[Report/Rumour] Elias Pettersson Contract Talks

[AnthonyG]

9 hours ago, shiznak said:

 

For the record, Demko was part of the problem, at the beginning of the season, were he sported a nice GAA over 4 and a SV% under .900.

For the record I’ve stated that probably 400 times. I appreciate that someone else actually is willing to have the balls to point out a star player who didnt perform instead of just piling on the team piñata. Just like the year prior, Pettersson massively underperformed for the first 44 games. He had 4 multi point games and only had 24 points at that point in the season…. He had a ton of pointless games.

[AnthonyG]

12 hours ago, RWJC said:

Btw, CGY finished with 10 more points than us, NSH with 9 more. They didn’t make the playoffs either. Blues trailed us by only 2 point and they obviously didn’t  make the cut.
 

The good news is that we may have improved our potential this season over those respective teams.

 

Bad news is Kraken beat us by 17 points, and Jets by 12. That’s our wildcard competition. We may be able to  catch the Jets this year but Kraken might be difficult. Still all a crapshoot.

 

 

How many of those teams were missing their #1 goalie for 3 months? CGY was healthy virtually all year. They just had piss poor goaltending from Markstrom for periods of time. They are a team that is seriously dysfunctional right now, the amount of trade demands out of cowtown is a huge concern. They moved their top scorer, their top 6 is largely over the hump and headed down the hill. Sure they will make teams earn their points, but I dont see them as a team that has us or most good teams around the league clinging on for dear life.

 

Where did we struggle last year?

PK and in net.

We built a bottom 6 and focused on PK/role players such as Gillis did for the 2010-11 team.

Demko is healthy.

Pettersson is projected to be a top 5 scorer in the league next season.

Hughes is going to take another step forward.

Kuzmenko is a sniper

Boeser is building a 2 way game and may bounce back.

JT Miller is a stud at C

we are deeper down the middle

I like this teams chances of making playoffs very much and so long as we have a Pettersson, Hughes, Miller and Demko playing at the top of their game, we have a good chance in any best of 7.

 

[TopChed]

12 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

We’ve built a role playing bottom 6 and a PK unit. Something we’ve lacked. We obviously couldnt count on goaltending to do their job and with a slew of injuries and not having any real PKers, it hurt us bad. Think back 2 seasons ago, even with a healthy Demko playing at his best, the absence of Beagle, Roussel and Eriksson actually had an impact on our ability to keep leads, win games or keep the score close. I firmly believe this team can take a top 3 divisional spot. I believe we are better than a WC spot.

[AnthonyG]

3 hours ago, IBatch said:

McAvoy is overpaid and oft injured.    Watching him play with Chara was comedy, he is a good puck handler, but not really a big guy.   Zacha will frustrate us, better off as a 3C.   So Lysell and the first.   I wouldn't do this trade, but mostly because I'm not as high in McAvoy as others are.   He's a little bit like Werenski 2.0 without the goal scoring.    I'd consider it too because it's better than nothing for sure.     But the most he's ever played is 67 games, and well i'm pretty sure he's sub-six feet..QHs, Hronek and McAavoy would be a treat to watch dish the puck though.   

 

Love your continued optimism.  NHL.com recently did an article and picked Vancouver as the dark horse in the West, and CLB in the East.   But did emphasize that they are much more bullish with the Canucks, and why.   A lot of those things have to do with Demko returning to form (his Tochett record was pretty sick) and Tochett himself.   I love our new coaching staff.   Perfect for a young team, and, if the wheels fall off, a rebuild too.   Allvin covered his bases there IMO. 

 

 

LA has is much improved.    Blake did exactly what we should have done.   Traded all the support players and guys who were lower on the core ladder.    Youth, vets, PLD ... just goaltending. 

 

Vegas..well we surely aren't a contender - they've been one since day one.  

 

And this is the best version of that team  as well.   Eichel worked out and will keep working out.    They've got 4-5 years left with that group. 

 

ANA and SJ don't have to worry about them. 

 

CAL, well that also depends on some things, but on paper they are good. 

 

EDM is very good aside from just McDavid.   We have to acknowledge that.  It's not just their PP.   Which of course is deadly.   RNH, Hyman, Kane ... it's not just the top two guys.   Bouchard, well a lot of fantasy folks would be wise to pick him up anyways. 

 

 

Seattle.   A bubble team for sure. 

 

Not sure really.   The past few years there seemed to be a legitimate excuse.   Sure hope we make the playoffs.   This team can, but a lot of things need to go right for that to happen.    But thanks for the pep talk.  

