Elias Pettersson called soft and not mentally tough by analyst

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Daniel Lucente
July 19, 2024 (8:58 PM)

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This is not something fans of the Canucks wanted to hear, after an analyst called out Elias Pettersson's mental toughness, saying he is a soft player.

The Canucks signed Pettersson to a massive 8-year, $92.8 million contract, and when the games mattered most in the playoffs, Pettersson was nowhere to be found.

TSN's Farhan Lalji believes that his mental game just isn't where it should be for the amount of money he is being paid. Farhan believes he cannot handle the pressure that comes with such a big contract.

"Absolutely immense, immense amount of pressure, and I'm not sure he's up for it, and that's not a criticism of him as a player, but he is a player that lets the outside noise in, and it does affect him," Lalji said. "And on top of that, we also aren't really sure how much the injury affected him in the playoffs because, when you look at Pettersson's description of it at the end of the season, he certainly felt it was a little more serious than maybe say the team did. "So that was a long period of time really after the All-Star break through the entire playoffs where he simply wasn't the same player."

"Hopefully, the summer is enough to put all of this behind them, but everybody in this marketplace is going to have their eyes squarely on Elias Pettersson because when you talk about whether this team is better or worse or more equipped for playoff success," Lalji said.

All eyes will be on Pettersson year after year now that he's one of the highest-paid players in the league, and whether he likes it or not, he will constantly be under the microscope.

Credit Hockey Feed:
Analyst calls out Elias Pettersson's mental toughness