MAJOR | Analyst has an exceptional take on Pettersson's value: Worth more than McDavid and Matthews?

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Felip Gosselin
September 17, 2023 (5:45 PM)

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Nathan Mackinnon occupies the top seed as the world's top-paid hockey player. The contract he signed a year ago is set to carry an obscene $12.6M cap hit, while Connor McDavid isn't far behind with a yearly cap hit of $12.5M. Not too long ago, one of this generation's best goalscorers, Auston Matthews, signed the contract to carry the highest cap hit in NHL history, with $13.5M kicking in on July 1st, 2024.

ELIAS PETTERSSON ABOUT TO SIGN AN EVEN BIGGER CONTRACT?

The Canucks cornerstone, the number 40, showed the full extent of his game last year, collecting 102 points and displaying a two-way game so good that he received multiple Selke votes. The Swede superstar decided to put the talks on hold until the end of the season, and that's where things get extremely interesting for him.

While he displayed Superstar abilities last year, his market value can only increase from here, especially if he puts up similar or better numbers. In an article published in The Athletic, the NHL analyst Shayna Goldman evaluated Pettersson's value and the numbers coming out of this exercise are out of this world:

''Once Pettersson's current contract expires, he projects to be worth a market value of about $14 million, on average, over the next seven years. Going a step down to that $12-13 million range, since as an RFA, he probably won't hit that number feels fair. It would keep him in a tier with other franchise cornerstones, like Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and David Pastrnak.''

WHAT'S THE CANUCKS' BEST PLAY?

That definitely looks like a hefty price, but players with Pettersson's toolset don't come around that often. He's already proven to be an elite offensive producer and perhaps one of the league's best two-way centerman. He's most certainly not the kind of player you trade. Otherwise, you're definitely losing.

Pettersson admitted he wanted to hold back on the contract talks to see where the team was going. Pettey's goal is to lead his team to meaningful spring games, and he wants to ensure the Canucks are headed in the right direction before committing long-term. The Canucks have to make sure they do everything in their power to retain his services, otherwise, they're going to be back to their starting point.

SOURCE: The Athletic