Latest On Elias Pettersson
After the Vancouver Canucks wrapped up a busy offseason of UFA signings mostly focused on fortifying their defense, everyone is now watching Elias Pettersson‘s contract situation as the 2023-24 season approaches. The star center is heading into the final year of his three-year bridge contract, carrying a $7.35MM million cap hit, signed in 2021. While the Canucks will still retain his rights next summer as a restricted free agent if an extension isn’t reached soon, Pettersson’s potential eligibility for unrestricted free agency in 2025 if he only signs a one-year extension has given him tremendous leverage in upcoming negotiations. His agent, J.P. Barry, said early last month he doesn’t anticipate beginning those extension talks with Vancouver until the end of this summer.
Today, The Athletic’s Harman Dayal polled a number of NHL agents on what potential scenarios could arise in Pettersson extension talks. Obviously, the biggest question facing Pettersson’s camp is whether he should sign an extension immediately this summer or take a wait-and-see approach into the season. Waiting would offer him more clarity on the Canucks’ future and potentially enhance his earning power if he continues his upward climb. If the team can finally perform well after a long stretch of mediocrity, Pettersson may feel more comfortable committing long-term.
One anonymous agent suggested a wait-and-see approach could be sensible but said not to discount the mental challenges that a contract year can place on a player and, in turn, affect their performance. If Pettersson and his camp feel the outside noise of extension talks during the season would be too much of a distraction, signing now would almost definitely be a better choice to avoid lowering his value after a 102-point year last season. It’s likely something Pettersson will heavily consider after going through the contract-related pressure Pettersson faced in the final year of his entry-level contract in 2020-21, Dayal says.
Another factor affecting the timing of negotiations is whether Pettersson’s camp wants to wait for Auston Matthews‘ extension, as it could introduce a new comparable, another agent said. Pettersson’s value may have been tampered slightly by a recent comparable – Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, who signed an eight-year extension last month carrying a $9.75MM cap hit. If Matthews’ extension in Toronto comes in north of $12MM, it could strengthen Pettersson’s case for an eight-figure cap hit on a long-term deal.
While eight-year deals are the norm for players with high cap hits, an agent Dayal spoke to said shorter contracts have become more attractive due to the expected rise in the salary cap. Signing a shorter contract could allow Pettersson to capitalize on a higher salary cap when he re-enters the market in his late 20s.
Of note, former Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Chris Gear predicted a cap hit between $9.5MM and $10.25MM on Pettersson’s next deal last month.
Sven Baertschi Announces Retirement
August 3: Baertschi has confirmed his retirement in a statement from SC Bern, citing health concerns. “Like most players, I’ve had a number of injuries that are now taking their toll,” Baertschi said. “After months of training, I realized that my body can no longer perform as well as I need it to. And playing with less than 100 percent, I can’t accept that.”
August 2: Left winger Sven Baertschi left the NHL for Europe last offseason, and after just one year overseas, Swiss outlet Blick reports that Baertschi is retiring with two seasons left on his contract with NL club SC Bern. The Swiss forward is stepping away from the game at 30 years old after accumulating 138 points in 292 games with the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights between 2012 and 2022.
The first three and a half seasons of his career were spent in Calgary, who selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft after he put up 85 points in 66 games with the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks. However, concussion issues quickly derailed a promising career after a trade to the Vancouver Canucks in 2015. He would never eclipse the 70-game mark in a single season with the club and never played more than 53 after his first reported concussion in 2016-17.
While he never found his footing in Calgary, he did post some solid numbers in a middle-six role for the Canucks before injuries stunted his play. His career-best campaign came in that 2016-17 season when he recorded 18 goals, 17 assists and 35 points in 68 games while averaging nearly 16 minutes per game.
After four injury-riddled seasons with the Canucks, Baertschi continued to slip down the depth chart and spent most of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns in the minors on assignment with the AHL’s Utica Comets. It looked like he had gotten his mojo back in that first campaign with Utica, recording 46 points in just 43 games, but he didn’t make the Canucks out of camp in 2020-21, and his production quickly trailed off.
