If the Vancouver Canucks are hesitant to give their forward Elias Pettersson a long-term contract, he risks becoming an attractive target for many teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), especially since he appears to be in great shape on the ice.
The Swede, who is eligible for salary negotiations at the end of the current season, added a few lines to his already well-filled CV on Tuesday. He scored his second career league hat trick and his first since January 2019 in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators.
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With five goals and eleven assists, he is one of the main reasons for his team’s success. The NHL’s second-place finisher with 16 points has helped the Canucks to six wins in nine games so far. Once again his wrist shot caused chaos as he beat goalkeeper Kevin Lankinen twice in this manner before scoring with an empty-net goal.
“I think it’s all about trust. Even if you don’t play your best game, you can still focus on your confidence and game structure, Pettersson told NHL.com, preferring to focus on team performance first. It’s good to get different victories, especially when we weren’t at our best. Maybe we wouldn’t have won these games in previous years. However, I believe our goalkeepers are there and we are defending more.
Weighty arguments?
In October, Sportsnet hockey expert Elliotte Friedman suggested that the Canucks were not sold on the idea of signing the 24-year-old to a long-term contract, who signed in 2021 for three years and $22.05 million. However, he has shown his potential in recent years, surpassing the 30-goal mark in the last two seasons; He also reached the 100-point plateau in 2022-2023.
In short, if general manager Patrik Allvin is hesitant about Pettersson’s future, he should have no trouble finding a dance partner willing to compromise to win him over.
Vancouver will visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.