Marcus Pettersson’s ‘courageous’ play could make him a household name
The Vancouver Canucks’ newest Pettersson is not a household name. But he could become one with his consistent and courageous defensive play, writes Adam Vingan.
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The Vancouver Canucks are hoarding Petterssons.
Marcus Pettersson (no relation to either Elias Pettersson) is the latest to join the organization, arriving in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. Vancouver used the first-round pick it acquired hours earlier in the J.T. Miller deal with the New York Rangers to get Pettersson.
Despite having played eight seasons in the NHL, the 28-year-old defenceman is not a household name. But that could change quickly.
“Not a lot of people know about him,” Sportsnet analyst Kevin Bieksa, who briefly was Pettersson’s teammate with the Anaheim Ducks in 2017-18, said on Hockey Night in Canada. “Now in Canada, everyone’s going to see what he’s all about.”
Canucks management is plenty familiar with Pettersson. President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford brought him to Pittsburgh in December 2018. Since then, Pettersson has carved out a role as the ideal companion for offensive-minded defencemen.
Over his final season-and-a-half in Pittsburgh, Pettersson skated more than 1,300 minutes with Erik Karlsson at five-on-five. The Penguins outscored opponents 75-65 and generated 53.9 per cent of the expected goals when that pair was on the ice. Pettersson also played more than 800 minutes with Kris Letang in that time, outscoring opponents 47-37 and generating 51.4 per cent of the expected goals.
Pettersson’s experience with Karlsson and Letang would make him a great partner for Quinn Hughes, but the fact they both shoot left likely will prevent that from happening.
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Pettersson, who had a career-high 30 points in 82 games last season, keeps things simple on the ice and makes an impact in ways that do not show up on the scoresheet. He ranks tied for 26th among defencemen in successful defensive dump-in recoveries under pressure, which is when an opposing forechecker is within a stick length at the time of recovery. Pettersson finished tied for 18th at the position in that category last season. (A recovery is considered successful if it leads to a zone exit.)
The constant threat of contact does not deter Pettersson from digging out pucks along the boards. Since becoming an everyday player at the start of the 2018-19 season, Pettersson leads the league with 1,301 hits taken. Durability is not a concern; he missed 39 games over parts of seven seasons with the Penguins.
“I think what I would make of it is that he’s incredibly brave and courageous to go back for pucks, and he’s undeterred,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters earlier this season. “He’ll take hits to make plays — and he does it continuously, regardless of how many times they hit him. I think he’s an incredibly courageous player in so many ways.”
Pettersson plays heavy minutes on the penalty kill as well. Before being traded, Pettersson led the Penguins with 2:44 of shorthanded ice time per game. His 64 shorthanded defensive plays are tied for 18th among defencemen.
On Sunday, Pettersson played a season-high 25:57 in his Canucks debut on a pair with Tyler Myers. He completed 15 of his 19 passes from the defensive zone and recovered 28 loose pucks across all three zones — second most among Canucks defencemen behind Filip Hronek. (Hughes was a late scratch Sunday after getting banged up Friday against the Dallas Stars.)
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Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told reporters that signing Pettersson, a pending unrestricted free agent who currently makes around $4 million per season, is “definitely a priority.” AFP Analytics projects Pettersson’s next contract will carry a cap hit of roughly $5.8 million over five years.
Rutherford and Allvin are confident that Pettersson will be the same key role player he was in Pittsburgh.
“He’s just what we need, in my opinion,” Rutherford told The Athletic. “You know what he is? He’s just a very, very steady defensive defenceman. You need to have guys like that if you want to win in this league. And he’s one of the really good ones.”
