Vancouver Canucks To Be Without Star Center

The Vancouver Canucks will be without center Elias Pettersson, as the 23-year-old has entered COVID-19 protocol.

The Canucks are starting to see their numbers go up, as Pettersson is now the fifth player to enter protocols. At this time, Brock Boeser, Jason Dickinson, Justin Dowling, and Phillip Di Giuseppe are the others out because of the virus.

In terms of production, it's been a hard year for Pettersson. In 34 games, he has just six goals and 17 points. This is easily the slowest start of his career, and that ought to change. Keep in mind, he was just under a point-per-game player over his first three NHL seasons. His best year came during the 2019-20 campaign, as he had 27 goals and 66 points in 68 games.

The Canucks just signed Pettersson to a three-year, $22.05 million contract, so it's fair to say that they expect more from him. Once he returns to the ice, let's see if he's able to find his old mojo and start contributing more often. Until then, Vancouver will be missing one of their top forwards.