Seravalli: Canucks continuing to chip away at Elias Pettersson contract extension

The Vancouver Canucks are doing what they can to sign pending restricted free agent centre Elias Pettersson, Daily Faceoff‘s Frank Seravalli reported Tuesday.

For an exclusive piece at Daily Faceoff, Seravalli spoke with Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin about the situation with Pettersson, who currently leads the National Hockey League with 25 points in just 15 games.

“I’ve had conversations with [Pettersson’s agent] Pat Brisson and I met with his Swedish agent a couple weeks ago when he was in town,” Allvin told Daily Faceoff after the end of Tuesday’s GM Meetings in Toronto. “We’re continuing to talk there and see where things go. Hopefully we’ll get it done sooner rather than later.”

Pettersson, who remained largely mum on the topic of his impending free agent status before the start of the season, is now in extremely high demand as he looks to be the frontrunner for the Hart Trophy as league MVP.

Dollar signs are on the horizon for Pettersson and Brisson, who also provided Seravalli with a quote.

“We continue to have conversations, but I prefer to keep things on the low-key for now,” Brisson told Seravalli via text on Tuesday.

Pettersson is in the final season of the three-year contract carrying a $7.35 million cap hit he signed with the Canucks back in 2021. He’ll be eligible to become an RFA with arbitration rights and a qualifying offer of $8.82 million next July, although the Canucks seem determined not to let the situation reach that point.

The Canucks currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division and fourth in the league with an 11–3–1 record and 23 points in 15 games to start the 2023–24 season. Pettersson and captain Quinn Hughes are tied for the league lead with 18 assists. With the obvious caveat of it still being November, the Canucks are on track to lock up only their second playoff berth since 2015.

They may not be done adding — Allvin hinted at wanting to shore up his team’s defensive group — but these Canucks are focused squarely on taking care of what they already have.