Could Elias Pettersson Be a Top 5 Player in the NHL?
The Vancouver Canucks will be in the spotlight come the start of the 2024-25 NHL season. Vancouver lost in Game 7 to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But there were question marks surrounding Elias Pettersson and his performance in the playoffs.
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Pettersson signed a new eight-year extension that starts this season, carrying an AAV of $11.6 million. A playoff is expected to make that type of money to perform in the playoffs. Six points in 13 playoff games with one goal will not cut it.
While Pettersson is a great regular-season player, especially last season, which was a bounce-back season, should he be in the conversation as a top-five player in the league?
TSN Hockey Analyst Frankie Corrado joined SportsCenter to discuss the hottest topics in the NHL. This time he was asked about the floor or ceiling of Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and if he was a top-five player in the NHL.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions***
Host: “Looking at Western Canadian teams, we’re gonna play floor to ceiling with our NHL analyst Frankie Corrado. So, let’s start with Elias Patterson. He has the fifth-highest AAV next season. Frankie, his ceiling is the top five player in the NHL, and his floor is underperforming his contract. Do you think he’s closer to the ceiling or floor?”
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Frankie Corrado: “Well, just based on the default factor that the top five players in the NHL are very solidified, he is closer to the floor, and that’s not an indictment on Elias Patterson. Yes, he has to play better in the playoffs. Yes, he has to be close to a 100-point player in the regular season. But think about that top five. Everyone can name it.
It’s McDavid, it’s Makar, it’s MacKinnon, It’s Draisaitl, It’s Matthews; you can throw Kucherov up in there, like yeah, we can argue about the order, but there’s just no way that Elias Pettersson is making his way into that top five players in the NHL category. So because of that, he’s closer to the floor.”