[Article] Canucks' Elias Pettersson: 'I play to win'

[RWJC]

Canucks' Elias Pettersson: 'I play to win'

 

Patrick Johnston

 

 

Elias Pettersson is as competitive as they come.

 

So to hear him tell Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that he often thinks about being The Guy on a championship team isn’t a surprise.

 

During an interview recorded in late August that finally aired in full before Saturday’s Vancouver Canucks versus Florida Panthers game, the star centre said he often rewatches video from his Swedish Hockey League championship-winning season with the Växjö Lakers, the season before he joined the Canucks in 2018.

The sense of euphoria he felt at the time always comes sweeping back when he watches clips from the final game.

 

“I get emotional watching,” he said. “I play to win.”

 

Then he pointed to Lionel Messi and Argentina winning soccer’s World Cup in 2022. He’s a big fan of Messi, one of the best — if not the best — soccer players of all time.

 

“I obviously wanted him to win the World Cup,” Pettersson said. “When they won, to see what it all meant to them, I was just crying.

 

“I’m an emotional person and just seeing what it means to them and I think if that ever happens to me, for sure it would just be happy tears. To make his lifelong dream, win a World Cup for Argentina and what it meant to him — I get inspired by those things.”

 

Winning has been a huge factor for him since before he signed his current contract in 2021. 

 

“I want to stay there (Vancouver), now but I also want to play for a team that’s winning and has a chance to go far into the playoffs every year,” he said in the summer of 2021. And since signing a three-year bridge deal on the eve of the 2021-22 season, his Canucks twice stumbled out of the gate, leading to them missing the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023 despite strong late-season pushes.

 

His interview underscored what he believes about his bargaining position, that he is in no rush to sign. Friedman teased the nine-minute interview in late August, releasing the section about his contract status  nearly two months ago.

 

“I’m not in a rush to sign,” Pettersson said. “I’ve got one more year left over there. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

 

“It’s going to be probably my biggest contract so far so I don’t want to stress anything.”

 

link to rest of article: 

https://apple.news/AlolmantDRSeShCCrrM7ngw

 

pjohnston@postmedia.com

twitter.com/risingaction

 

[Coconuts]

Yes Petey, it will be your biggest contract thus far, you're on pace for over a hundred points for the second season in a row and you'll be able to ask for whatever. 

 

 

[Jeremy Hronek]

2 hours ago, RWJC said:

Canucks' Elias Pettersson: 'I play to win'

 

Patrick Johnston

 

 

Elias Pettersson is as competitive as they come.

 

So to hear him tell Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that he often thinks about being The Guy on a championship team isn’t a surprise.

 

During an interview recorded in late August that finally aired in full before Saturday’s Vancouver Canucks versus Florida Panthers game, the star centre said he often rewatches video from his Swedish Hockey League championship-winning season with the Växjö Lakers, the season before he joined the Canucks in 2018.

The sense of euphoria he felt at the time always comes sweeping back when he watches clips from the final game.

 

“I get emotional watching,” he said. “I play to win.”

 

Then he pointed to Lionel Messi and Argentina winning soccer’s World Cup in 2022. He’s a big fan of Messi, one of the best — if not the best — soccer players of all time.

 

“I obviously wanted him to win the World Cup,” Pettersson said. “When they won, to see what it all meant to them, I was just crying.

 

“I’m an emotional person and just seeing what it means to them and I think if that ever happens to me, for sure it would just be happy tears. To make his lifelong dream, win a World Cup for Argentina and what it meant to him — I get inspired by those things.”

 

Winning has been a huge factor for him since before he signed his current contract in 2021. 

 

“I want to stay there (Vancouver), now but I also want to play for a team that’s winning and has a chance to go far into the playoffs every year,” he said in the summer of 2021. And since signing a three-year bridge deal on the eve of the 2021-22 season, his Canucks twice stumbled out of the gate, leading to them missing the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023 despite strong late-season pushes.

 

His interview underscored what he believes about his bargaining position, that he is in no rush to sign. Friedman teased the nine-minute interview in late August, releasing the section about his contract status  nearly two months ago.

