him as Mr. 11.6 online. 

It’s like that advice Thumper gives in that old Disney movie, “If you cant say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”