Elias Pettersson is coming off the toughest season of his NHL career. During a turbulent year in Vancouver, the media storm was constant and the Swede from Ånge managed only 45 points in 64 games. Now Pettersson wants to put that difficult season behind him.
On Monday Pettersson met with the media in Vancouver, making it clear that his focus is on the future rather than dwelling on the past.
“That’s in the past. We can all learn from it. But I’m just looking forward to the new season and am excited for this year. We’ll take it from there,” said Pettersson regarding his difficult 2024–25 season.
Pettersson has used his injury-free summer to work hard in the gym, which has left him with a positive feeling heading into the season.
“I feel great. I had a good summer. I'm excited to be back,” Pettersson said as he met the media on Monday.
Pettersson continued to reflect on his return to Vancouver after spending the summer in Sweden.
“It’s great to be back. It’s always fun to see the guys again and get back to the banter. I’m really happy and excited to be back,” said Pettersson.
The time in the gym has paid off, and Pettersson has added muscle.
“I added six kilos, so you can add that to whatever headline,” Pettersson said. He continued: “Jokes aside, I feel good. It’s been a long summer, and I just tried to add some muscle and be ready to be myself again out there. I feel confident.”
Over the summer, Thatcher Demko signed an extension, while Brock Boeser also returned to Vancouver. Conor Garland agreed to a new deal as well. Together, those moves bring a sense of stability to a Canucks team that has otherwise been surrounded by trade rumors and media storms.
“He (Brock Boeser) has been here all my years, and he’s one of my closest guys on the team. So I was really happy to see that he signed here,” said Pettersson.
Pettersson enters the new season with a new head coach behind the bench. Rick Tocchet stepped down in May, and former assistant coach Adam Foote will lead the Canucks this year as Pettersson looks to get back to his old form.
“Yeah, it’s good. He’s been our assistant coach for three years now. He’s a great leader and easy to talk to,” said Pettersson when asked about new head coach Adam Foote.