Elias Pettersson | #40 | C

[Lafayettecrossbar]

First few seasons I loved Petey, the player and person. 

 

With how this seasons unfolded so far I still love Petey the person but the player does not command respect. 

 

 

Remember the game a few years back vs. Pittsburgh where he checked the D along the boards, caused a turnover, stickhandled and made a pass to Boeser for a goal? Petey used to be friggin intense on the ice. It was palpable. I loved it. Now he seems like he's depressed and doesn't want to play. 

 

I make my money by the hour and I just don't have time to watch rich kids sulk when things don't go their way. Sorry not sorry. Other things to do. 

[Maddogy]

Pettersson and Boeser are the reasons why I am hesitant to see J.B. fired. Can anyone blame him and the ownership putting their trust in these 2 players? Had they known that Pettersson and Boeser would be useless J.B. would have taken a different approach this summer.

[Thraxious]

I'm not worried about Petey.  Both he and Boeser will go on a 30 goal tear in the last half of the season to ensure we get a crappy pick.

[JustABandwagoner]

lmfao

[-AJ-]

49 minutes ago, Thraxious said:

I'm not worried about Petey.  Both he and Boeser will go on a 30 goal tear in the last half of the season to ensure we get a crappy pick.

That's the positivity I want to hear.

[N4ZZY]

 How did Petey play tonight? 

 

[Mrwipeout]

havent seen the last 2 games due to work....i wonder that myself...

[DS4quality]

Not very good, wasn't on the ice much in the third. 13 minutes of ice time.  And poor overall.  

[Snake Doctor]

When is Pettersson taking Lui Errickson’s old seat in the press box?

[Canuck Luck]

Why was petey mad he was benched in the 3rd last night?

 

Maybe he thought he didn't get his whole salary of $90,000 per game if he didn't get a shift.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Canuck Luck

[MaxVerstappen33]

Some of the comments and comparisons on this thread are resolutely asinine. And everyone knows it. 

 

Lets have a real example. William Nylander. He had 7 goals in 54 games after he missed some time due to contract negs. The year after that he got 31 goals. It took until Game 20 to register his fourth point on Jan. 20, 2019, and there were near-immediate rumblings from fans and media alike that the Leafs — facing an impending salary cap crunch — had vastly overpaid a player set to make nearly $7 million US annually through 2023-24.

 

Here's an article from that season.  Substitute Peteys name in for Nylander.

https://thehockeywriters.com/toronto-maple-leafs-nylander-more-than-2018-19-season/

 

William Nylander Is More Than His 2018-19 Season

You could fill a page with excuses. He missed training camp and had a late start to the season. He didn’t have his legs under him until January.

 

He spent a ton of time, especially in the playoffs, with weak linemates.

 

The list goes on and on.

 

The bottom line is that William Nylander’s showing this past season was not what the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted or expected from the player that they signed for nearly $7 million per season.

 

But while the 2018-19 season was certainly the worst of his career, the underlying numbers were still promising. And perhaps more importantly, Nylander’s larger body of work suggests that he is still a young star with plenty of untapped potential.

 

Underlying Numbers: 2018-19

Fans love to point to the box scores when evaluating players, but the reality is that hockey is a complicated sport that goes beyond just goals and assists.

Yes, Nylander’s mark of seven goals and 27 points over 54 games this past season sounds unimpressive on the surface, especially given his hefty new contract. The truth about the young Swede’s performance, however, lies in the finer details.

 

Nylander led the Leafs in possession at even strength with an impressive 56.77 percent Corsi for. He also ranked second in scoring chances for (SCF) at 58.26 percent and fifth in expected goals for (xGF) at 58.30 percent while on the ice.

Yet despite all of these great numbers, Nylander wasn’t rewarded accordingly.

The Leafs had just 53.60 percent of the goals when he was on the ice, almost five percent less than his xGF. This can largely be explained by his on-ice shooting percentage of 7.99 percent, which was amongst the worst on the team. While Nylander generated plenty of chances, neither he nor his linemates were able to convert as often as they should have.

 

These numbers tell us that Nylander drives possession and scoring chances at an incredible rate. In simple terms, when Nylander is on the ice his team is likely to control the puck, shoot, and score more than when he is off the ice. His elite skating, transitional play, and puck distribution allow him to do this, but because the box score results weren’t there this season, he didn’t get much credit.

Goal Scoring & Puck Luck

Perhaps what Nylander was criticized for most this season was his lack of goal scoring. No matter how you slice it, seven goals in 54 games isn’t pretty. But when you dig deeper into the numbers, it becomes apparent that he was a victim of bad puck luck more than anything. We can demonstrate this in a couple of ways.

First of all, Nylander shot a measly 5.38 percent this season, just slightly better than half his career mark of 9.8 percent. Before 2018-19, he was a career 11.11 percent shooter. This should already be raising some red flags.

 

We can extrapolate one step further. If Nylander shot at his previous career average of 11.11 percent this season, he would have scored 14 goals in 54 games. Over 82 games, that works out to 21 goals – right in line with his previous marks of 22 and 20 goals in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

“Bad puck luck” may sound like a mere excuse, but it’s actually quantifiable.

 

According to the quality and quantity of shots he took, measured by individual expected goals (ixG), Nylander should have scored 12 times. Of course, being an elite shooter or a poor shooter can influence how much a player scores relative to his expected goals. Auston Matthews, for example, scored 37 times despite an ixG of just 27 thanks to his unique shot release.

