Dan Murphy's Canucks Mailbag: How to explain Pettersson's slow start?

The Hockey Central panel broke down the Vancouver Canucks' big win over the Ottawa Senators, why Elias Pettersson's play was encouraging, and how important Thatcher Demko was in the win.

Tyler Bouck played parts of three seasons with the Canucks, but his time with the organization was cut short due to a number of injuries. He’s currently a realtor in Kelowna where he lives with his wife Carly and their three boys, Jack, Noah and Gus.

IN 1996-97, YOU PLAYED 12 GAMES WITH THE PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS. A TEAM WHICH FEATURED A YOUNG ZDENO CHARA. CAN YOU SHARE A STORY?

There was a touch icing, and I was a stupid 16-year-old kid who probably thought hitting Joey Tetarenko at the whistle would be a good idea. Not knowing that Tetarenko was a tough guy. So, after the hit Joey clocks me and I’m down. Well, I look up and see this big arm reach into the pile and I believe it was one or two punches and Tetaranko was down, lost a tooth and had a concussion. I think that was Z’s first fight and got quite a reputation and all of a sudden was fighting Scott Parker for the rest of the season.

HALL OF FAMER ADAM GRAVES IS ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS, BUT HE STARTED AS A MENTOR. HOW DID THAT RELATIONSHIP BEGIN?

He was a 22-year-old with the Oilers and was playing at a charity golf tournament in Alberta. He was in a group with my brother who I (at 11-years old) was caddying for and about halfway through the round I gave my brother his clubs back and took Adam’s and talked hockey non-stop.

He must have gotten a kick out of it because I got a letter in the mail and slowly developed a friendship where I would go up to Oilers skates and stay at his house and sometimes watch the games. When he got traded to New York I kind of thought the friendship would end, but he told my dad that if I would find some work and make some money he would host me at his house for a week and I could go to his hockey school. As my hockey career started taking off the stays got longer and longer and I was able to train with an NHL star and it was unbelievable.

YOU WEREN’T IN VANCOUVER LONG, BUT DO YOU HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF YOUR TIME THERE?

Oh I loved it. I created some incredible friendships. We had the Triple-B club, myself, Nolan Baumgartner and Wade Brookbank. We had a lot of fun on and off the ice. It’s just unfortunate I was injured all the time.

TELL ME ABOUT THE NIGHT AT TOOTSIES (famous bar in Nashville) WITH THE TRIPLE-B CLUB.

We knew we had the day off the next day in Nashville, so we knew it was going to be a night out. 'Banker' and I knew that we were going to be scratched because that’s just the way it worked. The plan was to go buy the full Cowboy get up and head to the bar after the game. 'Juice' (Kevin Bieksa) was scratched instead of Baumgartner so we told him of our plan and he said, “Sure, let’s do it.”

Anyway the team lays an egg and gets beat 5-0, and walking back to the hotel me and 'Juice' were saying to 'Banker' there is no way we can do this now. 'Banker' strong armed me, 'Juice' decided not to do it and went on to have a hell of an NHL career probably because of that decision. We got all geared up in our Cowboy outfits and went to Tootsie’s and at the end of the night ran into all of the coaches (including head coach Marc Crawford) which maybe wasn’t the best. It didn’t take them long to recognize us, and they were actually howling, but I was sure nervous.

THE LOCKOUT YEAR YOU WENT TO FINLAND AND ONE OF YOUR CANUCKS TEAMMATES CAME AFTER YOU?

Well I believe Jarkko Ruutu went after Saku Koivu so I went in there to push him and all of a sudden I’m on my back and he’s on top of me. It happened rather quickly and I wasn’t expecting to be in that scenario. I guess when you’re with Jarkko you should always be on defence. He had the murderous eyes going. Let me say, I sure like Jarkko Ruutu when he was on my team, but I sure didn’t like him on another team.

SO INJURIES DERAILED YOUR LONG TERM NHL DREAM AND YOU HEADED TO GERMANY. WHAT WAS THE RELATIONSHIP LIKE WITH THE TEAM AND FANS OF INGOLSTADT?

Unbelievable. I think you can watch any European game and you can really see the soccer mentality. Being a little older it was great. I was there from age 29-34 so you’re a little bit older, you have a family, the schedule is not as rigorous. You play every Friday and every Sunday, one home game and one away game and otherwise your weeks are free. They have what is called a Kabina Fest every Tuesday and basically it was a party where the team would get together and go out to have fun.

One of the things I brought to management (Bouck was captain of the team for his final four seasons), almost like a reward system where if we would win three of five games the team would pay for the Kabina Fest so it created a really good culture and it was awesome.

SO YOU’RE A FORWARD YOUR ENTIRE PROFESSIONAL CAREER, AND YET YOU CAPTAINED THE TEAM TO A CHAMPIONSHIP IN YOUR FINAL SEASON…AS A DEFENCEMAN?

I was a forward right up until Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs and then I got thrown back on D.

WHY?

Well I had an awful year. It started with my dad having a horrific accident so I missed a lot of time at the start of the season. I fell apart mentally, I fell apart physically, so by the time I got back to Germany I was garbage. At the end of the season, they were going to be scratching one of my good buddies Tim Hambly (because of import rule) and I went to the coaches and said, “Don’t scratch Timmy. This is my last year and he’s going to need a job next season.”