 

“I’m not in a rush to sign,” Pettersson said. “I’ve got one more year left over there. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

 

“It’s going to be probably my biggest contract so far so I don’t want to stress anything.”

 

link to rest of article: 

https://apple.news/AlolmantDRSeShCCrrM7ngw

 

pjohnston@postmedia.com

twitter.com/risingaction

 

One concern I have is that he keeps referring to Vancouver as "there" instead of "here."  Might be a sign of detachment but I could be reading too far into things.

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

8 minutes ago, Jeremy Hronek said:

One concern I have is that he keeps referring to Vancouver as "there" instead of "here."  Might be a sign of detachment but I could be reading too far into things.

 

That's what happens when the interview is conducted in Sweden. 

[Slegr]

We’ll see how consistent his actions are with his talk by how much he / his agent take in his next contract with a competitive Canuck team. If he wants to stay on a strong team in a cap-crazy league, and wants multi year chances of winning it all, he should be up for taking a team friendly deal. 

[The Duke]

1 hour ago, Coconuts said:

Yes Petey, it will be your biggest contract thus far, you're on pace for over a hundred points for the second season in a row and you'll be able to ask for whatever. 

 

 

Even with his agent prognosticating a rising cap, I’m not sure it’s possible to overpay him if we get him to a 7 or 8 year deal. 

[RWJC]

14 minutes ago, Slegr said:

We’ll see how consistent his actions are with his talk by how much he / his agent take in his next contract with a competitive Canuck team. If he wants to stay on a strong team in a cap-crazy league, and wants multi year chances of winning it all, he should be up for taking a team friendly deal. 

Question is will he take a team friendly deal HERE though? If he pushes for a trade to a contender that he believes is better suited to his desires, he just signs a 1 year RFA deal and then basically has control of where he goes as an eventual UFA. 
 

I do think he’ll re-sign here but he basically has this org by the balls in the interim.
We get into a situation where we know he inevitably wants to move on, we are likely going to immediately regress once he’s traded. I just wonder for how long if it came to that, and how would it affect our other upcoming RFA in Hronek and potential UFAs like Demko or Kuz. If EP leaves, the whole team dynamic and near future could change rapidly over 2 years. 

[Iron Man]

1 hour ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

 

That's what happens when the interview is conducted in Sweden. 

 

Things get lost in translation. Your signature is proof of that.

[Kevin Biestra]

[Coconuts]

37 minutes ago, The Duke said:

Even with his agent prognosticating a rising cap, I’m not sure it’s possible to overpay him if we get him to a 7 or 8 year deal. 

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if he wasn't interested in a seven or eight year deal. Why lock in at 11.5-12.5Mx8 when you can take say.. 12Mx4 or 12Mx5 and then cash in again with the cap having risen further and have the UFA option? Pettersson seems like the kind of person who'd bet on himself. 

 

Canucks will be very fortunate if he agrees to anything super long term. 

 

I'd argue that the Canucks haven't done enough during his Canucks tenure to earn any sort of discount imo, and top tier players rarely take discounts. 

Edited October 22, 2023 by Coconuts

[The Duke]

39 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if he wasn't interested in a seven or eight year deal. Why lock in at 11.5-12.5Mx8 when you can take say.. 12Mx4 or 12Mx5 and then cash in again with the cap having risen further and have the UFA option? Pettersson seems like the kind of person who'd bet on himself. 

 

Canucks will be very fortunate if he agrees to anything super long term. 

 

I'd argue that the Canucks haven't done enough during his Canucks tenure to earn any sort of discount imo, and top tier players rarely take discounts. 

Yes, I agree he might go the Matthews route.  But I hope we get him long term.

[N4ZZY]

2 hours ago, RWJC said:

Question is will he take a team friendly deal HERE though? If he pushes for a trade to a contender that he believes is better suited to his desires, he just signs a 1 year RFA deal and then basically has control of where he goes as an eventual UFA. 
 

