Canucks Notes: Pettersson, Draft, Pearson
During a press availability earlier today, the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, Patrik Allvin, spoke with the media about a wide range of topics, including injury reports, extensions, the draft, etc. Although the Canucks have plenty of roster reconstruction to take care of this offseason, keeping their most important player is another vital issue at hand.
Elias Pettersson, who just finished the best season of his young career with 39 goals and 63 assists, will be eligible for a contract extension in a few short days. At his age and the talent he brings to the Canucks organization, it is reasonable to assume that Pettersson’s next contract may be $80MM over eight years if not more.
Surprisingly, during the media availability, Allvin appeared very calm about a possible extension for Petterson, saying, “We’re going to sit down when the time is right. There is no rush” (Tweet Link). With plenty of roster turnover expected this summer, the extension for Petterson should be top of mind for the Canucks. Along with Quinn Hughes, Pettersson is a main building block that Vancouver is expected to build around. Without a long-term extension in place with him, it will be difficult for Vancouver to cultivate a long-term plan around him this offseason, if they do acquire outside talent.
Other notes:
- Already sitting with the 11th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, it does not sound like Allvin is satisfied with their current positioning. In the same meeting with the press, Allvin said, “I’m looking at options to trade up, if that’s an option” (Tweet Link). Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any teams in the top seven of this year’s draft would be willing to trade down. With reasonable expectations, the Washington Capitals (eighth), Detroit Red Wings (ninth), and St.Louis Blues (10th) seem the most likely group above Vancouver to make a trade, but even that should be considered a low probability.
- Lastly, on the injury front, Allvin did say that forward Tanner Pearson should be fully healed from wrist surgery by the end of summer, and be fully expected to join the team for training camp (Tweet Link). On long-term injured reserve for much of last season, his activation would mean his $3.25MM would go back on the books, tightening the Canucks’ cap space even further.
Snapshots: Vancouver, Pettersson, Combine
Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal wrote an article for The Athletic today outlining the best third line center options for the Vancouver Canucks to look at when free agency opens on July 1st. Vancouver has an excellent 1-2 punch down the middle of the ice with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller currently occupying the top two spots. Drance and Dayal begin their article by highlighting the fact that Vancouver not only needs a third line center, but they also need the right fit for the third line, preferably one with more of a defensive skill set.
While this year’s free agent class leaves a lot to be desired, there are some good top-9 center options for the Canucks to consider. Drance and Dayal produce an exhaustive list that includes bargain bin shopping as well as some players that will likely fall outside of Vancouver’s price range given their salary cap constraints. The most realistic targets, and the ones on the top of the list are Pius Suter and David Kampf.
What a change two years can make. In the case of Pius Suter, it’s the difference between being non-tendered (as he was in 2021 by the Chicago Blackhawks) and being a sought after unrestricted free agent (after two good seasons with the Detroit Red Wings). Suter is a bit undersized but could offer the Canucks a solid top-9 option at a reasonable price. Over two seasons in Detroit Suter put up 29 goals and 31 assists in 161 games. While those numbers won’t blow anyone away, the 27-year-old did this while hardly benefiting from any powerplay time as he saw just six minutes of ice time this season with the man advantage.
Kampf offers much stronger defensive metrics than Suter and is a bigger body, however he is more limited offensively as he had just 18 goals and 35 assists in 164 games over the past two seasons. He also saw very little powerplay time but struggles to drive play at even strength as he has a negative offensive impact even at 5v5. Drance and Dayal do wonder if having a better defensive player such as Kampf in the third line center role might make more sense for Vancouver as it could free up the top two line for more offensive deployment.
Other snapshots from around the league:
- The Score is reporting that J.P. Barry, the agent for Vancouver Canucks superstar Elias Pettersson expects talks between his client and the club to begin this summer as they look to hammer out a long-term deal for the 24-year-old. Pettersson is just a year from being a restricted free agent and two years away from unrestricted free agency. He is due $10.25MM this upcoming season and would require an $8.82MM qualifying offer next summer for Vancouver to retain his rights. Given that he is coming off a 102-point season it would make sense for the young Swede to try and sign a long-term deal to obtain some security and peace of mind heading into next season. For the Canucks it would also give the club some cap certainty as they try to re-tool after missing the playoffs this past season.
