Vancouver Canucks sign rising forward to deserved contract extension

The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday morning that forward Drew O'Connor, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Marcus Pettersson on Feb. 1, signed a two-year contract extension worth $5 million ($2.5 million AAV) to stay in Vancouver.

O'Connor, 26, has made a strong early impression in his short time with the Canucks, scoring his first goals with the club against Colorado and San Jose, respectively. With six goals in 53 games with the Penguins this season prior to the trade, O'Connor has already replicated a third of his production in less than 10 percent of the games.

And, while the former undrafted forward had struggled with just six goals, 10 assists, and 16 points in 53 games, O'Connor did break out with 16 goals, 17 assists, and 33 points in 79 games last season. Factor in his 6-foot-4 size and above-average speed, and O'Connor has the potential to be a valuable and productive member of the Canucks' bottom-six forward group for years to come.

It is also worth noting that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin was the Penguins' director of amateur scouting when O'Connor was playing NCAA hockey at Dartmouth College and took over as Pittsburgh's interim general manager when O'Connor made his NHL debut in 2021.

While Pettersson was assuredly the prize of the Canucks' deal with Pittsburgh, O'Connor is a player Allvin and the Canucks know as well as anyone, and perhaps better than GM Kyle Dubas and the Penguins themselves.

The Canucks are hoping that O'Connor indeed becomes a staple of their bottom-six for the duration of his contract and years to come after, and with the lack of players they currently have in that category, it's a worthy bet from Allvin and Co.

O'Connor has a 12-team no-trade list in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2027 at the age of 29.