 

 

Personally I feel the stars aligned for VGK this post season. Health was a major issue for them all season, they got healthy heading into playoffs. yes they are pretty deep, they have a good back end, but goaltending came out of nowhere for them. Aidin Hill had the run of his life, posting a .941sv% and VGK got healthy at the right time. FLA hit the injury bug just like we did, right as we get to the finals and goaltending began to struggle. You look at VGK’s path vs FLA’s and it was without a doubt much easier path to the finals. Boston, Toronto, Carolina vs Winnipeg, Edmonton and Dallas. VGK was virtually unscathed going into the finals. FLA’s back end was decimated and Tkachuk was out as well. Lets call a spade a spade when we see it, it all comes down to health and goaltending in the end. A career back up goalie pulled channeled his inner Tim Thomas and had the performance of his life.

[AnthonyG]

1 hour ago, TopChed said:

[Gawdzukes]

22 hours ago, RWJC said:

It’s called business. And in case anyone has forgotten, he has chosen to take this team on his back from a very young age. His trajectory has continuously risen in that time too. That’s leadership and commitment to the crest and the culture, but people too soon to forget that.
 

His first responsibility is to himself and his career. This isn’t fighting for your country in war. Agents, endorsements, market variables, etc, he has every right to choose his own destiny. It’s absurd of any Nux fan to think he OWES something to you or the team after all he’s already accomplished.

I’m someone who is loyal to a fault and even I can appreciate that. 

 

This is such a good post. The people hating on Bo should be ashamed of themselves. He went from a third line projection to being Captain at 24 of a complete shi!t hockey team. He never complained, always faced the media, and always played hard. He became a very solid 2C, top face-off performer, eventually scoring 30* goals and netting us a haul at the deadline.

 

It's not his fault that he isn't more skilled, or that we drafted him 9th overall, or that our team was absolute rubbish for years, or that some fans picked on Miller. It seems like nothing more than a piss fest from salty Miller fans. Hating on Bo is like hating Bambi ffs ... lol. 

 

 

[Provost]

1 hour ago, AnthonyG said:

I don’t think you know what that term actually means…

 

No bandwagon fans would be here commenting because there hasn’t been a bandwagon to jump on for a decade.

 

Die hard fans are still here “hoping” despite the team having one of the worst overall records in the league for ten years despite spending to the cap unlike the teams worse than us, terrible vision from ownership, and many coaching changes.

[AnthonyG]

7 minutes ago, Provost said:

I don’t think you know what that term actually means…

 

No bandwagon fans would be here commenting because there hasn’t been a bandwagon to jump on for a decade.

 

Die hard fans are still here “hoping” despite the team having one of the worst overall records in the league for ten years despite spending to the cap unlike the teams worse than us, terrible vision from ownership, and many coaching changes.

He’ll be hoppin on the wagon the moment he sees this team is capable of competing. He doubts this team from the getgo. Thats a bandwagoner. Has no interest and no faith until things are good. Either support the team and pay attention to the trajectory, or just dont comment at all. 
 

Vancouver was left in shambles after Gillis, of course it was going to take a long time to try and rebuild with pretty much no valuable trade chips to speed up a rebuild and the worst prospect pool. Be thankful we began finding NHL stars in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018. Look at how many other teams took decades and are still a joke. FLA took ages, ARZ is perpetually stuck, EDM took eons, TOR took ages, those 2 teams were fortunate to have their fate changed by drafting generational talent. Where would they be without Matthews or McDavid? NJD took 11 straight seasons, BUF took a decade but is now ready to take over if they get quality goaltending. 
 

Vancouver did a stealth rebuild and didnt have to pay to draft Demko, Boeser, Pettersson or Hughes. We had nothing to give to gain, so of course with nothing of significant value to trade out, your on ice product is probably going to struggle. Yet we made playoffs twice in 5 years, missed because of COVID wiping us out, a poor start for half a season by our star players and then last year our #1 goalie had a bad start and then was out of commission for nearly 4 months. This team is going through some battles and fighting adversity, they are learning what it takes to be a pro and what it takes to take their game to the next level. 
2021-22 Petey vs 2022-23 Petey, MASSIVE difference when he came to camp early vs last minute. 

[AnthonyG]

14 hours ago, RWJC said:

Improved defensive dcorps in front of him too now 

Honestly this gives me Gillis vibes between 2009-2011. He built one of the best PK units, focused on role players and then began acquiring the over the top pieces to add to our already talented top 6/4

 

[DeNiro]

7 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

Honestly this gives me Gillis vibes between 2009-2011. He built one of the best PK units, focused on role players and then began acquiring the over the top pieces to add to our already talented top 6/4

 

Very true.

