Star player Elias Pettersson seems in no rush to renew his contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
Pettersson, 24, will complete the final year in 2023-2024 of an agreement with an average annual value of $7.35 million that was initialed on October 1, 2021.
In an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in Stockholm, the Sweden striker explained why the file is not one of his priorities at the moment.
“I don’t want to rush anything because I don’t know myself if it’s going to be a short-term or long-term deal. This will probably be the biggest contract of my career so I don’t want to rush anything.”
Good morning from Stockholm. Boat trip yesterday with Elias Pettersson. He’s signed up for the 2023-24 season… he takes training and nutrition very, very seriously. More to come but Pettersson will wait into the season to consider an extension. He wants his full focus to be on starting strong pic.twitter.com/FmecqT890p
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 23, 2023
“I’m trying to build some weight and muscle to get a good start in the team,” he explained.
The youngster had a blast with 102 points, including 39 goals, in 80 games last season, but that wasn’t enough to lead the Canucks to the playoffs. The BC team finished sixth in the Pacific Division with a record of 38-37-7.