Trevor Linden is one of six players to have their jersey numbers up in the rafters of Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks legend was drafted 2nd overall in the 1988 NHL Draft by Vancouver and ultimately played with them for 16 seasons. He also served as part of the Canucks’ management from 2014 to 2018 and was part of the team that drafted Elias Pettersson fifth overall in 2017.
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“Obviously, I knew him, drafted him, and spent some time with him. And the last year I was there, clearly, you know, I think he’s really got to take ownership of where he’s at and where he needs to be,” Linden said in an interview on “Donnie & Dhali” on Friday.
Many have been quick to criticize Pettersson for his performance this season. The former Calder Memorial Trophy winner and 102-point player only ended up scoring 15 goals and 30 assists in 64 games this season. While injuries have been a problem for Pettersson dating back to last season, there’s something else about the forward’s play as of late that has many — including Linden — worried.
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“He needs to step up as a pro and step up as a professional and deliver what’s expected. And he’s capable of that for sure, but there’s just times where he just looks disengaged and uninterested, and that’s concerning.”
Another thing that Linden touched on is Pettersson’s relationship with the Sedin twins, who are currently with the organization as player development coaches. “You could not ask for better role models, especially for young Swedish players in markets such as this, to how to handle that,” he said. “If you’re not sitting there talking to these guys every single day about what’s going on for you and how to handle things. It couldn’t be any simpler for me.”
Part of what made this season so confusing for the Canucks was the rift between Pettersson and J.T. Miller. Both players found success last season, as did the team as a whole, which made this season’s conflict even stranger.
Feb 10, 2020; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Former Vancouver captain Trevor Linden walks out for a pre-game ceremony as part of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin jersey and number retirement ceremony week in Vancouver. Prior to a game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
“I just don’t know if I’ve ever seen this before in any sport,” Linden said of what happened between the two star players. “Obviously J.T. is abrasive, he can be, we love his emotion on the ice and how he plays, sometimes that doesn’t always serve him well with teammates and in the locker room, but at the same time some of that’s okay. Everyone’s got to be a big boy in the locker room. I’m not sure how much that affected Elias, clearly it was a situation that had to change.
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“There’s obviously times when not everyone’s best friends on the team, and that’s accepted, but everyone understands when you get in the locker room they’re there to do one thing, and this seemed just to get completely in the wrong direction.”
Regardless of the circumstances regarding injuries, internal conflict, and more, Linden believes that Pettersson’s approach to the game — on and off the ice — could be improved upon. “I know he cleaned it up, but his comments about the market and playing in front of the fans, and that’s just not where you want to go. And you don’t have to look too far. You can look to number 33 and number 22 — nobody took more criticism earlier in their careers for what they couldn’t do. And you know what those guys did? They just went to work, and they just worked and worked.”
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Still, when asked about whether he thinks Pettersson can turn things around, Linden expressed hope. “You’ve gotta hope so. The commitment that the team made to him, obviously significant. I mean, they are banking on this guy to be the player.”
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