Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Watch clips of Petterson’s play in the playoffs. Then listen to Tocchet’s recent comments about players on the team not playing with emotion or bringing it every night.
An 11.6 mil blue-skies player who doesn’t bring it when the games get greasy would be an albatross. You might be able to turn him around on a roster filled with veterans who have won the Cup. That’s not the Sabres.
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I don't think it's that he didn't care though.
Pettersson never had issues before and at times has shown some grit and some toughness including in the 19-20 playoffs.
His issues after signing his contract were that he let the contract pressure and media negativity get to him and it completely ruined his confidence.
He was at 75 points and 29 goals in 63 games prior to signing his contract on March 3rd.
And he has 46 points and 14 goals in 63 games (including playoffs) since the signing.
And even then the overlooked thing with him is he's still a play driver. 57% xGF and 32 GF / 24 GA during that "slump"
And remember the negotiation was a bit weird. He actually didn't want to re-sign during the season and wanted to wait until the offseason. Then all of a sudden these rumours of the Canucks wanting to trade him popped up and he was rumoured to be going to Carolina, and all of a sudden a deal got done.
Something fractured that relationship during that negotiation and he hasn't quite been the same guy since.