- Mike Morreale of NHL.com tweeted today that no Russian prospects who played overseas this season will be attending the NHL combine. The combine will run from June 4-10 in Buffalo and will give all 32 clubs the chance to get a look at the top prospects in this year’s entry draft. It’s an interesting development, but not a surprising one. Projected top-3 pick Matvei Michkov stated in Russian media back in May that he likely wouldn’t be at the combine but would be at the draft.
NHL Announces 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees
In an announcement made Tuesday afternoon, the NHL unveiled the list of nominees for the 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice, as well as making a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to their community.
The list of nominees for this year’s award is an impressive one, featuring some of the league’s most well-respected captains, such as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov.
One notable nominee is one of the youngest captains in the league – Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk, in a few short years as a Senator, has already implanted himself in the community, especially in recent seasons. Working with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Tkachuk hosts the ‘Tkachuk’s Captains’ program, which works with kids at club locations across Ottawa to help develop leadership skills.
That’s not to diminish the off-ice efforts of anyone else named on the full list of nominees, found below. While an often-overlooked award, it’s a great way to highlight some players who focus on making positive contributions to their communities.
Anaheim: Kevin Shattenkirk
Arizona: Travis Boyd
Boston: Patrice Bergeron
Buffalo: Alex Tuch
Calgary: Mikael Backlund
Carolina: Jordan Staal
Chicago: Connor Murphy
Colorado: Devon Toews
Columbus: Zach Werenski
Dallas: Jason Robertson
Detroit: Dylan Larkin
Edmonton: Darnell Nurse
Florida: Aleksander Barkov
Los Angeles: Mikey Anderson
Minnesota: Matt Dumba
Montreal: Jordan Harris
Nashville: Juuse Saros
New Jersey: Jack Hughes
NY Islanders: Anders Lee
NY Rangers: Jacob Trouba
Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin
San Jose: Luke Kunin
Seattle: Chris Driedger
St. Louis: Brayden Schenn
Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman
Toronto: Morgan Rielly
Vancouver: Elias Pettersson
Vegas: Reilly Smith
Washington: Tom Wilson
Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler
Elias Pettersson Will Not Play At Worlds
Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson won’t be attending the upcoming IIHF World Championship after all, as a report from Aftonbladet indicates that the Swedish ice hockey federation could not secure insurance for him at the event.
Pettersson, 24, is only signed through next season and is expected to ink a massive extension at some point this offseason. He is eligible for a new contract on July 1, meaning a serious injury at the event next month could jeopardize a huge amount of money. Insurance is needed for many players at the event, usually when coming to the end of a contract.
As the extension talks approach, Pettersson is in quite a strong negotiating position. The young forward broke 100 points for the first time in his career, posting 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games. That included five shorthanded goals to lead the league, and some incredible, dominant possession numbers that suggest he will be able to repeat that performance moving forward.
Pettersson will carry a $7.35MM cap hit next season while earning a whopping $10.25MM in actual salary, thanks to the back-loaded nature of his bridge deal. That means his qualifying offer would be at $8.82MM to retain him as an RFA in the summer of 2024, another number that only helps his case as he negotiates a long-term extension.
While international hockey fans might have wanted to see him on the World stage, Canucks fans might be okay with their prized forward taking some time off. Pettersson has a lot of work to do to lead Vancouver back to the promised land in the next couple of years, something that executive Jim Rutherford believes is possible despite their recent poor performances.
Pacific Notes: Carrier, Pettersson, Oilers
Golden Knights winger William Carrier did not accompany the team to Winnipeg and, accordingly, won’t play until at least Game Five of their series, relays Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has missed the last seven weeks with a lower-body injury but has started skating again, albeit in a non-contact jersey. Carrier had 16 goals and 133 hits in 56 games this season, giving them some impressive depth scoring inside their bottom six while his style of play fits in well in the postseason. Head coach Bruce Cassidy hasn’t yet ruled out Carrier returning in this series so it’s possible that he gets the green light to return next week.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Canucks center Elias Pettersson is hoping to play at the World Championship next month but is still working through the insurance process, notes Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston. The 24-year-old had a career year this season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games, putting him tenth in the NHL in scoring. Pettersson has one year left on his deal and will be eligible to sign an extension in July but as he’s in this situation, his agent Pat Brisson indicated that disability insurance needs to be secured for Pettersson to play in the event.
