With free agency well underway, there are rumours swirling around. Teams are looking at how they can acquire assets for a rebuild, or get great players to help their playoff chances. One such rumour involves the Vancouver Canucks looking to sign star forward Elias Pettersson to an extension as soon as they can.
Vancouver Canucks Looking to Sign Elias Pettersson to Extension
Rumour: According to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, the Vancouver Canucks will look to extend Elias Pettersson as soon as they can. The soonest they can extend Pettersson is July 1st, 2023.
Analysis: The Canucks need to start looking to the future. They will have a busy time leading up to the 2023 off-season, with both Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller becoming unrestricted free agents, and Elias Pettersson being eligible for an extension. These are three of the Canucks best players, the most important being Pettersson. While he is the least urgent because he will still have one year left on his contract, it will be imperative to sign him quickly. While not all pending RFAs will provide an ultimatum as Matthew Tkachuk did, teams will see the situation and look to avoid it in the future.
The Canucks will have approximately $22,000,000 to try to re-sign Horvat, Miller, and Dermott, among filling out other roster spots. This, on top of a Pettersson extension, could make for some difficult work. They may need to make a tough decision on who to keep, and it absolutely should not result in a Pettersson trade. Sound of mind with a long-term contract would be the best route. Thomas Drance mentioned that other players with the same agency, Robert Thomas and Josh Norris, both signed 8-year extensions the day it became available to them. It would be in the Canucks best interest to follow suit.