He signed with the Vegas Golden Knights as a free agent the following offseason, where he again provided solid but unimpressive production for their minor-league affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. He did get into one game with Vegas in November 2021, skating 13:54 in a 5-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings. That will be his final NHL game. Playing in his home city of Bern last season, he produced well below expectations with just four goals in 36 games.
PHR extends its best wishes to Baertschi in retirement, especially in regards to his long-term health.
Ilya Mikheyev To Be Ready For Start Of Season
Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic reported earlier today that forward Ilya Mikheyev has begun skating for the first time since late January, and that Mikheyev’s agent fully expects him to be ready to start the 2023-24 campaign. Mikheyev had undergone knee surgery from an injury sustained in last year’s preseason, and the Vancouver Canucks January 27th game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was scheduled to be Mikheyev’s last of the season.
The reason that Mikheyev’s expected return is so significant, is that Vancouver is beginning to have a roster issue. As of now, according to CapFriendly, the Canucks currently have 13 forwards on their current roster, with NHL-ready talents such as Aidan McDonough and Vasily Podkolzin rostered in the minor leagues. With Mikheyev’s imminent return to the team, Vancouver would now have 16 forwards capable of receiving minutes in the professional league.
Not only is Mikheyev expected to return, but there is also the strong possibility of forward Tanner Pearson returning by the start of training camp. In July, the General Manager of the Canucks, Patrik Allvin, spoke on Pearson’s status saying, “The indication I got from his agent and from our medical staff is that the hand is healed, and Tanner is working really hard to to be the in his best shape and participate in training camp“.
Vancouver will have a bit of flexibility when it comes to filling out their forward core, as players such as Nils Aman, Phillip Di Giuseppe, and Sheldon Dries all have two-way contracts, meaning they can be sent to the AHL without hitting the waiver wire. The more unfortunate news for the Canucks, is the unenviable situation of their salary cap. If Pearson does indeed come off LTIR, Vancouver will still be $1.77MM over the cap with only Tucker Poolman left on LTIR.
If Pearson is not ready to go by the start of the season, the Canucks will be able to keep him on LTIR and have no issue staying cap compliant throughout the season. Nevertheless, with so many NHL quality forwards in their system, it would seem prudent for Vancouver to thin out their forward core in some fashion, and address another area of need for the team.
Aho's Extension Could Push Pettersson's Extension Higher
One player that was likely intrigued by the eight-year, $78MM extension that Sebastian Aho signed yesterday was Canucks center Elias Pettersson. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma suggests that Aho’s deal should only bolster Pettersson’s asking price when discussions about a new deal get underway. Pettersson had a much better platform season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists while Aho had 36 tallies and 31 helpers. Pettersson is also averaging just shy of a point per game for his career while Aho checks in at 0.9. However, Aho has nearly 200 more NHL appearances under his belt and all eight years of his contract are UFA seasons while Pettersson will have one RFA-eligible year on his next deal. Despite that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pettersson’s camp aiming higher than Aho’s contract when he and the team sit down to discuss a potential extension.
Speculative Price Range For Elias Pettersson's Next Contract
Canucks center Elias Pettersson is now eligible for a contract extension since he has entered the final season of his three-year, $22.05MM deal, one that carries a qualifying offer next summer of $8.82MM. Speaking with Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma, former Vancouver assistant GM Chris Gear (who used to handle negotiations for Vancouver) pegged a rough range of a new deal for Pettersson between $9.5MM and $10.25MM. The 24-year-old hit career highs across the board last season with 39 goals, 63 assists, and 102 points, finishing tenth in league scoring so his value is certainly at its peak. Speculatively, if that’s the approximate range that a contract for Pettersson would be at this point, Vancouver might need to go close to the top mark to get him to put pen to paper on it a year early as another 100-point showing next season could push that price tag even higher.
Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Derek Clancey
The Toronto Maple Leafs have filled out their front office, hiring former Vancouver Canucks executive Derek Clancey as assistant general manager with a player personnel specialty today, according to a team release.
