Canucks Make Bold Move in Busy Week
The Vancouver Canucks announced that they are signing defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a contract extension. The recently acquired blue-liner agreed to a six-year deal worth $33 million to stay in Vancouver. Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin has been very busy recently. He fielded phone calls from other teams inquiring about their disgruntled superstar, traded an amazing center and alternate captain and now extended a key piece to their defensive unit.
The Canucks traded for Pettersson and Drew O’Connor and sent Danton Heinen, Vincent Desharnais, Melvin Fernstrom and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 draft acquired from the Rangers to the Penguins. Pettersson spent seven seasons in Pittsburgh after spending his first season in Anaheim. He has been a great defensive defenseman for a Penguins team that has been one of the worst teams defensively this season. He’s a key addition to a defensive group that includes Quinn Hughes, Tyler Myers, Filip Hronek and Carson Soucy.
After speculation of Elias Pettersson being moved, the team went a different route with another Pettersson. With much drama being revealed between him and JT Miller, the Canucks traded Miller to the Rangers. In the deal, Vancouver acquired Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini and the aforementioned first-round pick. It remains to be seen if the team will also deal the younger Pettersson who’s become a franchise cornerstone, but if they do, it will make for one heck of an offseason in Vancouver.
The contract given out to Pettersson is a huge bargain. At just a five and a half million average annual value, this contract is a steal considering the top 35 defensemen contracts net more than seven million per year. The only thing that’s a major concern about the deal is that the Swede will be under contract through his mid-30s. He’ll be 29 by the time the first round of the playoffs are concluded, meaning that the team is relying heavily on him to stay healthy. Per an 82-game average, Pettersson averages 118 blocked shots and hits, demonstrating the physical game he likes to play, but he was already on injured reserve this season with a week-to-week lower-body injury.
