With 45 points in 64 regular season games (15 goals/30 assists), Elias Pettersson had his worst season in his NHL career.
When Vancouver had a press day after the season ended – the Canadian club missed the Stanley Cup playoffs – coach Rick Tocchet directed criticism at the Swede.
I think he will say himself that his preparations need to be better. If you want to be a fantastic player, you need to prepare almost extremely, says Tocchet.
Pettersson taciturn
He believes that Pettersson needs to review his training plan for the upcoming preseason.
He needs to train better. Do I think he will do it? Yes, I think so, continues the coach.
Elias Pettersson was himself taciturn after Tocchet's comment.
I have good resources here and good resources back home in Sweden. I will stay here to train a bit extra before I head over to Sweden, he says during a press conference.
The 2022–2023 season saw Pettersson score 102 points and the following season 89 points.
My game was not at the level it was the two previous seasons, says the Swede.
Open conflict
The season has also been marked by an open conflict with teammate JT Miller, who was eventually traded to New York Rangers.
It was definitely not something that any of us could prepare for and it got blown out of proportion. It was no longer about whether we won or not, but about us. We may not have been the best friends, but we respected each other as teammates, says Elias Pettersson.
Pettersson played his last match on March 22. He missed the remaining regular season games due to injury.
It took longer than we expected. When we couldn't reach the playoffs, we focused on next season instead, says Elias Pettersson.
Last March, Pettersson signed a billion-kronor contract over eight years. The contract gives him around 126 million kronor per year.