Vancouver announced Clancey’s departure just minutes before Toronto picked him up. In Toronto, the 54-year-old executive reunites with general manager Brad Treliving, with whom he served as a pro scout in 2021-22 while both were members of the Calgary Flames.
Toronto is now Clancey’s third team in as many seasons, but don’t take that as a poor reflection on his career resume. Joining the NHL ranks in 2007, he was a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins front office for all four of their Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2008, 2019, 2015, and 2016, first as a pro scout before transitioning to their director of professional scouting.
Clancey is the third major addition/replacement in Toronto’s front office this season, joining Treliving and special assistant to the GM Shane Doan as the new faces among Maple Leafs’ executives. His focus with Toronto will undoubtedly be on pro talent evaluation, and his input will be highly sought after when discussing potential trades, waiver claims, or free agent signings.
Canucks general manager Jim Rutherford later released a statement, confirming Vancouver would not pursue a replacement for Clancey and will collectively replace his role among the other assistant general managers.
Snapshots: Flames, Canucks, Lake Tahoe
Missing out on the entirety of the 2022-23 NHL season due to a personal issue, defenseman Oliver Kylington is set to get going for the Calgary Flames this upcoming year. In a report from Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, Kylington is “excited” to return to the Flames this year. With one year, $2.5MM remaining on Kylington’s contract, Pike notes that the team has not yet engaged with him on contract extension conversations.
One player that the team has engaged in contract talks with is forward Dillon Dube (Tweet Link). Dube has been incrementally improving his game for years, capping off the 2022-23 year with his best performance, an 18-goal and 27-assist effort in 82 games played.
Luckily for the Flames, Dube will be a restricted free agent at the end of his three-year, $9.6MM contract signed back before the 2021-22 season, giving them a decent amount of control over the situation. In context, forward Tyler Toffoli is already off to the New Jersey Devils, and Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund are unsure about their future, Dube may have a significant role opening up for himself on Calgary’s roster.
Other snapshots:
- Today, the Vancouver Canucks released their ECHL affiliate for the 2023-24 NHL season, and it will be the Kalamazoo Wings. This will not be their first partnership, as Kalamazoo featured as the Canucks’ ECHL affiliate from 1984-1987, 2011-2015, and again from 2017-2021. Throughout their history as a team, the Wings have never won the Kelly Cup in the ECHL, but have employed NHL talent such as Ron Hextall, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Manny Fernandez.
- Continuing on with news from the ECHL, the league has approved a new team, one that will reside in Lake Tahoe, CA. The team is unnamed up to this point, but it will be the 29th team granted admittance into the NHL’s second-tier minor league system. Interestingly enough, the team will be owned by former professional quarterback, and 2007 Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow.
Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Nils Höglander
The Vancouver Canucks have announced that they have signed RFA forward Nils Höglander to a two-year contract carrying a $1.1MM AAV. Höglander, 22, will be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal and will hold arbitration rights.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin issued the following statement regarding this re-signing:
Nils learned a lot this past season, especially playing meaningful playoff games in Abbotsford. It’s not easy to start the year in the NHL and then be sent down to the American League, but we were impressed with the way he took that challenge head on. He worked hard on his game and give credit to Jeremy Colliton, his staff, and our development team as well for helping Nils improve on things during the year. This experience should really help Nils compete for a spot on our team at training camp this fall.
The move all but finishes up the Canucks’ outstanding offseason business (barring any trades on the horizon) as their only remaining RFA is Vitali Kravtsov, who is off to play in the KHL next season and only received a qualifying offer from Vancouver so the organization could retain his NHL rights.
Höglander earns this deal after a season where he split time between the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and Vancouver. He began the season with the Canucks and posted nine points in 25 games.
But Höglander’s average ice time had declined to a career-low 12:03 per night, and the organization opted to have him play in Abbotsford as the better choice for his development.
The Swedish winger acquitted himself well in the AHL, posting 32 points in 45 regular-season games and six points in six postseason contests.
That’s still a far cry from Höglander’s rookie season, though, when at the age of 20 he scored 27 points in 56 games and got some down-ballot Calder Trophy consideration.
