YOUNG STAR SHAKEN UP
Coach, GM react to hit on Pettersson
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. The good news is that according to his general manager, Elias Pettersson seems to be a bit better the morning after he was flung to the ice during the Canucks’ 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers Saturday at BT&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.
The bad news, of course, is we’re even talking about an injury to the Canucks’ young star at all.
“I just talked to him in the meal room, he’s feeling a little bit better,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said Sunday before his team left for the airport.
Pettersson left the ice Saturday with the help of medical trainer Jon Sanderson and was looking very woozy. At the end of a thirdperiod hit by Panthers defenceman Mike Matheson, it appeared Pettersson hit his head on the ice after Matheson checked him into the boards and then slammed him to the ice.
It appeared Pettersson may have also hit his head on the glass before he was knocked to the ice.
The NHL confirmed Sunday that Matheson will have a phone hearing about the incident.
Benning said he wouldn’t comment on what kind of punishment he was hoping for.
“That’s in the league’s hands,” he said.
Canucks coach Travis Green called Matheson’s actions “dirty” and called on the league to protect the games’ young stars.
Green defended his players not seeking in-game retribution, emphasizing it was more important that they win the game.
Benning echoed his coach’s position.
“The players on the ice, they weren’t even aware that it happened,” he said. “The puck was live, in the slot ... they were playing out the play.
“A lot of the players didn’t see it. We have players who are willing to do that sort of thing (fighting ), but we were trying to fight for the win.”
The game itself has changed, too, Benning noted. There was a time when vigilantism was more common, especially when opposing teams took runs at star players.
“You don’t really see a lot of fighting in the game anymore,” he said.
Still, Benning believed in the closeness of the group of players he has assembled.
“Our players are going to stick up for one another,” he said.
Canucks forward Sven Baertschi called Matheson’s slamming of Pettersson to the ice something out of the WWE.
“It’s one thing to pin a guy against the boards. But once he’s against the boards, he’s off balance and gets wrestled down like that, that hurts. And with his head going backwards, that’s not a comfortable situation for him,” he said. “Things happen quick out there. I’m not sure he meant to do it, but he did.”
Benning said he had no doubts about his team.
“I like our competitiveness. I thought we played hard,” he said.
The Canucks also lost Jay Beagle to an apparent arm injury, suffered not long after Pettersson left the game. Reports after the game Saturday suggested Beagle would be out four to six weeks with some sort of fracture. Benning said an update on Beagle’s status would come later on Sunday.
The general manager indicated a centre was likely to be recalled from the Utica Comets, the Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate.
It appears Adam Gaudette, the former Northeastern University centre who played five games at the end of last season for the Canucks, is the man who will get the call. He has played very well in his first four AHL games, recording two goals and two assists.
We have players who are willing to do that sort of thing (fighting for retribution), but we were trying to fight for the win.