Pettersson went to Canucks this week to start contract negotiations: report
Elias Pettersson is ready to negotiate with the Vancouver Canucks.
After months of uncertainty about what the pending restricted free agent would do, reports now indicate that he’s willing to talk contract and wants to get a deal done.
It was reported last night that the Swedish superstar and the organization have made “significant progress” in negotiations, per Daily Faceoff‘s Frank Seravalli.
More details are starting to emerge, and it seems as if it was Pettersson that approached the Canucks in hopes of getting this deal wrapped up.
“I’m told Pettersson went to the Canucks earlier this week and said, ‘Let’s end all this nonsense, I want to get a deal done, I want to stay in Vancouver,'” said Seravalli on today’s episode of The DFO Rundown.
The noise around Pettersson’s contract negotiations had reached a new high earlier in the week when it was reported that the Canucks were fielding calls from teams inquiring about a trade.
It has been widely reported, and confirmed again by Seravalli on today’s DFO Rundown, that the Canucks were waiting for Pettersson to join them at the negotiating table.
It now looks as if he indicated he is ready over the past few days, and the two sides are working towards a contract extension. The deal that is reportedly being worked on is for eight years, the maximum possible under the current CBA.
“The agents and the Canucks can’t talk contract without Pettersson saying ‘go ahead and do it,’ so it was Pettersson who gave the thumbs up to get this done,” said CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal on Donnie & Dhali this morning.
“This looks like to me both sides said the heat is too much, let’s see if we can get a deal done and they’re trying to do it,” continued Dhaliwal.
The 25-year-old is currently second on the Canucks in scoring with 75 points through 61 games. He is due to be a restricted free agent on July 1, as his current contract will expire.
The Canucks are leading the Pacific Division and are set to host a home playoff game for the first time since 2015. It will also be the first chance for Pettersson to play a postseason game in front of fans.