{"id":555845,"date":"2026-04-19T07:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T07:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555845\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T07:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T07:54:15","slug":"canucks-rutherford-once-again-urges-pettersson-to-put-in-more-work-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/555845\/","title":{"rendered":"Canucks: Rutherford once again urges Pettersson to put in more work this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jim Rutherford pulled no punches on Friday<\/a> when it came to re-igniting Elias Pettersson\u2019s production to help the Vancouver Canucks through their rebuild. It wasn\u2019t the first time the President of Hockey Operations has taken direct aim at the mercurial centre who has floundered offensively for more than two seasons now since signing an eight year\/$92.6M contract extension<\/a>. Through the years, Rutherford and other higher-ups in the Canucks front office have questioned Pettersson\u2019s practice habits and off-season training routines.\u00a0As Rutherford spoke to the assembled media at Rogers Arena, he was asked about Pettersson\u2019s future with the organization. It was clear the club\u2019s hockey boss wasn\u2019t impressed with Pettersson\u2019s 51-point season<\/a> that included scoring in just one of the team\u2019s final 36 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been disappointing, obviously,\u201d Rutherford said bluntly. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of good things he did. He tried to become a two-way player. He\u2019s tried to do the things that it ultimately takes to win as a team. But his production has been down so much, it\u2019s difficult. I believe that if he puts the work in in the summer, it\u2019s the same as anything people do in life \u2013 preparation is the key to success \u2013 and I don\u2019t believe he\u2019s put enough preparation in at this point to be the player he needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

After career-best seasons of 102 and 89 points, Pettersson has dipped to 45 and 51 points in each of the past two seasons. He has scored 15 goals in each of the past two campaigns after registering a career high of 39 in 2022-23. While his shot totals rebounded slightly to 132 this season from just 109 a year ago, Pettersson is still remarkably off the pace that saw him produce 257 shots on goal three seasons ago.<\/p>\n

With little support at centre behind him in the lineup this season, Pettersson\u2019s five-on-five production dropped to just 10 goals and 21 points. He didn\u2019t score a 5-on-5 goal after January 13th in Ottawa. The Canucks were outscored 52-30 with Pettersson on the ice this season, and the club controlled 46.9% of expected goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rutherford pledged support for Pettersson, who will turn 28 early in his ninth full NHL season, and believes that with the required dedication and offseason training, he can show signs of his old form once again. Rutherford also noted that Pettersson\u2019s best scoring days may be behind him, but he thinks there are still plenty of ways he can be a key cog in the Canucks\u2019 wheel as they integrate more young players into the mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel confident that Petey has the ability that he can bounce back,\u201d Rutherford stated. \u201cAnd he doesn\u2019t have to be a guy that gets 110 points. Even a point a game will be enough as this team grows and becomes a better team. It\u2019ll be enough for this team to be successful, but he\u2019s got to get to that, and he\u2019s got to work at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Rutherford talks about Elias Pettersson\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa5: #Canucks<\/a> <\/p>\n

Of course, all of this comes against the backdrop of a new manager taking the reins after Friday\u2019s dismissal of Patrik Allvin. And Rutherford acknowledged that Pettersson\u2019s future and his fit on a rebuilding hockey club will certainly be a consideration for the new person in charge.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the new GM will want to be patient to see how Pettersson reports to training camp in September or maybe in an effort to completely turn the page from a last page finish, the new hockey club will look to make waves on the trade front as early as this summer. It\u2019s important to remember that Pettersson has full trade protection and will have control over the process if the club looks to move him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s young enough, he\u2019s capable of doing it (improving) and if he does the things he\u2019s told to do, he has a chance to succeed here,\u201d Rutherford said of Pettersson. \u201cBut if he doesn\u2019t, the GM is going to have to make a decision. You\u2019re damned if you do and damned if you don\u2019t. You\u2019re damned if you trade the guy because he could go and take off again. Or you could decide, no, he\u2019s going to to do it here and he doesn\u2019t. So it\u2019s a very tough decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that\u2019s going to be a key point for the new guy that comes on board. He\u2019s going to want to know \u2018what\u2019s going on with this guy?\u2019 and he\u2019s going to look into it and make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

So while the Canucks begin their search for the person who will be responsible for setting the course for the hockey club, they are also looking for Elias Pettersson to level up yet again. They\u2019ve been down this road before. And you just have to wonder how many more times management can push the player to improve before it realizes it might just be time to turn the page.<\/p>\n

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