Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks not dwelling on difficult season

Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser (6) skates with the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Saturday, February 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Elias Pettersson believes the Vancouver Canucks have more to give this season — and so does he.

Last season, the team’s tumultuous campaign ended in disappointment with the Canucks missing the playoffs and Pettersson among a handful of players sidelined by injury.

After a solid summer of training, the Swedish centre is back in Vancouver, healthy and eager to return to work with his teammates.

“We’re going to try to prepare to be the best team we can be. I know what we’re capable of. And I believe fully that we can do good things,” he said Monday at the team’s annual charity golf tournament.

“But … it starts with training camp and we start to prepare ourselves to become a really good team.”

The Canucks will head to Penticton, B.C., for training camp next week before kicking off the pre-season against the Kraken in Seattle on Sept. 21. Vancouver’s regular season begins Oct. 9 when the team hosts the Calgary Flames.

The club is looking to rebound after finishing last year with a 38-30-14 record that left Vancouver six points below the playoff bar.

Personnel issues saw the Canucks deal forward J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers at the end of January, while injuries haunted the lineup throughout the campaign.

Several stars also struggled to find their offensive form, including Pettersson, who registered 15 goals and 30 assists across 64 games. The tally was well off the career-high 102 points he put up in 2022-23.

When the team officially returns to the ice in the coming weeks, players won’t be thinking about last season’s woes, Pettersson said.

“That’s in the past,” he said. ”We can all learn from it, but I’m just looking forward. Excited for this year. And take it from there.”

Despite a barrage of challenges, the Canucks were “right on the cusp” last year, said forward Brock Boeser.

“We’ve got to put it in the rear-view mirror. There’s some positives to build on,” he said. “But I think we have such a great group of guys, I think we come together as one and work together and push each other each and every day.”

Instead of bringing in new faces via trades or free agency this summer, Vancouver’s front office opted to lock up several stars, including Boeser.

The 28-year-old right-winger briefly hit the market on July 1 before inking a new seven-year, US$50.75-million deal with the Canucks, for whom he’s played all 554 of his career NHL games.

Talks of an impending deal were not a highlight of Boeser’s summer, and even cast a shadow over his vacation to Italy and Croatia.

“So I don’t recommend that for anyone else going through that. I was kind of was stressed on a trip you’re not supposed to be stressed on,” he said with a grin.

“Obviously, it was a very stressful time. And I’m just happy that it’s over and done with, and now I can just focus on playing hockey. I said that I want to be here from the start, so I’m super excited, and I’m really happy I can just focus on hockey now.”

July also saw Vancouver ink all-star goalie Thatcher Demko to a three-year, $25.5-million extension, while forward Conor Garland signed a new six-year, $36-million contract. Both players were set to become unrestricted free agents next summer.

“I think we have a lot of good parts of our team. We have a lot of strong foundations with the goalies and the defence,” Boeser said.

“And obviously, we talked about our offence from last season, it wasn’t that good, so we obviously need to be better. So I think that’s a key focus. But I think we’ve just got to make sure that we’re moving on from last season and focusing on this season and making sure it’s a fresh start.”

The Canucks did make one major change over the summer, elevating Adam Foote to the role of head coach.

He takes over from Rick Tocchet, who parted ways with the team in April and was later hired as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Foote is no stranger to Vancouver, having joined the team in January 2023 as Tocchet’s assistant.

“I think one of the things I love about him is he reads a room and reads a player better than a lot of people that I’ve seen,” said veteran defenceman Tyler Myers. ”He’s helped me tremendously the last few years, and for him to jump in as a head coach, I think he’s just going to help more and more guys being able to be a part of it a little bit more in a higher role.

“So really excited for him and happy to have him back there.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press