This summer will be a determining time for the Franchise's next 10 years since when July 1st comes, the Canucks' top player, Elias Pettersson will be eligible for a contract extension. Pettersson has grown into a superstar in the league and the Canucks certainly have to ink him to the longest possible term given the value he brings to the table.
They discussed the subject on Sportsnet 650 and not only did they stated that the whole off-season was going to be about this extension, but they opened up to massive amounts of money to ensure that the Swede remains in Vancouver for the longest time:
At this point, there is no knowledge of what Pettersson's strategy will be moving forward. Whether or not is he willing to sign an extension or wait until the cap increases, either way, the Canucks can't lose the opportunity to sign their top player long-term, but should they really come out this aggressively and offer him a McDavid-type deal? A $100M deal over 8 years would give a $12.5M AAV.
His agent also represents Mat Barzal, and when he was on Donnie and Dhali earlier this year he stated that Barzal and Pettersson would be looking at similar deals. Barzal inked an 8 year deal worth $73.2M with a $9.15M AAV, would that be a more reasonable offer for Pettersson?