I do think he’ll re-sign here but he basically has this org by the balls in the interim.
We get into a situation where we know he inevitably wants to move on, we are likely going to immediately regress once he’s traded. I just wonder for how long if it came to that, and how would it affect our other upcoming RFA in Hronek and potential UFAs like Demko or Kuz. If EP leaves, the whole team dynamic and near future could change rapidly over 2 years. 

 

If EP40 leaves, it's a full rebuild for this franchise. No way Hughes is going to remain with Elias gone. But, yeah, if there is going to be any championship winning, there needs to be discounts being given. Look at the Leafs, is there a reason they have one if not the premier goal scorers in the league, and they still can't win in the postseason? 

 

Petey wants to go deep in the playoffs right? That requires a strong team. With this being said, how the fuck does Vegas have as many stars on their team and still be under the cap. Not like they're cheating or anything. 

 

1 hour ago, The Duke said:

Yes, I agree he might go the Matthews route.  But I hope we get him long term.

 

Yea, I hope so too. We'd be lucky if he agrees to 5 years. Anything more than 5 years is gold. Ideally, we want Petey locked up for the max term (8 years). 

 

[spook007]

Peteys mum and dad was attending both games in Florida...

 

"Elias, dad and I really like it here in Florida with the lovely beaches and nice holiday homes. And it doesn't rain that much...and you don't pay that much tax neither... "

 

No..... I don't believe that neither, but you just never know....

[The Aquaman]

Good morning!

[spook007]

On a side note, to all those, who didn't/don't  understand why Canucks dumped OELs contract despite being hung up on it for years to come, instead of riding it out, maybe that interview will put some light on it.... 

Petey wants to win... not in maybe 5+ years...

If Vancouver doesn't show ambition he'll go somewhere else that has a chance to do so...

 

And thank the almighty he wants to win. Isn't that, what it is all about. 
 

Make no mistake, he is not in Vancouver to just enjoy walks in Stanlwy Park...

Edited October 22, 2023 by spook007

[IBatch]

7 hours ago, Coconuts said:

Yes Petey, it will be your biggest contract thus far, you're on pace for over a hundred points for the second season in a row and you'll be able to ask for whatever. 

 

 

We will see how much money plays into it versus "playing on a winning team" soon enough.    Vancouver isn't in the best bargaining position other than having that extra year.    Can't remember when a big name player the last half decade or so, didn't take the biggest deal net tax wise, when it comes to legacy deals.    We'd probably have to offer 12 x 8 to keep him.   Which is too bad.   

[RWJC]

19 minutes ago, IBatch said:

We will see how much money plays into it versus "playing on a winning team" soon enough.    Vancouver isn't in the best bargaining position other than having that extra year.    Can't remember when a big name player the last half decade or so, didn't take the biggest deal net tax wise, when it comes to legacy deals.    We'd probably have to offer 12 x 8 to keep him.   Which is too bad.   

12 (x ?) might be league average for an elite player by year 3 of the deal though. Not so much an overpay at that point anymore. More so just inflationary and if he’s locked up longterm it could end up being great value. Can’t believe I’m saying that given the price point but it very well could turn out like Crosby’s deal. Only hesitation I have is can they build a winner around him and QH because if they continued to be a middling club, it would likely be better to trade him for quantity and hope to find pieces that accomplish more as a whole for the club.  Eg. Quinn/Butcher trade 

[IBatch]

50 minutes ago, RWJC said:

12 (x ?) might be league average for an elite player by year 3 of the deal though. Not so much an overpay at that point anymore. More so just inflationary and if he’s locked up longterm it could end up being great value. Can’t believe I’m saying that given the price point but it very well could turn out like Crosby’s deal. Only hesitation I have is can they build a winner around him and QH because if they continued to be a middling club, it would likely be better to trade him for quantity and hope to find pieces that accomplish more as a whole for the club.  Eg. Quinn/Butcher trade 

Would suck to lose EP.   Hopefully if it comes to that, we can make a Lindros like trade, and not a Patrick Roy one 

[wai_lai416]

5 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

 

If EP40 leaves, it's a full rebuild for this franchise. No way Hughes is going to remain with Elias gone. But, yeah, if there is going to be any championship winning, there needs to be discounts being given. Look at the Leafs, is there a reason they have one if not the premier goal scorers in the league, and they still can't win in the postseason? 

