After an up-and-down start to his Vancouver Canucks career, Nils Höglander finally came into his own last season. The result was his best campaign yet in the NHL, with his team reaping the benefits.
Höglander recorded a whole host of single-season career bests, to show just why the Canucks selected him in the second round of the 2019 NHL entry draft with the 40th overall pick. This included 24 goals, 36 total points, a +23 rating, 100 blocks and a 20.0 shooting percentage.
Making this even more impressive, was that the 23-year-old achieved all of this despite averaging the second-lowest ice time of his four-year NHL career, at 12:06 minutes per game. Regardless, his play resulted in him getting his just reward on Sunday.
Höglander gets deserved new deal
As confirmed on social media, general manager Patrik Allvin announced that the Canucks had agreed to terms with Höglander on a three-year contract extension. Worth an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $3 million, this is significant for a couple of reasons.
First, the AAV of $3 million represents nearly three times Höglander's current salary of $1.1 million per season. Second, the forward still has one year remaining on his current deal, before his new contract kicks in for the 2025-26 campaign.
This of course speaks to how much Allvin and the Canucks truly value and appreciate the Sweden native. They could have quite easily allowed his current deal to run its course, but clearly wanted to get his situation resolved before he became a restricted free agent next summer.
A risk worth taking
Now to be clear, this contract extension doesn't come without some risk, given how Höglander performed the season before his breakout-campaign. More specifically in 2022-23, when he had his least-productive year in the NHL.
However, sports -- as in life overall -- often comes with risks, and in reality, this is the type of gamble which makes a lot of sense. Höglander has continued to look good during the preseason, and he is projected to feature on the Canucks' third line this coming season.
It is entirely feasible that Höglander could took a step back in his production in 2024-25. However, if this is the case you woule expect it to be a minimal regression, as he continues to prove his quality for the Canucks.
For what it's worth though, ESPN (at least) actually expects Höglander to improve in the coming months and have another excellent season. As per their fantasy hockey predictions for 2024-25, they project him to produce 27 goals, 17 assists, 44 total points and a +29 rating, which would all be new career-highs.
Regardless, as far as we're concerned, this was the right thing for the Canucks to do, in the process securing Höglander's services for at least the next four seasons before he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Now it's a case of him going out on the ice and proving his worth, which we fully expect him to do.