- The Oilers are expected to announce their ‘Black Ace’ recalls on Sunday, suggests Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). AHL Bakersfield was eliminated from the playoffs last night by Abbotsford. As a result, Edmonton can recall as many players as they want with forward Dylan Holloway likely to be the headliner. With Mattias Janmark out of the lineup, it’s possible that Holloway could get into their series against Los Angeles at some point.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Elias Pettersson To Entry-Level Contract
The Vancouver Canucks signed defense prospect Elias Pettersson to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Wednesday. Pettersson’s deal starts next season, CapFriendly reports, and carries a cap hit of $870,000.
Completely unrelated to Vancouver’s superstar center of the same name, Vancouver selected Pettersson, 19, with the 80th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft. He had a solid post-draft year, playing mostly in the SHL (as compared to Swedish juniors) for most of the season. In 43 games with Örebro HK, Pettersson recorded a goal and six assists in a very limited role, as well as three assists in seven games for Sweden at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships.
Pettersson is a very intriguing prospect at a position of need for Vancouver. The left-shot blue liner is a very fluid skater and strong in transition, posting solid defensive numbers wherever he plays. Standing at 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, there are few size concerns with Pettersson as well and his game seems rather adaptable to the NHL.
Vancouver did not initially release the terms of Pettersson’s contract, but general manager Patrik Allvin did have this to say:
We are very happy to have Elias sign with us as he takes another step forward in his hockey career. We really liked the year he had on the ice in both representing his country at the World Juniors and playing important minutes in the SHL. Our development team is excited about the opportunity to continue to work with him and create a stronger relationship and partnership, building upon his already strong desire to learn and compete.
The Canucks will likely return Pettersson to Örebro on loan for 2023-24, giving him another year of development in his home country.
Vancouver Canucks Optimistic They Can Extend Elias Pettersson
Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrick Allvin spoke with Patrick Johnston of The Province today and said he is very optimist that the team can get a long-term deal done with Elias Pettersson. The Swedish center has one more year left on his bridge contract at a cap hit of $7.35MM and will be in line for a big raise when he becomes a restricted free agent in 2024.
Much like Alex DeBrincat, Pettersson’s contract is back loaded, meaning that Vancouver will need to qualify him at a number just shy of $9MM. Pettersson could take the one-year deal and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025 at the age of 26. Should the former fifth overall pick elect to do that, he would have no shortage of suitors.
Pettersson was a horse this season as he averaged of 20 minutes of ice time per game. He is coming off a career year that saw him post 39 goals and 63 assists in 80 games. His powerplay goals dropped dramatically this season as he scored just six times with the extra man, but what is truly impressive was that he put up 68 points at even strength, which tied him for sixth in the entire NHL behind the likes of Nathan McKinnon and Connor McDavid. These numbers put Pettersson in elite company and will have him looking for a long-term deal with an eight-figure average annual value.
The Canucks may be optimistic about signing their superstar center, but their short-term cap situation would give anyone pause. The club has struggled to commit to a specific direction over the last year and appear to be spinning their wheels. They have a lot of long-term contracts with players that are producing well below their cap hits, which could make it difficult to improve the on-ice product and entice Pettersson to stay. Jim Rutherford, Allvin and company seemed committed to a rebuild when they were first hired over a year ago, but appeared to change course when they narrowly missed the playoffs in 2022. They have been unable to shed any of the bloated contracts handed out by the previous management group and have further added to them with the extension to J.T. Miller. Their direction over the next 12 months will be interesting to observe as they appear set to retool rather than teardown and rebuild.
Snapshots: Skills Results, International Games, Kastelic
The All-Star festivities kicked off on Friday night with the annual Skills Competition which featured some staple events as well as some new outdoor ones. Here is a listing of the winners for each event:
Tendy Tandem
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG/Juuse Saros, NSH (Central Division) – 13 points
Fastest Skater
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR – 13.699 seconds
NHL Pitch ‘n Puck
Nick Suzuki, MTL – 3
Splash Shot
Cale Makar/Mikko Rantanen, COL – 18.7 seconds
Hardest Shot
Elias Pettersson, VAN – 103.2 mph
Breakaway Challenge
Sidney Crosby, PIT/Alex Ovechkin, WSH – 40
Accuracy Shooting
Brock Nelson, NYI – 12.419 seconds
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- It appears that Australia will be where next season gets underway as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that it’s all but a lock that the NHL will have games there to kick things off. He suggests that Boston and Los Angeles are among the teams in the mix to go although the full details won’t be announced until everything is finalized. Games were played in Prague to start this season while there were a pair of games in Tampere as well back in November.
