He said May 20 that
he expected to be fully healthy in time for the start of next season
. Pettersson had skated on his own but struggled to shoot the puck.
"It's the shooting that's been bothering me, to flex the stick," he said then. "Training is fine. It's more on ice that's bothering me the most, but training-wise it's fine."
Surgery wasn't required for what Pettersson said was a hyperextended wrist sustained when his stick hit a shin pad during a 4-0 win at the Winnipeg Jets on March 1. He played in a 5-2 loss at Winnipeg the next day but left the morning skate early March 4 and did not play again.
The No. 5 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft can become a restricted free agent July 28.
"This is where I want to play," Pettersson said in May. "And for the contract situation, that's why I have agents. I'm not stressed to sign a contract. I'm just excited to have that signed and just look forward for the future."
Pettersson scored 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 26 games this season, including 14 (seven goals, seven assists) in his final 14 games for the Canucks (23-29-4), who finished last in the seven-team Scotia North Division. The top four teams qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He scored 66 points in each of his first two NHL seasons, including 27 goals in 68 games last season. Pettersson won the Calder Trophy voted as the NHL rookie of the year in 2019 and has scored 153 points (65 goals, 88 assists) in 165 NHL games. His 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 17 games helped the Canucks advance to the Western Conference Second Round last season, when they lost in seven games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
NHL.com independent correspondent Kevin Woodley contributed to this report
