Former Vancouver Canucks forward has harsh criticism for centerman Elias Pettersson
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A former Vancouver Canucks forward has some harsh criticism for centerman Elias Pettersson after poor performances vs Italy and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“Pettersson has a similar opportunity to rebuild some of his value and whether that leads to a trade or just allows him to generate some momentum to close out the season remains to be seen. Sometimes when a player like Pettersson is in a difficult situation for a couple of years, it can do a number on their confidence. In Milan, Pettersson is going to be playing with and against elite players everywhere he turns, so if that doesn’t bring out his best, it’s probably time for the Canucks to be very concerned about how his contract is going to age.” Michal Amato of Sportsnet said ahead of the Olympics.
Former Vancouver Canucks forward has harsh criticism for Elias Pettersson
During an appearance on Canucks Central on Friday, former Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen, who has been very vocal about his opinions on Elias Pettersson over the last year, had some criticism for the way the Swedish forward has performed at the Winter Games.
“We are venturing into the territory of you are what you are…the ceiling of 105-115 points range is not attainable.” Hansen said.
While that might be the case and he could be a 75-80 point player for the rest of his career, it looks like Elias Pettersson used that criticism as fuel for Sweden’s final game of the preliminary round on Saturday against Slovakia.
Pettersson scored twice during Sweden’s 5-3 win over the Slovaks, spending time with William Nylander and Filip Forsberg at points of the game, with head coach Sam Hallam even putting the Canucks forward on the power play.
“Elias Pettersson today at the Olympics.
– Scores twice
– Sees playing time with Filip Forsberg and William Nylander
– Gets power play time
– Nearly helps Sweden win their group
Is he…oh nevermind 🙃
Solid showing from the #Canucks centre though.” Trevor Beggs of Daily Hive shared on X.
Sweden will now have to wait to see who they’ll face next, as depending on Finland’s game against Italy, they can still win Group B and advance to the quarterfinals or they may have to play in the qualification playoff round on Tuesday.
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Former Vancouver Canucks forward has harsh criticism for centerman Elias Pettersson
Do you think Elias Pettersson’s performance on Saturday will kick start an offensive outbreak for him for the remainder of the Olympics?