By now, we’re sure you’ve heard. But if you haven’t: the Vancouver Canucks extended their most recently acquired defenceman, Marcus Pettersson, to a six-year, $33 million contract worth $5.5 million annually.
They get their business done quickly, as in just five days and two games of Pettersson’s Canucks career, he earned himself a long-term extension to stay in Vancouver.
Donnie & Dhali’s Rick Dhaliwal spoke with Pettersson’s agent, Peter Wallen, about the recent extension for his client:
“I am super impressed with Canucks management; we moved quickly. Marcus was impressed with Vancouver. There was no hesitation from him.”
Fans should be happy about Pettersson and his want to extend here in Vancouver. Well, let’s see how they truly reacted to this extension:
This isn’t a fan, but anytime you get AFP Analytics on your side, giving their thumbs up on the deal, the team came out well. AFP had Pettersson projected at $5.85 million annually for five years. The Canucks get him one more year with a $350k savings.
Safe to say that the majority of fans thought the number would start with a six on the Pettersson extension. And it makes sense why. This is the first time that NHL teams have the listed salary caps for more than just one season. Plus, since it’s rising so high in just two years time, this should age well – if he continues to play at his current rate.
You know it’s a solid deal when even Edmonton Oilers fans are joining in and complementing the Canucks for their signing.
This is one thing we should highlight. The $5.5 million is a big raise off his $4.03 million he’s making this season. However, it won’t be in a few season’s time.
Here is the percentage of the cap that Pettersson’s $5.5 million will take up with the confirmed cap rises over the next three seasons:
$95.5M in 2025/26 – 5.76%
$104M in 2026/27 – 5.29%
$113.5M in 2027/28 – 4.85%
Let’s compare what those numbers would be at the current cap of $88M
5.76% – $5.07M
5.29% – $4.66M
4.85% – $4.27M
So, looking into the numbers, Pettersson really isn’t getting that big of a raise. It’s safe to assume that the cap will only rise after 2027/28, and this could be closer to the $4.03M he currently makes today. Which, if Elias Pettersson (D) grows into a top-four defenceman, Marcus Pettersson could be making bottom-pairing money, and the Canucks aren’t going to be contractually obligated to play him higher in the lineup.
When was the last time a Canucks team was able to say that? The defence is looking like it will be the strength of the team for years to come.
Vancouver now has their top-four defenceman locked up for at least the following two seasons at affordable contracts.
Quinn Hughes ($7.85M x 2 years) – Filip Hronek ($7.25M x 7 years)
Marcus Pettersson ($5.5M x 6 years) – Tyler Myers ($3M x 2 years)
That gives the Canucks a lot of wiggle room on the bottom pairing. With developing defencemen such as Pettersson (D), Tom Willander, Sawyer Mynio and Kirill Kudryatsev to battle it out and contend for some cheap options for the Canucks to move forward with.
The future of the defenceman is strong in Vancouver.
Allviplan. I like it. This Canucks management group did not have a lot of leverage just one week ago. They were the talk of the hockey world, with everybody knowing they had to make a move off of one of Elias Pettersson and JT Miller.
Look at what they turned that JT Miller trade into.
A 6’2″ centre replacement who has speed and skill that has poured excitement into the current Canucks team. Is he the long-term fit at 2C? They’re certainly giving him the runway right now to prove that he can be. And if not? They can bring in a second-line centre and leave Chytil at 3C, a role in which he’s produced in New York for years.
A 6’4″ speedy winger with size who replaced Heinen, who wasn’t doing much outside of a penalty-killing role in Vancouver.
A 6’3″ right-shot defensive prospect who made the New York Rangers out of training camp and produced during his short stint in the NHL.
And, of course, a 6’5″ top-four defenceman they’ve been searching for all season. It was a big risk to flip that first-round pick that could turn into an unprotected 2026 pick in what projects to be a much deeper draft. However, locking him up at this reasonable of a contract makes that worth it.
This is a strong comparison. Nikita Zadorov was a fan favourite in Vancouver because of the toughness and intimidation factor he brought on the ice. But he wasn’t the minute muncher that Pettersson is. Zadorov really wasn’t a top-four defenceman, but Pettersson has proven he can be. He also does a lot of what Zadorov does, just to a lesser extent.
According to the team site, Pettersson is just 174 lbs. But he isn’t afraid to get physical and has fought some big brutes on opposing teams, previously fighting Washington Capitals tough guy Tom Wilson. He’s a positive guy, an excellent leader and will speak up in the locker room as Zadorov did.
Rumours came out that the Canucks offered him the same contract he signed with the Boston Bruins, and he chose to go elsewhere. Pettersson wanted to stay here and proved that by signing for six years. Give me the guy who wants to be here over the one who doesn’t.
Marcus Pettersson might not be that sexy of an add, but neither is the upcoming defensive free agent class.
In order of AAV this season, here’s the list of defencemen who are projected to be available if they don’t re-sign with their respective clubs.
Aaron Ekblad, Ivan Provorov, Jeff Petry, Neal Pionk, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jakob Chychrun and Ryan Lindgren
What do all of these teams have in common? They’re all still trying to make the playoffs and won’t trade these guys. Outside of maybe Jeff Petry, but his game has started to decline.
Trading for Pettersson when they did gives both him and the team some runway to get gelled together while also finding their top-four defenceman who’s going to help the clubs push for the playoffs. Had they not re-signed him right away, they would have given themselves time to negotiate ahead of free agency.
This is a great extension, don’t get me wrong, but let’s pump the breaks a bit here. There have been many fantastic signings in franchise history. Some with high profile names, but also, let’s not discount signing Alex Burrows and Chris Tanev as undrafted free agents.
Can’t help but wonder how Brock Boeser feels in all of this. The longest-tenured Canuck has been waiting since July 1 to sign an extension. Now, both play different positions, so it’s hard to compare on that front.
However, there is still time for this to get done. Just speculation here, but it seems like both sides are comfortable waiting this out and coming to a decision after the season. Will the Canucks wait that long? Will the taste in Boeser’s mouth sour and he walks for nothing? Are the Canucks willing to lose a former 40-goal scorer who’s beloved in the locker room for nothing?
Only time will tell.
From Magic Head via CanucksArmy:
Very reasonable contract and reasonable term. This was a good signing kudos to management for getting this done early instead of dragging their feet like they did last season.
They could have gotten Zadorov done shortly after they traded for him but decided to wait until the offseason. After his playoff run, Zadorov earned himself a massive increase in his asking price. Ultimately the Canucks didn’t sign him despite matching the deal, but it looks like they learned their lesson here by getting this done early.
From astupidtourist on Instagram:
Gonna need him when Hughes walks in 2 years
I’ll end with this. I think this actually helps the case of keeping Hughes.
The biggest thing for keeping Hughes is to keep the team competitive. And despite trading the best player in both deals, the Canucks undoubtedly got better. Maybe not high-end skill-wise, but they got deeper and have looked like a better team since the trade.
As many people smarter than I have said, winning fixes everything. If the Canucks continue to win this season and contend for the following two seasons, improving along the way will only help the case to keep Hughes.
And the move today to retain Pettersson at a team-friendly number, especially in the later years, will only accelerate those cases.
What do you think, Canucks fans? Are you happy with this extension? What are your views on some of these reactions? Let us know in the comments below!
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