5 Contract Comparisons for Canucks' Elias Pettersson

#3. Matthew Tkachuk: Eight years, $76 million

Hear me out: what if?

Matthew Tkachuk was signed in the sign-and-trade that sent him to the Florida Panthers and Huberdeau to the Calgary Flames. Tkachuk's contract carries a cap hit of $9.5 million annually, which sounds cheap for the Canucks here. There is a catch.

The Panthers star's total salary was only $9 million in 2022-23, but jumped up to $11.25 million (see Pastrnak, David) starting with the 2023-24 season and ending in the 2025-26 season. It decreases incrementally down to $7 million from there.

So, while the cap hit remains the same, this is a front-loaded deal from a technical standpoint. The Canucks likely won't be able to bargain their way down to $7 million, but it is a structure they could follow. Tkachuk had no trade protection in Year 1, has a no-movement clause from Years 2-6, and a 16-team no-trade list for Years 7 and 8.