Elias Pettersson is getting a completely different approach from the Vancouver Canucks this season.
Head coach Manny Malhotra says it starts with something that sounds simple but rarely gets said out loud in pro sports: joy.
"When they're at their best you can see joy exuding from them," Malhotra told The Athletic. "There's an element of playing free that comes with it."
That's a real shift in language for a player who's spent two seasons buried under trade rumors and declining numbers.
Pettersson put up just 51 points in 74 games last season, a minus-30 rating attached to an $11.6 million cap hit.
Malhotra didn't pretend the approach is simple, though. "It is a challenge at the professional level, because it's a grind," he admitted.
GM Ryan Johnson is taking the same philosophy even further, stripping results out of the conversation entirely.
Why Vancouver is deliberately removing the pressure
"Let's get the results out of the way," Johnson said. "I want to give him an environment where he can continue to grow, that he can feel good about."
Johnson revealed he's had regular conversations with Pettersson all summer, though he kept most of the specifics private between the two of them.
"He's had so much adversity and so much change around him," Johnson said, "so I just want him to have some consistency to chip away at his game."
That's a notably patient approach for a franchise that just finished dead last in the league at 25-49-8.
Vancouver isn't just protecting Pettersson either. Johnson described a similar philosophy around the crowded goaltending situation behind Thatcher Demko.
Demko still has no firm return timeline from hip surgery, and Nikita Tolopilo requires waivers if Vancouver wants to make roster moves around him.
Chris Driedger has joined camp on a professional tryout too, adding one more name to a goaltending picture Johnson says he refuses to rush.
"I don't want to have to make a rash decision or solve a problem out of desperation," Johnson said of the crease situation specifically.
Is stripping away results actually the fix Pettersson needs, or does accountability eventually have to reenter the conversation regardless?
For now, Vancouver's plan is patience everywhere at once, in net, in the standings, and especially with its $11.6 million question mark up front.
Will removing pressure and focusing on
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