Elias Pettersson sees the national team and Four Nations as a bit of a fresh start.
After all the "noise in the media" as he himself describes it.
The entire season has been tough and turbulent for the Swedish hockey star.
The high expectations following the billion-kronor contract – an eight-year contract that gives him around 126 million kronor per year – have been followed by a scoring drought and a long and public feud with teammate JT Miller, who was eventually traded to New York Rangers.
In 49 matches this season, Pettersson has only scored eleven goals and 34 points.
"Not lived up to it"
I've got a contract that I'm very pleased with, but with it comes pressure and I don't think I've lived up to it fully. What I've achieved is done, now I'm looking at what's ahead of me. I know what kind of hockey I have in me, says the 26-year-old who scored 34 goals and 89 points last season.
Despite Miller eventually being traded, rumors are still circulating in the air, including that Pettersson might also meet the same fate.
Last summer, the Ånge product shut down his social media.
But in a hockey-crazy city like Vancouver, you can't shut out everything just by doing that.
I'm really glad that Vancouver is hockey-crazy. But with that said, you hear a lot even if you don't read things. I'm handling it as well as I can.
"Really fun"
The form curve is pointing upwards, and Elias Pettersson was praised for his performance in Vancouver's win over Toronto in the last match before Four Nations.
In the first national team practice, he played in a line with Filip Forsberg and Adrian Kempe.
Two really skilled players. Both play with speed and know how to put the puck in the net, so I'll try to play with speed and set them up for good scoring chances, he says.
Elias Pettersson became a World Championship gold medalist in 2018 and also participated in 2019 when Tre Kronor was eliminated in the quarterfinals. That's his last appearance in the national team.
He thinks the national team has a chance to win in Four Nations, where Canada awaits in the premiere on Thursday night, Swedish time.
Göran Sundberg/TT
Facts: This is how Four Nations is played
TT
13/2 (night to Thursday, 02.00): Canada–Sweden.
14/2 (02.00): USA–Finland.
15/2 (19.00): Finland–Sweden.
16/2 (02.00): USA–Canada.
17/2 (19.00): Canada–Finland.
18/2 (02.00): Sweden–USA.
21/2 (02.00) Final.
The first four matches are played in Montreal and the last three in Boston.