 

The thing about Nylander is that we know he’s actually an above average shooter based on his past performance. From 2015-16 to 2017-18 Nylander outperformed his 42 ixG, scoring 48 times over that span. And watching him shoot the puck, this makes perfect sense.

 

Nylander was unlucky and he will produce significantly better results moving forward. He did it for the two seasons prior, and there’s no reason to think that he can’t return to that form – and improve upon it.

Looking to Next Season

People love to get hung up on recent results in professional sports. “What have you done for me lately,” the fanatic beckons.

 

Hockey, though, is a volatile sport. Just as the best team doesn’t always win, the best players don’t always produce as they should.

The key is to remember the big picture.

 

Nylander just turned 23, can play both wing and centre, has recorded over 60 points twice, and actually had a decent season despite what mainstream media would have you believe.

With a summer of disappointment-fueled workouts plus a proper training camp in September, expect Nylander to come into next season with a chip on his shoulder. And if coach Mike Babcock reunites Nylander with Matthews, expect an offensive exhibition.

 

Given his current ability, Nylander is already good for 20-plus goals and 60-plus points. With proper usage, natural progression, and a whole lot of motivation, the 70-point plateau is not out of the question for 2020.

Nylander is more than his 2018-19 season. And that’s exactly what he needs to prove next season.

Edited December 1, 2021 by MaxVerstappen33

[MaxVerstappen33]

Here is a genius that commented on that article at the time

 

Quote

Actually he's not much more than the 2018/19 season. Which is why they should trade him this offseason before the rest of the world catches on to his real abilities. Which on a losing team is on the second line, relieving up to the first line in case of emergency. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad player. But he's not a team player, and he's obviously only concerned with his bank account. That will haunt whoever owns his contract by the end of it. Trade him for Drew Doughty straight across, and give both teams what they need

 

 

 

[MaxVerstappen33]

^ Not much reaction to this from the Petey skeptics. Glad we cleared that up.

 

[Gurn]

Make star money, get criticized for not playing like a star.

Seems obvious to me.

[Nucker 67]

What was concerning to me is Petey saying he has needed to work harder in previous games, and last game he tried his best. It took him 23 games to try his best?  And I doubt this is because he's Swedish and can't communicate proper English yet. 

 

I just got this feeling he was purposely not giving his all earlier, possibly sulking, but "someone" talked to him and smartened him up. My guess is Henrik.  Next thing you know he donates $50K to the Canucks for Kids Fund and scores a beautiful goal with that rocket. He looked good last game, almost like Petey of old.

 

Really hoping he's done moping or whatever it was, and he goes on a tear to prove to everyone how good he still is. 

[Maddogy]

21 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

What was concerning to me is Petey saying he has needed to work harder in previous games, and last game he tried his best. It took him 23 games to try his best?  And I doubt this is because he's Swedish and can't communicate proper English yet. 

 

I just got this feeling he was purposely not giving his all earlier, possibly sulking, but "someone" talked to him and smartened him up. My guess is Henrik.  Next thing you know he donates $50K to the Canucks for Kids Fund and scores a beautiful goal with that rocket. He looked good last game, almost like Petey of old.

 

Really hoping he's done moping or whatever it was, and he goes on a tear to prove to everyone how good he still is. 

HIm and Boeser have possibly ruined the team. Whether you agree with the team's direction at the start of this season or not, the team was built on the assumption that Pettersson and Boeser would lead the team in offence. The added team depth is there to do the rest. Regardless of why these 2 kids are crapping their pants, the coach is gonna get fired, likely the G.M. as well. The new G.M. and coaching staff may opt for a new direction which means that some key players may be traded and the team's overall developmental schedule may be pushed far into the future. We may never be able to get another player as versatile as J.T. Miller. 

 

These 2 guys are truly the franchise players we deserve.

Edited December 2, 2021 by Maddogy

[Dats hockey]

On 12/1/2021 at 1:36 PM, gurn said:

Make star money, get criticized for not playing like a star.

Seems obvious to me.

That only run true in Canada, Do you think the isle will give us Barzal for maybe 2 2nd he’s having a shot season also

[Gurn]

5 minutes ago, Dats hockey said:

That only run true in Canada, Do you think the isle will give us Barzal for maybe 2 2nd he’s having a shot season also

I wouldn't do that deal anyway. Elias will get out of this and return to his former level of around a point a game.

With great money comes great responsibility, it can take awhile to adapt.

I do wonder if a point a game is his ceiling, nothing to feel bad about, but I had thought him to be a 100-120 point potential guy.

[Dats hockey]

Just now, gurn said:

I wouldn't do that deal anyway. Elias will get out of this and return to his former level of around a point a game.

With great money comes great responsibility, it can take awhile to adapt.

I do wonder if a point a game is his ceiling, nothing to feel bad about, but I had thought him to be a 100-120 point potential guy.

That wasn’t my point man, so many people over reacting over a player who isn’t even awful rn coming off a $&!#ty injury and is slumping. While this happen to some players every year IE Barzal

[Gurn]

22 minutes ago, Dats hockey said:

That wasn’t my point man, so many people over reacting over a player who isn’t even awful rn coming off a $&!#ty injury and is slumping. While this happen to some players every year IE Barzal

This is cdc, a large percent of posters will over react all the time, and a bout 10% will over react some of the time. Means you get a lot of over reacting all the time.

Annoying, but not likely to change.