Set to turn 23 in December, Hoglander will be waiver-eligible this season for the first time in his career. He hasn’t yet played in any games for Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet (he was sent down to the AHL before Tocchet was hired) and therefore he presumably has a clean slate to work with as he looks to earn a role in Tocchet’s training camp in the fall.
Although Andrei Kuzmenko and Anthony Beauvillier are likely to occupy the two left-winger slots in Vancouver’s top-six, Höglander has an opportunity to earn a top-nine role playing as Tocchet’s third-line left winger. In that role, he could potentially play with an established NHL scorer such as Conor Garland or Brock Boeser, as well as an experienced center in Teddy Blueger.
It’s a big year for Höglander, and this two-year contract at a $1.1MM AAV shows the Canucks’ belief that Höglander is an NHL player moving forward. While his $1.1MM cap hit can be fully buried in the minors, this contract gives the winger a solid opportunity to deliver on some of the upside he showed in his rookie season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Canucks Unable To Pay Myers Bonus Before September
- Right before the free agent market opened on July 1st, it was reported that the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks had recently discussed a trade that would send defenseman Tyler Myers to the Bay Area. During their podcast, ‘Canucks Central’, Dan Riccio and Sat Shah confirmed the deal would have been a one-for-one swap for winger Kevin Labanc. It makes sense for both teams, as Myers has fallen out of favor in Vancouver, and the team mostly addressed its defensive core via free agency. From the Sharks’ perspective, the team is widely expected to move defenseman Erik Karlsson before the offseason concludes, and Myers would fill that hole left on their right side.
- One of the major holdups in any Myers deal is the $5MM bonus he is due on September 1st of this year. At the beginning of last season, there were reports that a deal that would have sent Myers to the Ottawa Senators fell through due to the bonus due to Myers. Unfortunately for interested parties, David Quadrelli of Nation HQ reports that the Canucks are unable to pay the bonus early, as the league has deemed it a salary cap circumvention.
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Alain Vigneault Announces Retirement From Coaching
After a 19-season head coaching career spanning four teams, seasoned NHL bench boss Alain Vigneault has declared his retirement from coaching in an interview with the Journal de Québec, according to a report from French-Canadian outlet RDS.
Vigneault, still under contract with the Flyers after being fired in December of 2021, made it clear that his last contract would be his final one and that he has no intention of returning to coaching. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported last summer that Philadelphia was likely Vigneault’s final stop as an NHL head coach.
The 62-year-old Canadian coach leaves behind a rather illustrious coaching career – Vigneault’s 1,363 games behind an NHL bench places him 15th in NHL history for most games coached. He accumulated over 700 wins throughout his coaching journey, a feat achieved by only nine other coaches in NHL history.
However, he didn’t quite reach hockey’s pinnacle, never getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Although he made the playoffs in 12 of his 19 seasons, he advanced twice to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in both tries.
Vigneault’s coaching tenure in the NHL began in the 1997-98 season when he took the helm of the Montreal Canadiens. He then went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and finally, the Philadelphia Flyers.
Vigneault’s primary piece of individual hardware came in 2006-07, winning the Jack Adams Award in his first season with the Canucks after guiding the team to a 49-26-7 record and Northwest Division title. Vancouver would bow out in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, thanks to a relatively innocuous double-overtime winner in Game 5 from Ducks defender Scott Niedermayer (video link).
Vancouver was undoubtedly Vigneault’s most successful stop, as he would win back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies with the team in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Canucks made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in nearly two decades in 2011 but fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
Vigneault made it back to the Final three seasons later with the New York Rangers but lost all three overtime games in the series en route to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.
Before starting his coaching career, Vigneault had a brief playing stint as an NHLer. He played 42 games as a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues in the 1980s before transitioning to coaching at just 25 years old.
He does boast an all-time playoff record of 78-77, a rare mark above .500 for a coach without a Cup victory. With his longevity placing him in the upper echelon of all-time NHL coaches, as well as a Jack Adams and two conference championships, it wouldn’t surprise many to see a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in his future.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images