LATEST | Insider shares what Pettersson's term may look like on next deal

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Cooper Godin
August 24, 2023 (6:00 PM)

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Elias Pettersson became eligible to sign a contract extension earlier this summer and so far, nothing has been done yet.

He provided some clarity on Wednesday in an interview with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, saying that he's currently focused on getting ready for the 2023-24 season and that he's putting things on hold for now in terms of contract negotiations.

Pettersson's contract is set to be a big one, there's no doubt about that and in terms of total salary, it very well could be the biggest in Vancouver Canucks history, when it's completed.

During his podcast on Wednesday, TSN insider Chris Johnston provided some insight into what Pettersson's next contract could look like from a term standpoint. Johnston said that Pettersson isn't wanting to commit 'too much' to the Canucks right now, suggesting that he may be looking at a shorter term contract extension, similar to Auston Matthews.

"I mean, Elias Pettersson right now is not wanting to commit too much to the Vancouver Canucks. I don't think it's anything to do with the city of Vancouver, but players have short careers, Julian and I think we have to keep in mind that a lot of them want to be in a position especially once they've, kind of won some of their awards and in this case Auston Matthews, this deal will take him over $100 million in career earnings." Johnston said on his podcast.

Pettersson, 24, is looking to repeat his production from last season and have back-to-back 100-point campaigns. In 80 games, the Sundsvall native had 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists), 14 penalty minutes and was a plus-16.