A commitment to supporting a winning team, a strong relationship with management and talk of the club’s long-term vision helped convince Vancouver star centre Elias Pettersson to tie his long-term future to the Canucks.
The team announced Saturday that Pettersson has agreed to an eight-year contract extension.
Terms of the deal, which kicks in next season, were not disclosed. Media reports indicate the extension is worth an average annual value of US$11.6 million.
I’m super excited, this is where I wanted to be,” Pettersson said at a morning news conference.
He referenced the impact president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin have had in helping assure him his future was in Vancouver.
“I always wanted to play for a good team and I wanted to see where this team was heading and ever since Jim and Patrik have come in, obviously getting to know them and seeing the direction we’re going in as an organization, I’ve liked everything I’ve seen,” he said.
Pettersson’s current contract has a cap hit of $7.35 million and expires after this season.
The 25-year-old Swede has 29 goals and 46 assists in 62 games this season, good for second on the team in points behind J.T. Miller.
Allvin said the process of re-signing the Swedish centre began two years ago when he joined the front office.
“Building the relationship with Elias, showing him the vision and I fully respected him and his agents here for taking their time (to) get to know us,” Allvin said.
“It was an exciting time when Elias hinted he wanted to stay here. There was never any doubt that he never wanted to stay here, from my view of it, I think it was more about the trust and vision he wanted to see here.”