 

Thats one thing Benning couldn’t seem to get done for the life of him. Every role player he brought in he overpaid and they underperformed.

 

His only success there over 8 years was probably Dorsett, Schenn, and Motte. Honourable mention to Josh Leivo.
 

Absolutely nothing to show for in developed players from the farm though.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by DeNiro

[Gawdzukes]

16 hours ago, stawns said:

I want to think they're seriously in the mix, but I'm also not sure PA made the moves he needed to make to get them there.  They'll need a healthy dose of good luck........but that's true of all bubble teams I guess

Yup, we made some really nice and absolutely necessary moves. Whether that's enough is a completely different question. 

 

One of my biggest fears is we've once again made so many changes. We all know it takes players awhile to acclimate to new teams. Does this mean we get off to  a crap start again? I hope not. Also, besides the playoff teams from last year St. Louis isn't going to roll over and die like some people here hope, neither is Nashville, Winnipeg, or Calgary.

 

Realistically the odds are we finish just outside the playoffs unless we get some major improvement from within, or our new players are great compliments to what we had. Hoping for the best and at least competitive entertaining hockey down the stretch.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Gawdzukes

[Ghostsof1915]

8 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

Yup, we made some really nice and absolutely necessary moves. Whether that's enough is a completely different question. 

 

One of my biggest fears is we've once again made so many changes. We all know it takes players awhile to acclimate to new teams. Does this mean we get off to  a crap start again? I hope not. Also, besides the playoff teams from last year St. Louis isn't going to roll over and die like some people here hope, neither is Nashville, Winnipeg, or Calgary.

 

Realistically the odds are we finish just outside the layoffs unless we get some major improvement from within, or our new players are great compliments to what we had. Hoping for the best and at least competitive entertaining hockey down the stretch.

Basically Vancouver has to beat up the teams in our conference, or at least make life miserable for them. It sure is not going to be easy.

[AnthonyG]

10 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

Very true.

 

Thats one thing Benning couldn’t seem to get done for the life of him. Every role player he brought in he overpaid and they underperformed.

 

His only success there over 8 years was probably Dorsett, Schenn, and Motte. Honourable mention to Josh Leivo.
 

Absolutely nothing to show for in developed players from the farm though.

 

 

Well thats because his actual product was on the ice. His players didnt need as much time.

technically demko and gaudette were graduates. Not all of his guys are done developing either.

Thankfully Benning was able to get the most important pieces, the rest can be found a lot easier and are not nearly is important as prioritizing finding a Pettersson, Hughes, Demko and Boeser for example.

[Citizen Erased]

Well, I’m sure the one thing we can all agree on is that the Canucks should be a better team this year than they have been in a long time, regardless of making the playoffs or not.

 

No doubt it will be tough, but I have as much faith in them since Gillis was hired, much like @AnthonyG.

[Gawdzukes]

15 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

Calgary just moved their top scorer, the team is in complete dysfunction.

Edmonton relies HEAVILY on the PP to win games. Without that PP their top 3 scorers did next to SFA against VGK. 
LAK meh. How much longer can Kopitar keep leading that team at the age of 36?

VGK will be strong, but I feel we can compete with them. 
SJS lol

ANA el oh el

SEA is very well rounded.

 

I dont see how we cannot compete for a top 3 spot against EDM, VGK and SEA realistically. Those are the 3 teams we are contending against. I like our goaltending better, I like Hughes over their star dmen. Theodore sure makes a case for himself as a better overall dman. But is nowhere near as dynamic and as good of a skater as Hughes. We have a 100pt scorer and technically almost 2 with JT. We have 3 30 goal scorers and who knows, maybe Boeser regains his confidence and scoring touch after getting past the first year without his dad and having a solid and healthy camp.

This team is entirely capable of playoffs and being top 3 in the division the way I see things.

 

You are a super optimistic guy which is cool but you should temper that with reality too.

 

VGK ... Cream of the Comference

Calgary moved Toffoli but they still finished 10 points ahead of us, and had a down year. They could easily be better ... new coach too.

Edmonton finished 26 points ahead of us, regardless of the PP

LAK made some major moves and look to be on the rise (my biggest upward mover), only goaltending is a question, but is solvable.

SJS ... we'll see lol, could take some points off teams.

ANA ... will be strong soon but probably not this year

SEA ... very well rounded, well coached, lunchbox team (like CAR) they should be strong again.

VAN ... finished 12 points out ... remade d core and 2 middling bottom 6 centers. lost 31 goal center.

