Pettersson/Miller

[Chef Boi RD]

It’s not off-season fitness or lack thereof. Prior to last season’s all-star game, Petey was playing his best hockey, then all of a sudden something changed mid season out of the blue and he faded into the horizon never to be seen again but only in body not spirit - spirited away. The spark isn’t there, that swagger, that cocky display of crafty skill work, it’s no longer. That’s not a piss poor off season training, that’s heart and soul. I worry the dude has checked out mentally and we will no longer see the Alien and that galactical magic of his again. He must be closely monitored, with his heart hooked up to an EKG. If it continues we may have an ugly Alexei Yashin situation on our hands.

[Lancer]

Watching him last night, he's not strong on the puck. He'll either lose the puck sitckhandling it under pressure or get knocked off the puck entirely. Is that injury (ie-tendonitis), fitness/strength, mental or some mix of the two?

Either way, he has the rest of the season to show management, teammates and fans that he's worth keeping moving forward. At this point, I say he's exhausted the goodwill/trust of management and the fanbase. Put up or shut up and ship out.

[theman]

In a weird way the '4 Nations' Crap Tournament could be a good thing for him. A chance to get away from the distraction of the Vancouver media and 'reset' his game. That is my hope, at least. He reminds his game in that sideshow tournament.

[Lancer]

In a weird way the '4 Nations' Crap Tournament could be a good thing for him. A chance to get away from the distraction of the Vancouver media and 'reset' his game. That is my hope, at least. He reminds his game in that sideshow tournament.

I dunno. Reading between the lines of Allvin's comments, it seems Petey's been behind the eight-ball since the summer in terms of working on his game, preparation and fitness. No change of scenery is going to fast-forward his progress on that front if the on-ice performance so far is any indicator. According to Allvin, Petey's expressed a willingness to do the things management wants him to do to work on his game. Is it too late to save his season?

If that's the case, and Petey's play doesn't take off, does management then decide whether they've seen enough effort from Petey in doing what they want him to do warrant taking a chance on him the rest of the way even if the on-ice product shows little improvement? With that NMC kicking in, that's a lot of faith to ask of management.

Much as I would like to think of this season's stinker from Petey is a one-off dip as part of the learning curve to future sustained elite play, it wouldn't kill me if he was traded in the off-season for someone else's 1C - or prospective 1C - in order to move on. I think everyone's patience is running thin with this tease.

[306NucksFan]

In a weird way the '4 Nations' Crap Tournament could be a good thing for him. A chance to get away from the distraction of the Vancouver media and 'reset' his game. That is my hope, at least. He reminds his game in that sideshow tournament.

I dunno. Reading between the lines of Allvin's comments, it seems Petey's been behind the eight-ball since the summer in terms of working on his game, preparation and fitness. No change of scenery is going to fast-forward his progress on that front if the on-ice performance so far is any indicator. According to Allvin, Petey's expressed a willingness to do the things management wants him to do to work on his game. Is it too late to save his season?

If that's the case, and Petey's play doesn't take off, does management then decide whether they've seen enough effort from Petey in doing what they want him to do warrant taking a chance on him the rest of the way even if the on-ice product shows little improvement? With that NMC kicking in, that's a lot of faith to ask of management.

Much as I would like to think of this season's stinker from Petey is a one-off dip as part of the learning curve to future sustained elite play, it wouldn't kill me if he was traded in the off-season for someone else's 1C - or prospective 1C - in order to move on. I think everyone's patience is running thin with this tease.

He needs to try and link up with the group that McDavid and Draisaddle train with, or a similar group of high skill motivated players. Get on the ice early and see how the best in the world do it.

[Chef Boi RD]

Pettersson - 11 goals 22 assists - 33 points
Huberdeau - 21 goals 19 assists- 40 points

I never thought I’d ever say this but I’m at the point where I’d rather have Huberdeau than Pettersson.

[JelloPuddingPop]

Pettersson - 11 goals 22 assists - 33 points
Huberdeau - 21 goals 19 assists- 40 points

I never thought I’d ever say this but I’m at the point where I’d rather have Huberdeau than Pettersson.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Good pic. A jellyfish or a sloth would have also filled the bill.

[Hockey Widow]

Boeser went through a similar experience. Always came to camp out of shape, until he figured it out. No more DeBeauty league. Maybe Pettersson needs to live with the twins in the off season.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Pettersson - 11 goals 22 assists - 33 points
Huberdeau - 21 goals 19 assists- 40 points

I never thought I’d ever say this but I’m at the point where I’d rather have Huberdeau than Pettersson.

