Canucks and Pettersson have made significant progress in contract talks: report
A new report suggests that there’s been a breakthrough in contract talks between the Vancouver Canucks and Elias Pettersson.
The two sides have made some “significant progress” per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The hockey insider suggests that a new contract could be finished sometime in the next few days.
The contract that is being worked on is for eight years, per Seravalli, the maximum possible length. This would ensure that the star stays on the West Coast for as long as possible — well into his thirties.
Sources say #Canucks have made significant progress with superstar Elias Pettersson working on what is believed to be an 8-year contract extension.
Not done, but big development, and a new deal could be finalized in the coming days.@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 29, 2024
Pettersson is a pending restricted free agent and his contract negotiations have been a constant storyline throughout this season for the Canucks.
“He’s a human being, there’s a lot of pressure weighing on him,” said head coach Rick Tocchet today about the star’s contract situation.
The noise was turned up a level over the past week when reports broke that other teams had called the Canucks to check in on Pettersson’s trade availability.
The 25-year-old is having a fantastic season with 75 points in 61 games so far. He’s on pace to become the first Swedish-born player in history to record back-to-back 100-point seasons.
Pettersson has maintained that he wants to wait for the offseason to negotiate. However, the latest report from Seravalli suggests that talks are ongoing between the player’s agents and the Canucks organization.
Any long-term contract signed by Pettersson will almost certainly be the richest in franchise history.
There was a report last week that the Canucks had offered the Swedish forward an eight-year, $96 million deal. However, that report was later refuted by other insiders around the league.
The Canucks are marching toward their first home playoff game since 2015. It will be the first time that Pettersson gets to play a postseason game in front of fans.