1st year Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote is coming to the defense of Elias Pettersson, who has faced recent criticism from frustrated fans. It's been a bit of a slower start to the year once again for Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, who experienced a noticeable dropoff in his production last year when he only had 45 points (15G, 30A). So far this year, he has eight points (3G, 5A) and is on pace to barely reach 50 points despite his considerable AAV (average annual value) of $11.6 million. But coming to his defense is 1st year Canucks head coach Adam Foote after the Swedish forward continued to face criticism from fans. There's such a hard matchup on Petey right now. You saw him defend so well against McDavid's line 5 on 5. We're in a situation now with the injuries that it's hard to get him away from the hard matchup. I'm just so happy the way he's playing. He's playing in the mud and in the dirt. It's not easy. - Adam Foote <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Adamkblat/status/1985441260673646984'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> <h3>Elias Pettersson And The Canucks Endured A Rough Year In 2024-25</h3> Last year, the Canucks entered the season as the reigning Pacific Division champions who took the divisional foe Edmonton Oilers to a 7th game in the WCSF, a series they felt they could have won had starter Thatcher Demko been healthy. But 2024-25 was a struggle for them because of not only inconsistent play on the ice <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/vancouver-canucks/elias-pettersson-breaks-silence-ahead-of-emotional-reunion-with-jt-miller' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>but a feud </a> between Pettersson and now-ex teammate JT Miller, who was shipped to the New York Rangers as a result. Even though both players denied there was a conflict, their rift was confirmed by team president Jim Rutherford. Additionally, former coach Rick Tocchet, who won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL's best coach, jumped ship and now coaches the Philadelphia Flyers.