Elias Pettersson Makes Definitive Statement About Future of Canucks Extension Talks

It's been an ongoing subject throughout the season: Will Elias Pettersson and the Vancouver Canucks reach agreement on an extension, or will the star forward go into the offseason as a restricted free agent? Now, Pettersson himself has made a definitive statement on the future of those extension talks this season: 

There won't be any. 

Pettersson has completely shut the door on any further talks from now until the end of the season. “Wait until end of the year,” Pettersson said, per Kevin Woodley of NHL.com. The 25-year-old forward would rather concentrate on the season at hand, which currently finds him tied for 5th in league scoring, with 25 goals and 36 assists for 61 points in 46 games, along with a robust plus-minus rating of +17. 

Some would say he'd also rather go into negotiations with back-to-back 100-point seasons, rather than just one. 

Elias Pettersson isn’t dumb. He knows he has ALL of the leverage.

He can simply wait until the offseason and lord a second 100+ point season, team success, and a rising cap to max out the deal to his preferred length and value. https://t.co/tCUfFuQt0S

— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) January 20, 2024

As for the Canucks as a team, they are leading the entire NHL with 66 points, topping the Pacific Division with a 31-11-4 record. 

Make no mistake, Pettersson is more than happy with the way things have been going under GM Jim Rutherford, who just signed his own 3-year extension. "Yeah, of course," said Pettersson. "I think it shows for itself, where we are in standings, all the renovations at the rink and just to become a really professional hockey club, and the culture has changed.”

As for Rutherford, he would love to extend Pettersson whenever he can, but he understands there's no real urgency at the moment. 

“Look, we can wait. I'll say the obvious, we keep saying it over and over: We really want him to stay. He's a very special player. He's very important to the Canucks, he's very important to the city and he can't walk at the end of the season, and that's the position that we've taken. We've taken it very comfortably.”

Whether we can say the same for Canucks fans is unclear.

Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports