Vancouver Canucks Want to Sign Marcus Pettersson to an Extension

The Vancouver Canucks were active on Friday night, making not one but two trades. First, the Canucks traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers. Soon enough, Vancouver used the protected first-round draft pick they got in the Miller and used it to get Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Once again, history showed that President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford and General Manager Patrik Allvin wanted to get ahead of the trade deadline. With the Four Nations Faceoff in about a week, managers had a second trade deadline to get things done even earlier.

The Canucks had always been looking for a center and top-four defenseman when management decided to move Miller or Elias Pettersson. Though the return was never going to be an exception, the Canucks did get a center in Filip Chytil. But what makes the Penguins deal good is that Vancouvers get the top four defensemen they desperately needed.

Rutherford and Allvin wanted to get another defenseman who could help Filip Hronek in the top four. As many know, the defense runs through Quinn Hughes, and then there is a slight drop-off. Pettersson keeps the Canucks competitive in the Western Conference, as management knew they were losing a Miller trade.

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Similar to last year, when Vancouver acquired Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, the next step was to sign Marcus Pettersson. The same is true for Drew O’Connor. Both players will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

Canucks General Manager and President Jim Rutherford gave up a lot to get two players they are both familiar with. Recall they were instrumental when they were in Pittsburgh, bringing Pettersson to the Penguins. That history could help the negotiation process with both players. Remember, nothing is guaranteed until the pen goes to paper.

But Patrik Allvin is hoping to get to work on an extension with Pettersson, and it will be a priority now, especially what the Canucks gave up, as he told the media on Saturday. 

“I have not talked to Marcus’ agent. We were travelling today. We just exchanged texts,” Allvin said during his media availibility on Saturday. “It’s definitely a priority for us to get him signed. I know Marcus is extremely excited. I think Jim mentioned that he traded for him previously, and Sergei Gonchar worked with him in Pittsburgh, so there is a lot of familiarities with Marcus here.”

According to Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, negotiations could start as early as this week. However, it is unclear what either player is looking for. Pagnotta believes Pettersson will get a longer-term deal than O’Connor. Marcus Pettersson could see an AAV of $6 million on his next deal, while O’Connor could receive an AAV of $2 million on his next deal. Again, this all depends on the length of each deal.

However, expect Marcus Pettersson to sign a deal, maybe even before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7th, similar to what J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson both dealt during their contract years. But getting Marcus Pettersson is a priority for the Canucks, so make no mistake about that.

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