Anyway we made pre-playoffs and won that round. Going into the first round we had three defencemen out and a few imports were out, too, so basically they needed a D. So I said, “yes, what do I have to lose.” My first game I had two assists. The next game I had a goal and an assist. And at that point I was a part of the team again and it was awesome.

Anyway, we were the No. 9 seed and ended up beating the No. 1, No. 2 and then I believe the No. 3 seed in the final.

Hockey is a funny game. I really felt I wasn’t enjoying it anymore and I knew it was time to retire, but all of a sudden by switching back to D and being a part of the team, I was like this is why I love the game, and then we were so fortunate to win.

Alright…let’s get to the mailbag!

@ekf2749: Since you’ve golfed with Elias and interviewed him many times, what do you think he’s going through currently? Is he playing injured?

This question was submitted before Pettersson and the LOTTO Line broke out with a solid performance Wednesday night against the Senators. But I think we can still address it as the question is relevant to his slow start.

I haven’t heard anything about Pettersson being hurt and since we’re not allowed in the dressing room these days it’s tough to get a feel for that type of thing. Here are my thoughts on why Petey has looked out of sorts for the first eight games.

First off, and maybe the most obvious observation, is that not scoring in the first couple of games rattled his confidence a bit. Remember, in his previous two seasons he bolted out of the gates. You could tell he was second guessing himself because he was reluctant to pull the trigger on what looked like some great areas to shoot from. And the puck, which usually is glued to his stick, was being bobbled like we had never seen before.

Everyone knows this is a contract year for Pettersson and that could be weighing on his mind, although I personally wouldn’t put much stock in that.

Finally, what about the fact that he has changed agents? By now you’ve heard Pettersson moved from Michael Deutsch at Eclipse Sports Management, who had represented him since he was drafted, to Pat Brisson at CAA Hockey. My guess is this was quite difficult for him. There’s no doubt he made the move because he feels it puts him in the best position for his next contract negotiation. However, Pettersson strikes me as someone -- despite the move -- who is a loyal guy. He seems very thoughtful and caring. So making the move and leaving his former agent (and you would have to guess good friend) at the alter of a big pay day probably doesn’t make him feel too good. Perhaps even a little guilty. That’s purely my thoughts on the subject anyway.

@MarsBarthot: Stecher, Tanev, & Markstrom were big parts of the Canucks' locker room. Did the circumstance under which they left (no offers, left hanging, lack of communication) have a negative impact on the room?

Again another question submitted before the first two Senators games. Listen, I have zero doubt that seeing Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev and Troy Setcher all leave via free agency has had an effect on the team. The impact is obviously felt on the ice, but let’s just examine the off-ice effect.

The group had just finished a pretty successful bubble experience. One which you assume was tremendous for team bonding. Remember these guys were solely with their teammates for a couple of months and there’s no question relationships became stronger over that stretch. Throw in the fact that all three were “heart and soul” players for the Canucks, and that has to leave a void in the room.

I’m not saying that the void won’t be filled in time, but it would be naïve to think that you could move on quickly from people who were so instrumental to the group. And you can bet it affects the younger guys more than the older ones because it’s the first time they’ve really experienced an exodus of players via free agency.

Our own Elliotte Friedman has reported that when Pettersson needed someone to talk to he would go to Markstrom, and for Hughes it was Tanev. It couldn’t have been easy for those young stars to see their mentors depart. But this is not something that should linger. All of the guys understand it’s a business and sometimes crap happens whether they like it or not. You have to move on. No matter how difficult it is.

@horvat2boeser: What’s the Canucks' win song in the dressing room this year?

From what I gather, it’s a fluid situation. No one song has been selected yet. Last year in the regular season, Zombie by the Cranberries was the main choice. And then in the playoffs it was Escape (The Pina Coladas song). Escape was used after one win this season, but the group is looking to move on from that. Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy made an appearance after the Monday win and you can guess why that was. When I get word of when an official win song is selected I’ll be sure to let you know.

@Garrett33687864: Why is Bieksa doing that to his hair? I blame you!

I have no idea what Kevin is doing to his hair. Every time I see him, I think of Zorg from the Fifth Element. Throw in the fact he’s rocking a neck beard most of the time and someone should really hold an intervention.

@pragmaticbabble: What US road city are you going to miss the most this year?

Oh man, such a tough question because there are so many great road cities. And keep in mind, there might be a bit of a bias considering what hotel we stay in. So I’m going to rank my top five.

1. Chicago
2. Fort Lauderdale (could move to No. 1 depending on what time of year it is)
3. NYC (we stay in the same hotel for games against the Rangers, Islanders and Devils. So it’s a nice extended stay in Battery Park.
4. Marina Del Ray (sometimes stay here for LA and Anaheim road trips)
5. Las Vegas

Miss these views on the road!

@SukhP13: Cheech mentioned how the NHLPA flies families for NHL debuts. How does the work regarding notice, logicists, etc?

Okay, I’m not sure what the case is with other teams, but when it comes to a Canuck playing his first NHL game, the organization takes care of it. I’m not saying Cheech is factually incorrect because perhaps the NHLPA does help with other teams, but when it comes to the Canucks, a great dude by the name of Mike Brown (team services) is in charge of making it happen. And sometimes it’s a scramble. I remember Ashton Sautner being recalled on an emergency basis back in March of 2018 and it was a bit of a logistical nightmare to get the family to Dallas in time for the game. But Brown made it happen.

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