Peter has razor thin limbs

[Meds]

Getting outmuscled easily is certainly a factor. What doesn't add up is how he can produce so well despite it in the past when he was averaging 1.3 ppg for a stretch of about 130 games right before the abrupt drop off. He was so much quicker, mostly in the decision making with quick precise plays and consistently loading the one-time bomb on the right side. Then when the drop off came it was a cliff, not a long gradual slope. It makes no sense for the guy to all of a sudden stop playing in a contract year when he had yet to renew and wasn't expecting to until the offseason. Something happened physically. Defenders didn't play him any differently then compared to before. It just appeared that way because his quickness dropped and they were able to get to him.

Today on the PP he was parked right in his wheelhouse for those old one-timers, and he had plenty of room to work with with the Sharks backing off and playing lower. In the past, when you focus on him there without the puck you can see him set up for the shot. Today, and for the past year really, there is no indication of it like the last thing he wants to do is shoot.

...

Pre drop off this wasn't an issue. If a shooting lane was taken away he'd use a teammate with a quick play for a better option or to reopen it. Remember when he and Quinn would play catch repeatedly until he saw some daylight and let it go? Seems so long ago.

One difference is that for his first 3 seasons he wasn't a 1.0 ppg player. He scored very near that but didn't play a full season. HIs first 80 game season (year 1 of his bridge deal) saw his scoring drop off. He rebounded with his best season, but then regressed hard halfway through the following year.

Pettersson has never been quick. He made quicker decisions, yes, but to say that defenders are not playing him any different is an inaccurate observation. Teams have definitely stepped up physical play on him since his 102 point outburst. They pressure him harder and faster. Even when a puck is in his wheelhouse he doesn't even attempt one-timers anymore.....which were his greatest weapon. If his frame can't handle the one-timers anymore because of (what would now have to be chronic) tendinitis or whatever, then he's not worth the price-tag.

Pettersson was deployed as either a secondary threat or with Miller and Boeser. Teams played him as such, keying on Miller's line, or having to distribute defense against the 649 trio, naturally created more space for Pettersson. For the last 18 months he has essentially been a decoy. Now he's not a decoy, he's the 1C, there's no sheltering him. If he can't do it, well then he's not worth the price-tag.

Allvin's comments absolutely smack of piss poor management. He's literally saying that he signed a guy to be the 5th highest paid player in the league when he wasn't ready to be that player, and there was no guarantee he would become that player. He pretty much described a player who SHOULD be getting a bridge deal to see if he can actually become the player.

But nothing has changed on Pettersson's end of things other than his decision not to shoot when he would have in the past. When it comes to his feet, he has never been quick or agile, his only speed has been with head down and legs pumping through open ice.

[Topper]

Scooter's play began to freefall as Brock's play started to come back with the dead dad bounce.

It's Brock's fault.

[Nuckertuzzi]

Never said fast. Quick and fast are two different things. He was never fast but certainly much quicker and mobile on his feet than you've seen this past calendar year. The Datsyukian dangles he did in the past you can't do slow. When he tries it now it doesn't work because his feet aren't moving. You need a burst to get around defenders. There was a burst before, there's no burst now. I still have some old games on PVR. Took a peak the other night and it's like night and day the difference in his skating.

It's as simple as he was more consistently moving his feet that made him more elusive to heavy defensive pressure. I'm confident if he can find his game again and remembers the things he did that made him successful, it can work against however they try to defend him today. He's so easy to defend now because he's simply not the same guy. But a good point you make is that he no longer has the luxury of having another threat steer focus away from him. That along with whatever's hindering him physically and mentally stacked against him definitely leaves you doubtful if he will find his game and we'll ever see old Petey again.

Perhaps elsewhere away from the blazing spotlight and in different team dynamics. I'm open for a trade. Just gotta brace for the 50 cents on a dollar pile of dog crap coming back in return and the agonizing long search for a replacement 1C. Though I will say when this regime targets something it doesn't take long for them to get it cost be damned.

[Cousin Strawberry]

Scooter's play began to freefall as bricks play started to come back with the dead dad bounce.

It's Brock's fault.

[Cousin Strawberry]

Pettersson - 11 goals 22 assists - 33 points
Huberdeau - 21 goals 19 assists- 40 points

I never thought I’d ever say this but I’m at the point where I’d rather have Huberdeau than Pettersson.

Peter has razor thin limbs

He makes up for it with giant joints