Have the Canucks’ Good Vibes Already Dried Up?

Remember all those “good vibes” stories from the Vancouver Canucks’ preseason? The talk of a refreshed team, better structure, and players finally buying in under new head coach Adam Foote? Three games in, and it feels like the honeymoon is already over. Monday night’s 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues wasn’t just another early stumble—it exposed something deeper.

Talk-radio voices like Halford & Brough were quick to call it out. Their first words in the video below were simple: “We’re back to talking about Petey again,” they sighed, meaning Elias Pettersson. That’s how you know things are bad. When the conversation keeps circling back to the team’s best player and his body language, it’s not about effort anymore—it’s about energy. Or the lack of it.

Pettersson’s Body Language Tells the Story

It’s hard to watch Pettersson right now. On the Blues’ first goal, he turned the puck over at the blue line—an easy shovel pass gone wrong—and St. Louis went the other way to score. His head dropped. His shoulders sagged. When the puck hit the back of the net, you could see the frustration written all over him.

Nobody believes he doesn’t care. He’s not floating or mailing it in. But mentally, he looks fried—just done. And when your top-line centre looks drained, your whole team feels it. The Canucks don’t just rely on Pettersson for scoring; they depend on him to set the tone. Right now, that tone is flat.

Canucks’ Top Line Seems to Be Without a Pulse

Halford & Brough put it bluntly: the Canucks had one line going against the Blues—the Kiefer Sherwood, Aatu Räty, and Arshdeep Bains trio. These are hard workers, honest players. But if that’s your best line, you’re not a great NHL team.

The top line? Invisible. The second line? Missing in action. Even the usually reliable Conor Garland line could only do so much. It’s not fair to drag Sherwood and Garland into this—they played hard—but when your depth grinders are carrying the load, something’s seriously off.