Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson has taken his time with negotiating and signing a new contract with the team. The 25-year-old has reiterated his wish to wait until the end of the season to talk numbers, and it's looking like this season Pettersson will have a near repeat of his offensive performance from 2022-23.
That would entail another 100-point campaign, and bad news for the Canucks or fans if they were hoping Pettersson would be getting a cheaper contract compared to the market, as we'll further discuss shortly.
Recently extended Hockey Hall of Famer, president Jim Rutherford, isn't worried yet, according to NHL.com. “There's not anybody getting anxious here,” Rutherford said. “Come the offseason, then things will get a lot more serious if in fact the situation gets to that point.”
“My son asked me at 7 o'clock this morning, just for the record, because he asks me almost every morning, just like everybody else wants to know,” Rutherford said. “Look, we can wait. I'll say the obvious; we keep saying it over and over: We really want him to stay. He's a very special player. He's very important to the Canucks, he's very important to the city, and he can't walk at the end of the season, and that's the position that we've taken. We've taken it very comfortably.”
Essentially, if Rutherford has his way, Pettersson isn't going anywhere. Frankly, the Canucks just have no way to replace him, especially considering the success they've had this season. With that said, let's talk comparisons for the next Elias Pettersson contract.