- While there were plenty of players who were sent to the minors during the All-Star break, at least one regular player won’t be getting recalled right away. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that the Senators’ plan for Mark Kastelic is to keep the forward in the minors once the schedule resumes. The 23-year-old has played in 43 games for Ottawa this season but has been out with a back issue for the last couple of weeks and will get some time to get back into form with AHL Belleville before potentially coming back up later on.
NHL Announces 2023 All-Star Player Assignments
The 2023 NHL All-Star Skills competition will take place tomorrow night, and today the league announced the full lineup of participants. Players from around the league will get to show off their unique abilities in several events, with each individual winner taking home $30,000.
Fastest Skater
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
Breakaway Challenge
Roberto Luongo, Celebrity goaltender
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals*
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins*
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
*Ovechkin and Crosby are listed as “teaming up”
Tendy Tandem
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers
Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
Logan Thompson, Vegas Golden Knights
Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Splash Shot
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
Adam Fox, New York Rangers
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
Accuracy Shooting
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Kevin Hayes, Philadelphia Flyers
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
Pitch ‘n Puck
Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus Blue Jackets
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars
Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Hardest Shot
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
NHL Announces Initial All-Star Rosters
According to a league release, the NHL has named the first eight selections to the four divisional All-Star teams for the 2023 NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Florida.
The league names one player to represent each team at the game, a rule in standing since the league switched to a divisional format for its mid-season talent showcase. A public fan vote will decide the three remaining players per division next week.
Each division’s leader in points percentage after gameplay concludes on January 11 will determine coaches for these teams. The Boston Bruins have already clinched the best such number in the Atlantic at that time, meaning Jim Montgomery will be behind the bench for the star-studded Atlantic Division, arguably the league’s best contingent of talent.
The initial rosters for each division are as follows:
Atlantic Division
Boston: G Linus Ullmark (1st appearance)
Buffalo: C Tage Thompson (1st appearance)
Detroit: C Dylan Larkin (3rd appearance)
Florida: RW Matthew Tkachuk (2nd appearance)
Montreal: C Nick Suzuki (2nd appearance)
Ottawa: LW Brady Tkachuk (3rd appearance)
Tampa Bay: RW Nikita Kucherov (4th appearance)
Toronto: RW Mitch Marner (2nd appearance)
Metropolitan Division
Carolina: LW Andrei Svechnikov (1st appearance)
Columbus: LW Johnny Gaudreau (7th appearance)
New Jersey: C Jack Hughes (2nd appearance)
NY Islanders: C Brock Nelson (1st appearance)
NY Rangers: G Igor Shesterkin (1st appearance)
Philadelphia: C Kevin Hayes (1st appearance)
Pittsburgh: C Sidney Crosby (5th appearance)
Washington: LW Alex Ovechkin (8th appearance)
Central Division
Arizona: LW Clayton Keller (3rd appearance)
Chicago: RD Seth Jones (4th appearance)
Colorado: RD Cale Makar (2nd appearance)
Dallas: LW Jason Robertson (1st appearance)
Minnesota: LW Kirill Kaprizov (2nd appearance)
Nashville: G Juuse Saros (2nd appearance)
St. Louis: RW Vladimir Tarasenko (injured) (4th appearance)
Winnipeg: LD Josh Morrissey (1st appearance)
Pacific Division
Anaheim: RW Troy Terry (2nd appearance)
Calgary: C Nazem Kadri (2nd appearance)
Edmonton: C Connor McDavid (6th appearance)
Los Angeles: LW Kevin Fiala (1st appearance)
San Jose: RD Erik Karlsson (7th appearance)
Seattle: C Matthew Beniers (1st appearance)
Vancouver: C Elias Pettersson (3rd appearance)
Vegas: G Logan Thompson (1st appearance)
The most important note on these rosters is obviously that of Tarasenko’s status. The 31-year-old is on injured reserve with a hand injury, and likely won’t be able to suit up. His replacement will be named shortly.
More to come…