Canucks: This is a big summer for Elias Pettersson, Rick Tocchet says

Article content

Rick Tocchet believes in his potential superstar centre.

Article content

That much is clear.

He just knows that there’s so much more inside Elias Pettersson.

Thursday morning on Sportsnet 650 radio, the Vancouver Canucks head coach once again publicly challenged Pettersson.

“This is a big summer for him,” Tocchet told morning show hosts Mike Halford and Jamie Dodd. (Dodd was sitting in for Halford’s usual broadcast partner Jason Brough, who is on holidays.)

“I’d like to see him top three, one of the best-shape guys.”

In other words, last year Pettersson wasn’t one of the team’s fitness leaders heading into training camp.

It’s not the first time Tocchet has suggested Pettersson’s preparation still has room for growth. During the 2023-24 season, he said he thought Pettersson’s practice habits needed improving.

Article content

Article content

Late in the season, he said they had. But after a playoff run where he was often absent from the storyline, it’s clear Tocchet has revived his efforts to push Pettersson to a new level.

You do expect that Pettersson will respond.

“Pressure’s good,” the centre told Postmedia in March, not long after he signed his eight-year, $92.8 million contract extension, which kicks in this summer.

Pressure to help his team get somewhere special, somewhere triumphant. Pressure to live up to his big new contract. Pressure to show he can be one of the best in the game.

During his Thursday interview, Tocchet highlighted how Tampa stars Nikita Kucherov and Steve Stamkos were already on the ice together. According to Ryan McDonagh, their once-again teammate, the two had gotten back on the ice by at least May 21, less than a month after the Lightning were eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Article content

Tocchet pointed out that for a long time in Vancouver, the season had been only between September and April, that preparing for a playoff run hadn’t been part of the mentality.

But now they’ve been to the playoffs. His players have experienced the physical demands an extended season places on you. That’s why you need to start preparing earlier, he implied.

He said he was hoping Pettersson and his star teammates like Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller would heed this.

“That’s the sort of stuff I want Petey and Hughes and Millsy, that’s what I want to hear,” he said.

“That’s the type of attitude I want. … We just can’t go backwards. We’ve set the bar here.”

Tocchet saw Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang work up close.

There’s a reason why he cites them and the likes of Stamkos and Kucherov as often as he does.

Article content

That’s the standard he wants.

“All the successful teams, the leadership group, they go to another level,” he said.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

Article content