 

Petey wants to go deep in the playoffs right? That requires a strong team. With this being said, how the fuck does Vegas have as many stars on their team and still be under the cap. Not like they're cheating or anything. 

 

 

Yea, I hope so too. We'd be lucky if he agrees to 5 years. Anything more than 5 years is gold. Ideally, we want Petey locked up for the max term (8 years). 

 

leafs are a bad example.. top players no need to take discount and they can easily still win.. it's how they construct their team.. you can easily have 1 or 2 top players paid top money and still have a good team.. the problem is Toronto have 3.. and they are all in the same position forward.. if they have 3 player paid this amount and say 2 forward and a defenceman or something.. they have a much better team. 

 

vegas is another bad example.. they have plenty of players performing well above their cap after signing their contract.. and it's not like vegas isn't putting out a team that's 10% over the cap very playoff.

 

the problem with vancouver?? we have so many players not performing close to their cap.. beauvillier, garland, boeser, myers, last season OEL etc etc.. all of them combine they are probably 10+ mil overpaid.. i don't think there's a team in this league remotely close to vancouver in terms of players overpaid and the amount overpaid.. that's where our problem is.. it's not about having star players making top money

[Bob Long]

7 hours ago, Coconuts said:

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if he wasn't interested in a seven or eight year deal. Why lock in at 11.5-12.5Mx8 when you can take say.. 12Mx4 or 12Mx5 and then cash in again with the cap having risen further and have the UFA option? Pettersson seems like the kind of person who'd bet on himself. 

 

Canucks will be very fortunate if he agrees to anything super long term. 

 

I'd argue that the Canucks haven't done enough during his Canucks tenure to earn any sort of discount imo, and top tier players rarely take discounts. 

 

Because a lot can happen in 4 years. Not many would turn down 96 mil. 

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Bob Long said:

 

Because a lot can happen in 4 years. Not many would turn down 96 mil. 

Yup. All players are only one injury from the end. Just look at McDavid last night. He’s taken some dangerous knee on knee hits (from his own teammates too) and didn’t play OT last game. He’s got something bad going on. 
It’s a big risk to sign short term when a club will pay big money over the longer term. 

[Bob Long]

1 minute ago, Alflives said:

Yup. All players are only one injury from the end. Just look at McDavid last night. He’s taken some dangerous knee on knee hits (from his own teammates too) and didn’t play OT last game. He’s got something bad going on. 
It’s a big risk to sign short term when a club will pay big money over the longer term. 

 

Your also banking that some other club has 13 or 14 for you at that point, but which one? Lots of unknowns.

 

I don't blame Petey at all for wanting to see what this version of the team is before deciding. Even that carries a risk.

 

[Coconuts]

1 hour ago, Bob Long said:

 

Because a lot can happen in 4 years. Not many would turn down 96 mil. 

 

Sure, that's a fair argument, but we just saw Matthews do it 

 

Pettersson not having signed at this point indicates he's willing to bet on himself to me, I wouldn't be remotely shocked if he only took say.. a four year deal 

[RWJC]

2 hours ago, Bob Long said:

 

Your also banking that some other club has 13 or 14 for you at that point, but which one? Lots of unknowns.

 

I don't blame Petey at all for wanting to see what this version of the team is before deciding. Even that carries a risk.

 

Teams would scramble to create the cap space to obtain a top 5 player in the league like EP might be. I have no doubt about that. 

[Mando27]

23 minutes ago, RWJC said:

Teams would scramble to create the cap space to obtain a top 5 player in the league like EP might be. I have no doubt about that. 

Indeed, imagine a team like Chicago swoops in and promises him whatever he wants? Bedard and Petey together would be a disgusting 1-2 punch.