Canucks' Beleaguered Center Elias Pettersson Says He's Looking for 'Revenge'

Canucks center Elias Pettersson says he wants 'revenge' this season

The 2024-25 season was not kind to the Vancouver Canucks' $93 Million Dollar Man. Center Elias Pettersson was the center of attention for all the wrong reasons, as his feud with JT Miller led to a trade of the latter, and EP40 finished with the worst season of his career in the very first campaign of his 8-year, $11.6M AAV contract.

But now it appears that Petey is out to exact some revenge in the 2025-26 season, as told to Peter Ekholm of nhl.com.

Pettersson told the reporter that he has been working out—both on the ice and in the gym (he "looks broader across the shoulders"), and he's ready to show his detractors what he's really made of.

I know what I can do... For my part I want revenge. I'm not happy with the season that was. But it's done now. There's no point in dwelling on it. I'm learning from what happened last season to become a better and more mature player for next year.
I've put on a little (muscle). It's always about building basic strength that will turn into speed and agility, speed on the ice. Putting on a few pounds, getting stronger in general is always the goal. But for me it's always a little bonus to put on a few pounds.

Pettersson finished last season with just 45 points—half of his total the previous year, and way down from his 102-point season in 2022-23. His 15 goals were less than half of the 34 he had the year before, which was his third straight season with 30+ goals.

A knee injury spoiled his offseason training in 2024, but he had no such problems this summer, working out back home in Stockholm. The Swede figures that, alone, will help him right the ship in '25-'26.

"I have been healthy and have been able to train fully. Right now, I have not had any injuries that have kept me away from training," Pettersson said. "But it is clear, it was a tough season. But with that said, I am taking the lessons with me. I am just very hungry to have a good season to come."

The Canucks are hoping that the Pettersson Revenge Tour takes them back to the promised land of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They've now missed the postseason dance in four of the last five years.