 

Correction: We are competing with VGK, EDM, LAK, SEA, CGY

 

It's possible but usually when I see people trying to downgrade others to make themselves better it's more of an indication of hopeful thinking than a reflection of reality.

 

I think the top 3 are going to be out of reach and we'd be awfully lucky to grab a wildcard.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Gawdzukes

[AnthonyG]

12 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

Very true.

 

Thats one thing Benning couldn’t seem to get done for the life of him. Every role player he brought in he overpaid and they underperformed.

 

His only success there over 8 years was probably Dorsett, Schenn, and Motte. Honourable mention to Josh Leivo.
 

Absolutely nothing to show for in developed players from the farm though.

 

 

I’d argue his bottom 6 guys like Beagle and Roussel gave us hope in games for killing penalties or helping protect leads. Eriksson was converted to bottom 6 duties and also had a major impact on PK/protecting leads. But our stars struggled at times and the bottom 6 couldnt carry that weight plus protecting leads. The moment those guys left, we couldnt kill a penalty and couldnt protect a lead to save our life. When Demko went down it became even more of a nightmare. This is allllll part of what builds contenders and our core is young and has plenty of time to peak and then plateau. We have a good 7 years of top level hockey and working our way into the contender conversation. I believe by the end of this season, we will have began putting ourselves in a contender conversation to start next year. We have the talent, we have some depth, we have Hughes and we have a goalie who is capable of playing at an elite level. The pieces are there, we just need some time and a couple more ingredients, we dont need an entire recipe.

[DeNiro]

10 minutes ago, AnthonyG said:

Well thats because his actual product was on the ice. His players didnt need as much time.

technically demko and gaudette were graduates. Not all of his guys are done developing either.

Thankfully Benning was able to get the most important pieces, the rest can be found a lot easier and are not nearly is important as prioritizing finding a Pettersson, Hughes, Demko and Boeser for example.

Yea but the point remains, over 8 years you should be able to develop at least one role player from your own system.

 

Those pieces are easier to find yes, which is why it was baffling for him to fail so much bringing them in.

[bishopshodan]

6 minutes ago, Citizen Erased said:

Well, I’m sure the one thing we can all agree on is that the Canucks should be a better team this year than they have been in a long time

I'm not sure.

 

Seems par for the course, dont think on paper we look too much better than the start of last season. That said, our core is great and will have another year of development under their belt. 

I also cant stand Rick. I have very little faith in him. I cant wait for the season to start so that i can be proven wrong. I'm pretty sure that has happened at least once or twice in my life, but I cant quite remember. 

[rekker]

8 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

You are a super optimistic guy which is cool but you should temper that with reality too.

 

Calgary moved Toffoli but they still finished 10 points ahead of us, and had a down year. They could easily be better ... new coach too.

Edmonton finished 26 points ahead of us, regardless of the PP

LAK made some major moves and look to be on the rise (my biggest upward mover), only goaltending is a question, but is solvable.

SJS ... we'll see lol, could take some points off teams.

ANA ... will be strong soon but probably not this year

SEA ... very well rounded, well coached, lunchbox team (like CAR) they should be strong again.

VAN ... finished 12 points out ... remade d core and 2 middling bottom 6 centers. lost 31 goal center.

 

Correction: We are competing with VGK, EDM, LAK, SEA, CGY

 

It's possible but usually when I see people trying to downgrade others to make themselves better it's more of an indication of hopeful thinking than a reflection of reality.

 

I think the top 3 are going to be out of reach and we'd be awfully lucky to grab a wildcard.

Solid points. Six to eight more wins, and maybe we are in. If Demko is Demko and stays healthy it's quite doable. Seattle could come back down a bit, same with Oilers as I'm still not sold on their D and team D. Flames will be in the fight similar to us. Other than the obvious lower teams on that list, all the teams have at least a question mark or need to prove they are automatic playoff teams. Except for the Coilers, anything could happen with these teams. 

[Gawdzukes]

16 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Basically Vancouver has to beat up the teams in our conference, or at least make life miserable for them. It sure is not going to be easy.

No it isn't, you're right it's going to be a slugfest. In my mind we've shored up the D, and brought in a couple bottom 6 centers, which was sorely needed. The biggest question now is can we find the gumption to dig deep and make our team hard to play against in the trenches. Obviously RT saw this as well and it's been his mantra since he got here. 

 

For me that's going to determine our fate. Will our top 6 players, besides Petterson, find the will and dedication to out battle the other teams top 6. Miller and his leadership would go along way with the others to help accomplish this. We have the skill ... do we have the heart?