Analyzing a potential Elias Pettersson extension ft. Shane O’Brien: Canucks Conversation
4 months ago
On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, Harman Dayal and Irfaan Gaffar were joined by former Canucks player Shane O’Brien to discuss the latest news on the rumoured Elias Pettersson extension.
A report from NHL insider Frank Seravalli sparked frenzied speculation in Vancouver yesterday, suggesting a long-term contract extension for Pettersson is close. This completely upended the current media discourse on the situation.
“The Canucks are hoping to get this done sooner rather than later, and they’re hoping to keep the AAV under 12 million dollars,” said Irf, commenting on the report from Seravalli.
“Which makes sense,” replied Harm. “Obviously, Pettersson’s camp is going to want to come in above that. The two comparables that stand out for a negotiation like this on a long-term deal would be — I think your floor is obviously William Nylander at 11.5 million. Nylander’s career high is 87 points, while Pettersson is on pace for his second 100-point campaign. Not to mention, Pettersson plays a premium position as a centreman. That, I think, is your floor. Your ceiling, I think, is MacKinnon at 12.6. I think we can all agree that MacKinnon is right up there as a top-3 player in the NHL. I don’t think Pettersson’s quite at his calibre. That’s the range we’re all waiting to see where he slots. As much as we’re talking about the cap hit, to me, what’s more significant is the possibility that this could be a long-term extension at 8 years. Pettersson could’ve easily said, ‘I want to give myself maximum flexibility for my future, I’m going to sign a three-year extension so I’m expiring as a UFA the same year that Quinn Hughes is.’ That’s massive — getting the extra years of term if the Canucks are able to get that with this Pettersson extension. As we exit this flat cap, it’s going to continue rising. There might be some sticker shock if there’s a 12 million dollar cap hit attached to Pettersson’s next deal, but keep in mind there are quite a few star players coming up who are going to continue just driving it higher, and that price isn’t going to seem as high. The only situation you’d go ‘that’s too high’ is if we’re discussing a number north of 12 on, say, a three-year deal.”
“The biggest thing is the fact this is an 8-year deal, if what’s being reported is true and he does end up signing that extension,” Irfa agreed.
The guys then welcomed Shane O’Brien to the show, who started off with his thoughts on how much money he’d be willing to give Pettersson in an extension.
“Probably everything he wants,” said Shane. “You want to lock this guy down. Right from the start of training camp, there was a picture of him. He had a bit of a beard, his shoulders looked bigger, had a chest on him, and it looked like he was turning into a man. He looks great. If I’m him — and I’ve never been in a situation where I’m getting that big of a contract — you want to make a deal that works for the Canucks as well; they’re heading in the right direction, they’re way ahead of where everyone thought they’d be. Yeah, you want to get your money, but also, think big picture, and I hope he does that.”
Harm: “From a player’s perspective, how much of an impact does the Vancouver media have?”
“With social media now, it doesn’t really matter where you play. It’s not like it used to be when I played there. I think there’s media attention everywhere now; you can’t hide. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in Columbus, Van City, or Toronto—though there are more media guys in Edmonton, Vancouver, Canadian cities. But—listen, the media was always great with me. When you’re winning in Vancouver, there’s no better city in the world. I guarantee if you ask Miller, Pettersson, Boeser—when they go out for dinner, have a drink, life is unbelievable for those guys. When you win in Van City, the media’s great. When you don’t play well, you’re gonna hear about it, and when you’re making any kind of money in the NHL, I think that comes with the territory.”
You can watch the full replay of today’s show down below:
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