The Petey Predicament

[JelloPuddingPop]

Getting a bit dark here.

EP40 isn't the problem. Ownership and Management are.

Any one of you would take 11.5 million to do your jobs. Even if you aren't willing, able or capable of living up to it.

This is getting a bit out of hand.

[Meds]

While the sentiments regarding a wished for outcome are a bit strong in the dark side of the force.....I think Matheson's hit is the quintessential example of why some of us have never been a fan of this guy. I have NEVER seen a player get rag doll tossed like that before. He was borderline KO'd without a hit to the head.

That was during his ELC. Then they bridged him, he didn't get stronger, and so they decided to ink him to the big deal anyhow.

I recall everyone going on about how much bigger Matheson was than Petey and how it was so dirty.

Matheson was/is listed as 6'2".

Pettersson was/is listed as 6'2".

It was definitely beer league, but it should have been a giant wake-up call for the Canucks organization.

[Hockey Widow]

Fake news trade alert:

"The proposal floating around had Toronto sending Matthew Knies, the 2026 first overall pick, and a second rounder to Vancouver for Pettersson and a fifth."

The alert got Brad Marchand to bite and sound off on what a terrible trade that would be for the leaves. Apparently stirred up a controversy until it was exposed as a site that posts Montreal memes. HAHA

Bet it would go over well here! Hell I'd be all in for that one.

[UWSaint]

While the sentiments regarding a wished for outcome are a bit strong in the dark side of the force.....I think Matheson's hit is the quintessential example of why some of us have never been a fan of this guy. I have NEVER seen a player get rag doll tossed like that before. He was borderline KO'd without a hit to the head.

That was during his ELC. Then they bridged him, he didn't get stronger, and so they decided to ink him to the big deal anyhow.

Did you see Maker get similarly rag dolled in game 1 of the Wild series and miss the rest of the first period? That guy will never amount to anything.

But to EP40, I disagree. He got considerably stronger. And yet there's been a correlation between his increased strength and declining performance.

I won't tire of writing this: players must improve their strengths as much as their weaknesses. What a player does well when he's drafted is the thing that may give him a comparative advantage over other NHL players. Teams don't win without special players, players aren't special unless they possess skills well above the median NHLer. The more that skill is comparatively better than the median, the more effective that skill is. In Petey's case, his considerably above average playmaking, shot, and hands have each atrophied to "good" and they are also now less effective because of decreased mobility (so less occasion, fewer lanes created, less disruption in defensive positioning). Whether this decreased mobility is a byproduct of improved upper body strength (while seemingly static lower body strength), injury, or mental (or all three) I don't know. But what I do know is that everyone hammered him for lack of strength -- the media, the fans, the coaches -- and that seems to be where he's put his efforts (however modest) the past three offseasons. And what I know is that without a skill that's significantly better than the marginal player in effective game action (working in conjunction with all skills), a stronger EP40 is not a special player. Valuable complementary player? Absolutely in the right situation. Core? Nope.

This is a shortcoming of coaches like Tocchet and Greene (particularly Greene) -- the hyperfocus on doing better what one does not so well without any consideration as to the tradeoff. And its not just a shortcoming of individual player development, but of team construction. We are fast but not strong -- let's get stronger, result no marginal advantage in either speed nor strength. (That's just an example, not a description of the Canucks).

Hopefully the next Canucks GM and coach will help the next group of players maximize what they do well; the team's identity can be based on its personnel, and complements can be acquired to enhance their capabilities and cover basic shortcomings.