Canucks’ Elias Pettersson not making any excuses says agent J.T. Barry

Article content

A week after Elias Pettersson revealed he’d been dealing with a knee issue for months, his agent has sought to add further context.

Article content

Pettersson’s agent, J.P. Barry, noted his client was in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation at last week’s Vancouver Canucks end-of-season media availability.

As is often the case in these press conferences, players were asked if they’d been dealing with any injuries in the playoffs or down the stretch to the playoffs. Often players do decide to reveal their issues, but other times they don’t.

There had been plenty of speculation through the second half of the regular season and in the playoffs that Pettersson was dealing with an injury. But while the games were going on, he wasn’t saying anything.

Rick Tocchet even took time to say that Pettersson wasn’t dealing with an injury. He just had to be better, the coach implied.

Article content

Article content

But then last week Pettersson copped to dealing with a minor knee issue, one he’d been dealing with since January.

Before the knee problem, he’d been flying high. He was the NHL’s third star of the month in January, even.

The injury slowed him, and he struggled to press through was Pettersson’s implication.

But he wasn’t looking to make an excuse, Barry told the Donnie and Dhali show on CHEK-TV on Wednesday morning.

“I thought he was in a pretty awkward spot,” Barry said about whether he should admit to the knee problem, which Tocchet admitted after Pettersson’s comment was tendinitis.

Pettersson knew himself that despite the injury, he could have played better, Barry added. There were moments of strong play, like winning the puck battles that led to Pius Suter’s series-clinching goal in Game 6 vs. Nashville, or the faceoff win that led to Brock Boeser’s game-tying goal in Game 4 vs. Edmonton.

Article content

But the overall was poor. He struggled with a lot of shots. He didn’t look confident making hard turns. There were a lot of puck battles he shied away from. His confidence looked weak.

“He was being honest: he wasn’t 100 per cent but I don’t think he was making any excuses,” the veteran agent explained.

“He feels he could have played better.”

Pettersson signed a massive contract extension in March, which loomed over his poor performance.

Pettersson has always played to win. Being a hockey player is all he’s ever wanted to be. Barry believes Petersson’s struggles weighed on him.

“I think any player, especially a high-end player like that, that has a tough time in the playoffs, it doesn’t help,” he said.

“He’s going to have to come back and fight this for the future.”

Article content

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